Leaves Okay as Mulch for Lavenders?

Hi Inge. Last year at this time, you gave me a wonderfully detailed answer regarding how to straw mulch my lavenders to help them make it through a Kitchener, Ontario, winter. This year, because of high swirling winds, they currently have several inches of leaves surrounding them. Can I add more leaves to make a sufficiently protected environment? Or should I remove the leaves and use straw?

As long as the leaves only surround them, but do not cover them, they do lots of good. But if they cover the plants, they will allow fungi to attack these Mediterranean plants, because it will be much damper than they are used to.