Putting the Garden to Rest
Putting Your Garden To Rest: Why ‘Tidying Up’ Can Wait Until Spring
As fall arrives and the garden begins to fade, it’s tempting to reach for the rake and pruners to “tidy up” before the winter. But when it comes to native gardens, one of the best things you can do for local wildlife is to leave your garden alone for the winter.
What may be seen as garden debris is actually essential habitat! Dried stems, fallen leaves, and seed heads support beneficial insects, birds, and pollinators through the cold months. When we recognize the importance of ‘leaving the leaves,’ we realize we’re not abandoning the fall garden, we’re nurturing nature. Instead of removing dead or dormant plant matter, we’re offering food, shelter, and safe overwintering spots for valuable wildlife and supporting biodiversity.
Why Leave the Leaves and Seed Heads?
Fallen leaves insulate plant roots, help suppress weeds, retain moisture in the soil, and slowly feed the soil with organic matter as they decompose. But beyond their benefits to the plants and soil health, leaves also serve as critical habitat. Native bees, butterflies, moths, fireflies, and many other insects overwinter in leaf litter. Removing those leaves too soon can wipe out generations of beneficial species.
Similarly, hollow or pithy stems are great nesting sites for native bees and other insects. Seed heads offer food for birds all winter long. These remnants of your garden are anything but waste, they are part of a carefully balanced ecosystem that starts in your own landscape. A standing seed head may not appear perfect to us at first, but to a hungry goldfinch in January, it could be a lifeline.
Winter Interest
When you leave your garden standing through the winter months, you’ll begin to see ‘winterest’ in the landscape. Winter interest includes various forms, textures, and silhouettes of stalks and seedheads. An otherwise quiet winter garden becomes a focal point, alive with sculptural shapes as frost sparkles on skeletons of stalks and seed heads. A winter garden can be just as full of interest as it is during peak bloom time; the golden umbels of Angelica, the tall remnants of various Coneflowers, and the fluffy plumes of grass seed heads rattle gently in the breeze, they catch the light and cast shadows that dance across the snow and create a captivating scene.
Cleanup Can Wait
Hold off on major cleanup until spring temperatures stay above 50°F (10°C) to allow overwintering insects time to emerge safely. When it’s finally time to tidy up in the spring, do so thoughtfully; cut stems in sections and leave them on the ground or in a tidy pile so creatures inside can still find their way out.
Let Nature Lead
By resisting the urge to ‘tidy up’, you’re making space for wild life and for a garden that gives back. Putting your garden to rest by taking a gentler, more ecologically friendly approach means your native garden can continue to provide habitat, food, and beauty year round. Let nature lead the way this fall, try letting go of “neat” and embracing “natural.” Your local ecosystem will thank you, and so will future generations of pollinators in your backyard.