Peony question, iris question

1. Peonies - Is there any "plant" reason not to leave the stakes/hoops in the ground instead of bringing them into the garage for the winter?  Only downsides i can think of are appearance, and wear on the stakes.  Since they're in the back yard, and the stakes are likely to outlast me anyhow, i don't see a problem, but i don't know if there would be any harm to the plants?

2.  Irises - I finally removed their leaves (yes, way late with this...), but what about leaving a blanket of tree leaves on the bed over the winter?  Is it a) permissible, b) desirable, c) forbidden?

Thanks for any thoughts.  Guess it's time to roll up the hose and go inside....

#1   I leave them in the ground year round.

#2   Why remove the leaves?   I have never done this (nor do I do it for daffodils or anything else).  As long as there are green leaves, it helps the plant.

tomcat said:

#1   I leave them in the ground year round.

#2   Why remove the leaves?   I have never done this (nor do I do it for daffodils or anything else).  As long as there are green leaves, it helps the plant.

 What he said!

Thanks guys!  Glad to hear it's the easy route. 

Every spring i've been coaxing those peony stakes into our clay/rock soil and puzzling over how to assemble them, usually late enough so the stems have to be threaded through the grid too.  Why did it take 13 years to even think of just leaving them in place??