To rake or not to rake, that is the question.

Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to let rest

The reds and yellows in outrageous shades,

Or to take arms against a sea of leaves,

And by raking, gather them?

(With apologies to William Shakespeare)

Such is the question weighing heavily on many minds these days. Must leaves that fall on the lawn be raked up?

The answer is no -- if leaves are creating only a thin covering over the lawn, if the leaves are small, or if the leaves fell early enough in the season.

The small leaflets of honeylocust or mimosa, for example, could never smother grass, especially after they dry out and then are chopped up by the lawnmower. The same goes for boxelder, which dumps its leaves early enough so that the grass is still growing fast and needs frequent mowing.

With all that activity at ground level -- the whirling mower blades, the expanding blades of grass, and the hungry earthworms -- the lawn quickly gobbles up leaves so that the only traces remaining are wind-driven clumps huddled in corners. Enough passes of the lawnmower might even be able to chop up the large, flat leaves that fall from a sugar maple or a sycamore tree, especially if the mower has mulching blades.

The important thing is to look at your lawn after you mow. If autumn leaves are hiding too much green for too long, the grass beneath will weaken or die. Then, you must rake.

If you do have to rake, thank the trees for their leaves, rather than begrudge them for it. Some were good enough to paint the landscape in vivid colors, but all of them are a source of not only major plant nutrients, but trace nutrients as well. Besides boosting soil fertility, the organic matter in leaves turns into valuable humus, which improves soil drainage and water retention in all soils.

Rather than burning leaves that you must rake, or bagging them up like garbage, rake them beneath trees and shrubs not growing in lawn. Rake them into your vegetable and flower garden, also, to be left on the surface as a mulch or dug into the soil.

Of course, those leaves could benefit the lawn as much as they benefit trees, shrubs, flowers, and vegetables. But only if the grass is not smothered because the leafy covering is thin or has been chopped up sufficiently with your mower.