It’s not only fans of Elton John and the Lion King who appreciate the ‘circle of life’. We gardeners understand, and are guided by, the cyclical nature of the seasons. Every year, we foster life and witness many plants completing their life cycle.
Working with plants and the soil provides you first-hand with an insight into how matter transforms; how the same atoms that help make up a bright red rose in full summer bloom are present as the flower dies and decomposes. They’ll still be here when each of us has shuffled off this mortal coil.
And so it is with the leaves of deciduous trees. From spring the likes of sycamore, horse chestnut, ash and alder all boast a bright green canopy. Through the magic of photosynthesis, the leaves that populate those canopies give the trees their lifeblood and help them grow a little more every year.
But inevitably it comes to an end, though thankfully not in a final way, but as a winter hiatus and a period of dormancy, and recovery.
The process of abscission in our part of the northern hemisphere can begin as early as Lúnasa and is still not fully complete. Like the shortening of the days it is among the most obvious manifestations of the onset of winter. The canopies are slowly stripped, ensuring the bones of the tree are better equipped to withstand the storms in the months ahead.
While individually the leaves that have fallen are paper light, collectively in a forest setting they can weigh tonnes.
Over the coming months and years they will rot down, the energy they drew from the soil and the sun returning to the earth. The circle of life continuing; ending and beginning simultaneously.
It is this cyclical process that the gardener wants to harness.
With the need to use peat-free products more pressing than ever before, ethically-minded gardeners are increasingly turning to homemade composts as a way of staying sustainable and keeping their earth in top condition.
Leafmould – the substance formed from decaying leaves, is a first class soil conditioner, perfect mulching material, and an excellent base for potting compost.
In theory all leaves, including pine needles, will eventually rot down into a dark, crumbly substance that can be applied ‘raw’ onto the garden or tailored to your needs by adding the likes of sand, gravel or perlite.
The leaves of oak, beech and hornbeam break down quickly and are among the leafmould specialist’s most wanted, while thicker leaves from, say, sycamore and walnut are best shredded to accelerate what may be otherwise a two-to-three year process.
Harvest leaves in dry weather from friends, neighbours and in public spaces, avoiding busy roads and being wary at all times of dog eggs.
Feel free to use a leaf blower but don’t be surprised if you get abused by passers-by for disturbing the peace. You can use a mover to shred the leaves but avoid adding too many grass cuttings.
In ideal circumstances build yourself a chicken wire leaf pen where your spoils can be left alone for at least 12 months. For smaller quantities use a heavy duty bin liner punctured with a fork. Personally I use the one tonne sacks that come from the builders’ yard.
Be sure to dampen your leaves, as dried they’ll take a lot longer to rot down.
