"Warren" expounded:

Landscape fabric allows air and water to pass. A matted layer of leaves,
shredded or not, does not.

Shredded leaves absolutely do let water pass, I do this every year. I
find the look of leaf mulch far superior to anything else in a
perennial garden, and the vegetable garden benefits from a healthy
layer between rows to keep down weeds.
--
Ann, gardening in Zone 6a
South of Boston, Massachusetts
e-mail address is not checked
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