You are benefitting the soil by adding organic matter, yes. Better than
'mulch', which I take to mean shredded hardwood, is pure compost, or
shredded leaves, grass clipping, what have you from around your yard.

The other thing you can do is utilize a 'cover crop' in winter, such as wild
mustard, winter rye, clover, or other nitrogen-fixing plants that are tilled
under while still green in early spring.

Dave

"mary" wrote in message
...
I have a flower bed which I plant annual flowers. I put mulch on the
flowers. Each fall when the flowers dies, I dig the flowers into the soil,
and then dig my leaves into the soil. Does this mean my soil getters
better
each year since nothing leaves the bed in the sense that I recycle the
dead
flowers. Or am I missing some? The flowers or plants give off oxygen so
does
some chemical get lost in the process.

Thanks

Tom