The back garden is full of leaves. That's good- damp and decaying leaves are one of the sensory delights of autumn.
 When I worked in the gardening trade I would spend much of November raking up fallen leaves to cart off the premises in plastic bags. In spring I would purchase plastic bags containing soil improver and haul them onto the premises. It's a living and well-tended gardens are charming in a way.
 Unfortunately a lot of gardening is based on the premise that nature is untidy, chaotic even. In fact nature is order on a colossal scale. The leaves fall, the soil improves!