A dinner invitation from the Eisners, our neighbors in Middletown, Conn., sets my mouth to watering, but also provokes the itch of envy. Both Marc and Patty are great cooks as well as great conversationalists: Marc is an inspired raconteur, and Patty has perfected a dry style of contrapuntal commentary that takes me back to vintage George Burns and Gracie Allen routines. And if the weather is good, a visit to the Eisners always includes an inspection of Patty’s garden.

Which makes me feel inadequate. Patty’s gardening is as impeccable as her cooking, and the result is a breathtaking contrast to my own somewhat chaotic yard. Moreover, the secret to Patty’s success, aside from her energy and organization, is simple and well within anyone’s reach. Every autumn, she rakes all the leaves that fall on her lawn into the dormant perennial beds. Then Marc runs the lawn mower back and forth across the piles several times.

That’s all the feeding Patty provides, at least to plants. Several years of such mulching have transformed her soil from a poor clay into a deep, rich loam, and her plantings thrive. Check out the photographs of her garden that accompany this post. If it doesn’t infect you with envy, too, well, you don’t deserve a dinner at the Eisners.