There is a particular beauty to a Maryland autumn. The tulip poplars turn golden, the oaks shed their russet leaves, and the garden begins to settle into its winter rest. As the last flowers fade, our yards become covered in a patchwork of copper, amber, and brown.
For many of us, this signals the start of fall cleanup: raking, bagging, cutting back, and clearing away the remnants of the growing season. But before reaching for the leaf blower, consider what might be living beneath your feet.
Fallen leaves aren’t garden waste. They’re shelter, nourishment, and the beginning of next year’s garden.
A world beneath the leaves
To us, a layer of fallen leaves might look like the end of a growing season. To the small creatures that share our gardens, it’s the beginning of a very different one.
Many of our native insects spend winter tucked into leaf litter, beneath bark, or within the upper layers of soil. Some overwinter as eggs, others as larvae or pupae, waiting for the warmth of spring to resume their life cycles. When we clear every leaf from our yards, we may unknowingly remove the very habitat these creatures need to survive.
Consider the firefly. Those enchanting flashes of light on warm summer evenings are only a small part of its story. Fireflies spend much of their lives as larvae, living in moist soil and leaf litter, where they hunt small invertebrates, including snails and slugs. Depending on the species, this immature stage can last months or even years. The dark, damp spaces beneath fallen leaves are part of the habitat that helps sustain next summer’s display.
Butterflies, moths, native bees, and countless other insects also depend on sheltered places to overwinter. Some beneficial insects help pollinate plants, while others prey on garden pests. By leaving leaves and standing stems in place, we give these often-overlooked residents somewhere to spend the colder months.
A refuge for Maryland’s box turtles
For me, the importance of leaf litter always brings to mind the eastern box turtle.
These long-lived reptiles are native to Maryland, inhabiting woodlands, forest edges, fields, and other landscapes where they can find food, moisture, and shelter. As temperatures drop, box turtles enter brumation, a period of winter dormancy during which they become much less active. They may burrow into loose soil or settle beneath fallen leaves, woody debris, and other natural cover.
Leaf litter helps create the sheltered, moisture-retaining conditions that make suitable overwintering habitat possible. It also supports the small invertebrates and other food sources that box turtles forage for during the warmer months.
In Maryland, where habitat loss and fragmentation place pressure on box turtle populations, the condition of our backyards and woodland edges matters. A garden cannot replace a healthy forest, but it can contribute to a more connected landscape by providing native plants, food, shelter, and places for wildlife to move through.
We don’t always need to see a turtle to know that habitat is doing its work. Sometimes, success looks like a quiet patch of leaves left undisturbed.
Let the soil do its work
Leaves are also one of nature’s simplest soil amendments.
As they break down, fungi, bacteria, earthworms, and other decomposers transform fallen foliage into organic matter, gradually returning nutrients to the soil. This process improves soil structure, supports the organisms that keep soil functioning, and helps the ground retain moisture.
A layer of leaves can also buffer soil against temperature fluctuations and protect the ground from the drying effects of wind and sun. Beneath the canopy of a deciduous tree, this annual cycle has been taking place for generations. The forest doesn’t need us to rake it clean; it has its own way of replenishing itself.
Our gardens can benefit from that same process. Leaves tucked beneath trees and shrubs, or allowed to settle into perennial beds, help build healthier soil over time. They’re a free, locally available resource that would otherwise be hauled away, often only to be replaced with purchased mulch or soil amendments.
Making room for a little wildness
Leaving the leaves doesn’t mean abandoning your garden or giving up on thoughtful maintenance. It simply means being more selective about where and how we tidy.
Allow leaves to remain beneath trees, in perennial beds, along woodland edges, and in quieter corners of the yard. If thick layers accumulate on your lawn, rake them into planting beds or create a designated leaf pile. Where possible, leave some leaves whole and undisturbed, rather than shredding every last one. Keep healthy perennial stems standing through winter, too, as they offer additional shelter for insects.
There are exceptions. Remove diseased plant material, leaves and stems that have gone to mush, and consider clearing leaves from paths and frequently used areas. In Maryland, where ticks are part of the landscape, keeping leaf litter away from high-traffic areas can also help reduce encounters.
The goal isn’t a perfectly untouched garden. It’s a garden that makes room for people and the native fauna.
As autumn deepens, I’m reminded that gardening isn’t always about doing more. Sometimes it’s about recognizing when to step back, allowing natural processes to unfold, and trusting that what looks like decay is often the beginning of something new.
This fall, leave a little mess behind. Let the leaves settle, let the soil breathe, and let the small lives beneath them find their winter refuge.
Spring will come soon enough. And when it does, the life we protected quietly through winter will be part of what makes the garden bloom again.