Bless this mess! That’s how I’m looking at NOT putting my garden to bed for winter these days.
Certainly there is something satisfying about a cool fall day spent armed with pruners and rakes whipping the yard into shape. I have come to realize however that my cut-back, raked-up, clean-swept, trussed and twined garden is detrimental to the birds, bees, bats, butterflies, beneficial insects and all manner of wildlife who make their home there. Having spent all spring and summer planting a garden that provides food and habitat for creatures and critters, my desire for a neat and tidy winter space is likely running them out of town. So, it’s time for a re-think of what it means to “put the garden to bed” for the winter.
Our yards can be welcome winter havens for the wildlife we depend on, but only if we provide them with what they need to survive there. I do remove and safely discard anything that’s diseased along with the worst, most invasive weeds and top every bed and border with fresh compost. But spent foliage, downed branches, leaf piles, seed heads? I have plenty of all of these vital wildlife necessities–I just have to be okay with leaving well enough alone.
Each of us has to decide whether or not, or even how much, to cut back the garden at the close of the season (a wild mess of a space is not for everyone). I thought I would share my reasons why I am holstering my clippers and hiding my rakes this fall. I would love to hear your thoughts on this topic.
4,000 species of native bees: That’s how many species call North America home and we count on them to pollinate the spring and summer garden. To do their best work these hardworking bees need a place to sit out winter and be protected from both cold and hungry predators.
70% of all of these species of bees nest underground, overwintering as eggs or larvae burrowed in the soil, emerging in spring. Others such bumble bees queens nest in leaf litter, hollowed-out plant stems, or even loose soil. By not cutting down every plant or turning every bit of soil, we can provide them with a cool place to chill out.
To Do: Set aside undisturbed patches of habitat allowing leaf litter, standing spent perennials, dead twigs and stems and ground covers to remain. If you are working the soil in your beds or other spots, do not till soil where there might be ground nests (look for conical piles of dirt with a large hole in the middle that serves as the entrance).
Bird Song: Robins and waxwings and redpolls, oh my! At least 40 species of birds are likely to be found in our backyards during winter and they have the same needs—food, water, shelter—as they do any other time. Providing a reliable source of berries and seed heads that are prized by songbirds such as finches, sparrows, chickadees, juncos, and jays has been shown to affect breeding success (and we always want more birds, right?). And, its a fact that the more insect-nurturing habitat you have, the greater the bird population will be. So, while I’m removing and discarding diseased top growth, I’m leaving most of the rest of the garden intact and standing.
To Do: Think about creating a songbird border next year (more here) but for now, make a cozy nest of a brush pile with logs and larger branches on the bottom and layer smaller branches on top. Rake leaves up under trees and shrubs—and leave them there until spring clean up to encourage insects (that birds love to eat) to overwinter here. Also, that post-holiday Christmas tree tossed into a corner of the yard makes a fine place to stay for birds to stay safe and warm.
Pretty Pollinators: The monarchs may have flown south, but many of the butterflies we rely on to help pollinate our gardens can and do remain, settling in to endure the winter weather in a variety of life stages. And, they need our help to survive the season. Adults (like this Morning Cloak) that nestle into rock fissures and under tree bark. Caterpillars that bury deep in leaf litter or inside of rolled up leaves. Others that are tucked into a chrysalis in a sheltered place like overhangs and deep shrubbery. And some laid eggs laid in late fall that overwinter in the leaf litter of the host plant. All need a safe, undisturbed spot for the cold months. If I cut down and clean up the garden, I’m probably eliminating overwintering sites for many of these vital pollinators (and perhaps even eliminating the insects themselves).
To Do: Leave leaf litter beneath trees undisturbed when possible. It’s likely to contain overwintering caterpillars or eggs. If you find what looks like a dead chrysalis in your garage, garden shed, or even hanging from the branch of a tree in the winter, leave it there! The butterfly inside may well emerge when spring comes.
Beyond being a good steward of my little corner of the Earth, I just enjoy watching my garden and my treasured trees, shrubs, and perennials segue from season to season without my getting all up in their business. There’s something about a frost-kissed rose hip or clutch of curled-edged leaves blown into a corner that calms me down and fills me up. Can you relate? Guessing you can.
That said, this was a process for me and might also be so for you. If you can’t imagine leaving the yard in its most natural state, start slow. Maybe choose just one garden bed each winter to clean out rather than all of them and designate one corner for a leaf pile. Watching winter birds foraging dried coneflowers for seeds or bees, beneficial insects, and butterflies emerging in spring might also make you love the beautiful “mess.”
Please share how you approach the wrapping it up for the season by commenting below.
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Thank you for this. I never am quite sure what I am doing – and wasn’t sure if I should compost now or in the Spring – I have cut back a lot of dead stuff – and have cleaned up the beds – but they are covered with leaves again – and I am now going to leave what comes. Wondering if you have found a way to have an somewhat tidy compost pile area? Mine gets so large (my garden is mostly a woodland garden, wholly managed for habitat). The only thing I bag and remove from property are invasives – and I take them to a huge hot compost place. I appreciate the encouragement to think of the winter beds as continuing habitat.
I love your comment. I keep my compost pile “tidy” by basically hiding it under the cut off branches of every Christmas tree in my neighborhood!
Wish all the “mow and blow” crews who are constantly pruning and cleaning these pristine yards throughout our community would read this. Even if they are gardeners at heart…and I’m sure there are many…they don’t make any money letting it lie. It’s all about educating clients to appreciate the process and not just a spotless, lifeless landscape. Our fire-raveged community (northern California) also needs nature’s healing hand to restore our ecosystem. We are overzealous in sweeping it all away, cutting it all down, getting it out of site and covering it with something that won’t burn. When rebuilding our community includes the environment, then we will make some real progress .
Thanks for this article. It makes me feel better about the lovely mess in my yard! I wish others would do the same.
Excellent post! I’ve always gone with the fall clean-up to make a pristine winter garden and this will be the first season I’m not doing that. In addition to all the reasons you stated, I’ve also learned that certain perennials, ones with woody stems, will have a better chance of surviving the winter is left intact. So much to know about gardening!! Many thanks to Monrovia for guidance and sound information.
Here in the mountain southwest of NM and AZ we have 7 trophic levels of cultivation from the desert floor to the sky island heights. Monrovia is limited to a midwest woodland viewpoint alone.
Well, that is a very specific set of conditions to be sure. I guess my point (having gardened in Southern California, the Deep South, New England, and now in the Pacific Northwest) is that putting the garden “to bed” is more of a state of mind that isn’t specific to a set of chores. It’s an awareness that, wherever you live, your outdoor activity can have unintended consequences. That said, I like to be made aware when I am not giving good coverage to all regions.
Lovely sentiment delivered in lovely prose. I very much enjoyed this essay. I too am worried about the disappearance of many birds, both quantity and variety, from my urban/suburban yard. I suspect that my neighbors haven’t noticed the dwindling presence of birds here in Alexandria, Virginia, yet they are very much aware that my yard is unruly by their standards.
I am doing this, just as you suggest in your inspiring article. I owe this suggestion to a Master Gardener who also lives on the coast in the Half Moon Bay Area. There was a post in our local Nextdoor and I offered my abundance of leaves to anyone who was interested. Janice came to pick up two garbage cans full and while she was at my home, she was surprised that I would be giving away such a prize when my own garden could flourish with this dressing of leaves. I thought about this and from that point on, I’ve raked the new abundance of leaves around my trees, shrubs, roses and flower beds. It has been such an inspiring experience as I’ve noticed that the mulched plants are loving it and showing me so by their new healthy
growth. Thanks to Janice, I won’t be giving my leaves away. Happy Fall!
Love love love this post & subsequent comments. Will be sharing with those I too have been trying to convince to stop “fall clean-up”, as a gift to our pollinators, insect and feathered friends. Helps prove I am not simply lazy, making excuses, lol. Thank you everyone!
Having had my share of side-eye from the neighbors I know the struggle is real! Thank you for sharing your experience (and thank you for passing along the whys!).
Fall is for soil building! Excellent post. Here in northern Nevada our soil lacks organic matter. Why bag leaves in plastic for the landfill and then buy soil amendments in spring, when chopped leaves make it easy to add organic matter to garden beds? Old habits die hard, but posts such as this help change perspectives.
Yes! We are oddities in our neiborhood. We do take leaves off our lawn, but put them into piles around the bases of the trees they have fallen from. We also use them as protection for sensitive plants and for our rose bushes. Lady Bigs and other beneficial insects take up residence and protect the roses from the insects that want to eat them. To keep leaves from blowing away once piled, simply give the pile a watering. You will be amazed, but the pile will stick together all winter, and by April will be decomposed having provided so much benefit to the plants.
So much weight off of my gardening shoulders! Thank you.
I have an extensive perennial garden and I NEVER clean it up til Spring. It allows for a beautiful landscape after a snow, as well as leaving a habitat for birds and butterflies