LA Times. November 26, 2023: The Los Angeles Times B2B Publishing team is well aware that employees valued by leadership end up caring for each other – and their clients. Those who feel inspired by the companies where they work feel empowered and motivated. Additionally, they share and support the corporate vision. When factors such as diversity, equity, inclusion, communication and transparency from leadership and true growth opportunities are present at a workplace, great things are bound to happen.
Monthly Archives: November 2023
Leave the Leaves!
Steal Our Hack! Save Wildlife, Health, Money and Time
November 2023. By Oscar Ortega: Throughout the year, we hold gratitude for marvelous, magical, hardworking mulch. This same gratitude flows to leaves as they fall.
Even after they’ve left their branches, leaves help us save birds, butterflies, pollinators and wildlife. Many will find winter homes and nutrients in leaf litter. For some, dry leaves are preferred nesting material. Fallen leaf shelter provides so much support to wildlife, it carries the same value as native plant foliage on the application to become a Certified Wildlife Habitat!
Leaves also help us save your health, money and time. Like mulch brought-in to give your garden a finished look, fallen leaves will decompose to provide a natural, toxin-free fertilizer. They will inhibit the growth of weeds, inhibiting gardener interest in pesticides toxic to monarchs and often humans and wildlife too. Best of all, they exist on site and can easily be moved to areas where they provide the most value to foliage.
For those in high fire severity zones, leaves can be composted or covered with a thin layer of traditional, organic mulch. Current studies show compost mulch to be fire defensive outside of Zone 0, and it provides much of the clean and complete aesthetic of traditional mulches. For those in fire safe areas, leaf litter can also be covered with a fine layer of traditional, organic mulch for a finished aesthetic.
For those of you maintaining your own space, steal our hacks! Make leaf litter useful by mulching it into lawns and meadows. Move it into garden beds, leaving a little space at the base of plants to avoid creating mold-friendly environments. Add any extra to your compost. Consider watching for nests and pollinator activity here as you might in your milkweed or trees… you may find the more you watch, wait and wonder, the more wildlife will wonder at you!
Sources and Resources
National Wildlife Federation: Why You Should Leave the Leaves
The Xerces Society: Leave the Leaves: Winter (Pollinator) Habitat Protection
USDA: This Fall, Leave the Leaves!
Save Tour Dates
Save These Dates to See Authentic LA Gardens by FormLA Landscaping
Date: April 14th, 21st, and 28th
Time: See Below
Location: LA Crescenta, Pasadena, and Studio City
Registration: Pen! See Links Below
We are happy to confirm three opportunities to see FormLA Landscaping Gardens on tour this spring!
Native Plant Garden Tour, La Crescenta. The Forbes Mountain Retreat will be featured on the Native Plant Garden Tour for a second year. Filled to the brim with blooms and tour goers in 2022, the owners are excited to show off their water-sinking powerhouse after a high rain year. Sunday, April 14, 10 am – 5 pm: Info + Tickets
The Garden Conservancy Open Days, Pasadena. Visit a garden that seamlessly weaves Pasadena’s hallmark roses with California native foliage and climate compatible cacti from the owner’s award winning collection. Sunday, April 21, 10 am – 4 pm: Info + Tickets
The Garden Conservancy Open Days, Los Angeles. Wander a storybook garden in Studio City. Vibrant with native foliage, this young garden established quickly due to the extraordinary rainfall received in 2023. Sunday, April 21, 10 am – 4 pm: Info + Tickets