©Marlene Condon
September 5, 2020
Come fall, most gardeners clean up the garden and put it “to bed.” But if you care about our natural world, you should consider leaving it alone. Numerous kinds of wildlife are getting ready for winter, and a hands-off attitude in autumn will benefit them. They will repay you next year when you begin a new gardening season.
The falling leaves that pile up along your garden fence create a haven where Gray Treefrogs and Spring Peepers can hibernate. Next spring, as temperatures rise and these amphibians awaken, they will climb up into your trees and shrubs to feed upon insects and spiders, and thus limit their numbers to a level that your plants can support without incurring serious harm.
Some species of spiders and insects take refuge within your dying and drying garden plants to try to survive the winter in an inactive adult state. Other species will soon perish, leaving behind eggs, larvae, or pupae on or within plants to carry on the line — if they survive the searching eyes of numerous predators still active in cold weather.
Watch your garden throughout the winter and you will see birds, such as Downy Woodpeckers and Carolina Chickadees, clinging to and poking your brown plants. They are looking for the insects and spiders, in whatever form, that provide our avian creatures with the fat and protein they require to survive this harshest time of the year.
If there are plants and food aplenty during the winter, birds that are permanent residents of the area may build nests next spring in your yard. As winter comes to an end, you simply need to cut up the old plant stalks a bit and let them lie where they fall. Many kinds of birds (for example, Carolina Wrens) use these old stems, along with those dried leaves that sheltered the treefrogs, to construct their nests and cannot reproduce without them.
The dried plant material that the birds don’t take will be recycled into the soil for the benefit of your growing plants. As snails and slugs become active, they will be delighted to find their favorite food (decaying plant and animal matter) waiting for them to feed upon. When these unusual organisms are provided with such a fine smorgasbord, they don’t bother your growing plants. Instead, they help to fertilize them—which is exactly what their function in your garden is supposed to be.
A nature-friendly garden saves you money, time, and effort because you don’t interfere with Mother Nature’s system of checks and balances that exists to keep the environment functioning properly. You won’t need pesticides that harm nontarget species, or sicken or kill animals that feed upon pesticided critters and get poisoned themselves. Amphibians, such as salamanders and toads, are especially prone to herbicide poisoning because of their absorbent skin.
To enjoy the lovely songs and beauty of birds, the sights and sounds of numerous kinds of wildlife, and a calmer and thus more satisfying manner of gardening, relax this fall!