Leaves: Are they a problem, or opportunity?

Q. What to do with those leaves?

A. We love the color, the smell and the crunch of the leaves beneath our feet but, oh, what to do with the multiple bags of leaves sitting on our parkways.

Those bags of leaves are worth more than their weight in gold if you use them wisely. They are the makings of next year's successful gardening plants.

You could let those leaves lie where they are. Kind of a "natural look."

Unfortunately when it rains, the leaves then stick to the sidewalk, blow into the crevices of your yard and your neighbors. Deep layers of leaves can kill patches of grass and lead to snow mold.

Collect the leaves for use in your compost bin or save leaves in a bin as a substitute for peat moss in the spring to amend your soil. Leaves are not like "saved grass" that gets matted, smelly and moldy. They can eliminate your need for commercial compost starters.

Collect the leaves that you have bagged while mowing and till them into your garden. These leaves will decompose much faster and add those wonderful nutrients to the soil.

Remember oak leaves and pine needles are an excellent source of compost.

Own a walnut tree? You may want to collect those separately and dispose of them. Walnut trees give off a substance called juglone. This substance can occur in the buds, nut hulls and roots, however, leaves and stems contain a smaller quantity. Juglone is poorly soluble in water and does not move very far from the soil. This can retard the growth of plants in your garden.

Just shred the leaves as you mow and leave them on the lawn. On a regular basis small amounts of leaves mowed and left on the lawn is a great source of nitrogen.

What not to do with your leaves:

• DO NOT BURN. It is illegal It is a cause of respiratory problems and pollution.

• DO NOT SWEEP into the street. Although you can do this in certain townships on specific days of the month, it leaves clogged storm sewers and a fire hazard from the heat of a car's catalytic converter.

Enjoy those leaves while you can!!

- Bev Krams

Yuck! Don't eat that!

Oh yes, those cute critters in your yard. Darling Bambi, cute fuzzy squirrels, voles and adorable rabbits! How cute! But, oh, so destructive.

Those critters are out there spying on you as you put those precious bulbs into the ground. You are anticipating a beautiful flower display in the spring and the critters are anticipating making a meal of your spring dreams!

What's a bulb-lover to do? Simple. Plant bulbs that do not taste good to those critters. You will love the flower display but those critters will think it is the worst thing they have smelled and tasted!

Certain bulbs contain a chemical called lycorine. Animals will stay clear of these types of bulbs because lycorine is a bitter alkaloid that is toxic when eaten.

So go with daffodils! There are up to 200 species and more than 25,000 cultivars of daffodils to choose from. What a great array of colors they come in: peach, salmon, coral, pink, white, yellow, orange and bicolor.

Double daffodils will even add to your pleasure! You will find them in sizes from 4 inches (Miniature Daffodil) to as large as 24 inches (Trumpet Daffodil). You may also want to consider crocus and snowdrop, alliums, hyacinths and crown imperial that are also deer and rodent resistant.

Yes, I know you really love those tulips and crocuses but they are "candy" for those critters! Consider planting your tulips near your house or where the dog will be visible. For those of you who think you can trick the critters by planting daffodils around those tulips, research has found they will dig up the tulips despite your tricks. Squirrels can smell tulips up to five days after you have planted them.

Want to enjoy the spring bloom as long as possible? Choose varieties that will flower early, middle and late spring. After they finish blooming allow the foliage to die back, approximately eight weeks. Leave them alone until they are dried. You can deadhead the spent blooms but let the flopping foliage yellow and dry out. This allows sunlight and nutrients to enter the bulb. The bulb is your underground food storage to next year's display of not only bloom but also reproduction of the bulb. Bulbs will perennialize and make more bulbs.

- Bev Krams

• Provided by Master gardeners through the Master Gardener Answer Desk, Friendship Park Conservatory, Des Plaines. Call (847) 298-3502 or email northcookmg@gmail.com.