Is it better for my garden to leave the leaves or rake them up?

If you have perennials planted in the garden you can use the leaves for winter mulch to protect those plants. Gently rake the leaves out in the spring when the plants begin to emerge.

I have a leave blower and vacuum mulcher that I use and I put them all over my landscaped flowers and where ever else I need them and it covers my perennials for the winter to help protect the roots and it is also good for the soil nutrients.

If there are bugs on the leaves, it would be best to get rid of them. If not, I would let them decompose and keep the soil covered. Them till them into the soil in the spring.

Tracy...Most save leave and when cruncy mulch as will help soil.

Many garden centers encourage leaving the perennials and leaves over winter as they actually "insulate" what they are covering, and there is less "mass" to clean up in the spring as the plants and leaves have dried out.

Let them decompose

I, too have a blower/vacuum/mulcher and use the leaves to cover everything. In the spring, the perennials come up right through it and keep the soil covered for keeping in the moisture. When the grass gets cut, I put that down around all gardens for the same reason.