Benefits of Fallen Leaves

In northern New England, if you haven't raked your leaves by now, you probably aren't going to. Certainly if you leave near the Great Lakes, that window of opportunity has passed!

South Buffalo Neighborhood, November 19, 2014 (weather.com)

Even so, this article from the National Wildlife Federation provides several reasons to not obsess about cleaning up your yard in the fall: 6 Excuses to Avoid Yard Work this Fall .
Practically speaking, large leaves do either need to be chopped up and left on the lawn for mulch, or removed. Most of this will happen naturally with the wind, but depending upon how many leaves are in your yard and how much you value the grass, raking will be necessary. As far as planting beds, I do let the ones that are on the edge of the woods and the yard be covered naturally as it definitely protects the plants underneath from the variable temperatures in the winter. The key is to make sure that the plants are allowed to go dormant and to remain frozen for most of the winter. You don't want to have too thick of a layer that prevents this freezing process which perennials are meant to undergo. Finally, if you have one or more large trees within a bed and flowering perennials undernath, it will be easier to remove the leaves in the fall when they are dry, instead of in the spring, when they are wet and compacted, and raking may damage the early growth that emerges. The important point is to understand the purpose of the leaves and to take advantage of the benefits they provide, while either on the trees or on the ground. And, as many in the country have already experienced, all too soon, we will be replacing our shovels for our rakes.