Just when I thought I knew something. . . about compost

Hi!
I've been following this forum for a while and have learned A LOT. So. . . yesterday I was removing the 2-3 inch layer of chopped oak leaves I put down last November from t he surface of some new perennial beds that I had planted last Fall. . . This was so I could top-dress the beds with a nice new layer of my own compost. And as I was scraping the leaves away I saw how the bottom layer of leaves was turning into dark leaf-mold, and I thought, "whoa! Why scrape off this nice organic mulch at all?"
Are there any downsides to just leaving the leaves there? Pulling them away from the crown of the plants of course. Should I put some of my new compost on TOP of the leaves? Or is this even necessary?
As you can tell, I'm still an insecure newbie to all this.

Just pull the leaves away from the crowns and let it do it's thing! Save your other compost for other areas :)

Thank you, doccat, I went out and did just that today. So good to have your expert advice.

Doccat5,
I've been moving more and more to using the organic breakdown of leaves and grass in my small beds. I understand that they break down over time making the wonderful "black gold." My question regards using it in containers. Most of my plants are in containers. When I first started out as a gardener in the fall of '05 (this'll only be my 3rd summer as a gardener), my DH told me he would put about half of the decomp leaves/grass into his containers (I moved into his home and began resurrecting the neglected back yard garden), and fill the remainder with dirt? topsoil? or something-or-other he would buy in these big bags. then the containers wouldn't be so heavy to move. Over time, the decomp on the bottom would break down, and he'd just cover the plants with more decomp, as they went down too. My question is this: do the roots of the plants need more "dirt" than the decomp provides to establish a good growing system, or can/do they anchor themselvs to the decomp as it breaks down? I'm trying to envision what the total breakdown becomes in a container, over time, and if it will provide what the plants will need to grow healthily. Please advise.

And, please forgive this lengthy post, but I wanted you to have all the particulars so you would see a good picture. Thanks.

Linda

I use something similar with my houseplants. Only I'm using coarse compost for about half the mix. I add home made potting soil ( I mix up usually spagum or coir (if I can get it), vermiculite and a bit of perlite to keep it "airy". I've even been known to throw in a couple of worms to a big container. LOL Please understand, I don't do a lot of container gardening, but the idea of using what to me is basically "dead" soil and chemicals for product of my flowers and houseplants, just doesn't make sense to me. I'm planning on doing a herb garden in container's this year. I want to be able to bring them in the house for winter use. And I plant on using real soil, real compost and Bokashi juice as a fertilizer, I think the results are going to be interesting. :)

Doccat5,
Thanks for the reply. I think our logic is along the same lines.