To mulch or not mulch?

One of the things that people always wants to know is should you rake up your leaves or just let them stay on the ground. You can let them stay or rake. If you rake them up and put them in plastic bags and let them sit over the winter then in the spring you will have the start of a good compost. The leaves will decay over the winter when the sun is warm and by spring they will be able to be spread out in your garden. Some people just put the loose leaves on their flower beds and use them for winter protection. Only sometimes the wind will help you out and move them to different places, maybe not really where you want them to be. So really it is up to the person whether they want to mulch using leaves or not. Some people mulch in the fall using bark or covering with black plastic. This just protects the roots of your plants, keeping the soil from freezing hard and then getting warm and heaving the roots up. So happy mulching!