Stuff I see: wasted leaves

Every year Gardeners' World encourage viewers to go and collect leaves to make leaf mould. Their presenters will usually be shown in a huge garden, gathering lovely clean freshly-fallen leaves into neat piles with handy rakes. Here's Pippa Greenwood on their website doing just that.

But I wonder how many viewers manage to do this and how many, like me, have small gardens with no trees in them and no leaves to rake. I have a vivid memory of accompanying my granddad to the large park near his house when I was about eight years old and helping him collect fallen leaves for his allotment. These days I see piles of leaves out in the street and road, clogging drains, soggy and soiled by litter and dog mess. I feel guilty about these wasted leaves but can't quite bring myself to go collect them. They don't look as nice as Pippa and Monty's pristine private leaves.


I probably need to let it go....