Over the past few years we have weened him off this way of thinking and replaced it will the mantra that everything that falls off the trees and plants should end up in the soil.  Each time I trim back the shrubs or thin out some plants, the off-cuts also end up on the ground.  Slowly the soil has changed back to a brown, moist, earthy colour and has started to smell, well, like nature (see the after shot).  I have started to notice loads more insects inhabiting the garden and I’m sure, just below the surface, are a million and one worms.

I’m reading Pitta Joffe’s Creative Gardening with Indigenous Plants and she has section where she calls for the protection of our soil. She writes:

“Don’t sweep up and then proceed to throw away fallen leaves, dried and faded flowers, fruits, small twigs, etc.  Apart from the fact that this is a totally misdirected use of energy, it is also the equivalent to throwing away bags of compost … Mulch is nature’s way of feeding plants, conserving moisture and protecting the soil surface and structure.”

The soil before the intervention.

The leaves we didn't and won't rake up.