from leaf to mulch

For my first attempt at par­tic­i­pat­ing in Pam at Digging’s Foliage Follow-up Day I looked under the grape­fruit tree for inspi­ra­tion. As the leaves fall from the tree they go from green to brown to gray before they finally become part of the com­post that enriches the top of the soil. That last stage pro­duces some gor­geous arti­facts, where what’s left is mostly the thicker veins of the leaf. Even as the leaf tis­sue between the veins becomes com­post or is con­sumed by the lit­tle crit­ters liv­ing in the mulch, the struc­ture of the leaf still remains.

Here’s a series of pho­tos of those last rec­og­niz­able traces of formerly-living leaves. Most of the below take advan­tage of the fact that the shadow can seem much more sub­stan­tial as the thing itself. Maybe it’s a metaphor for the last­ing power of a leaf that is about to become com­post? Some­thing about the cycle of life?

February 16 2010 | Categories: gardening • my garden | Tags: • • • | 18 Comments »