What To Leave In Your Garden In The Fall

by Texas Homesteader ~

You can embrace the beauty of autumn while still promoting biodiversity in your garden. When the gardening season comes to a close, there’s still a way your garden can provide… for wildlife!

It’s not what you add, but what you leave that provides so well for birds & beneficial insects when the cold wind blows. I’m sharing things you can leave in your garden to provide for wildlife and create vibrant biodiversity in your garden.

What To Leave In A Fall Garden For Birds & Small Creatures

Fall is typically a season when gardeners are spending time cleaning out dead plants and tidying up the garden. But you can provide for birds and other wildlife by leaving things alone for a while.

According to The University of New Hampshire, leaving leaves & flower stalks in your garden during the winter months can provide essential food and shelter for birds, beneficial insects, etc. and help them survive the bleak cold months. (reference link below)

Here’s a few easy ways I provide for small critters during those cold winter months here on our NE Texas Homestead:

Berries Provide Winter Food For Birds

I have several Beauty Berry bushes in my gardens. I love them because their blooms are a delight for our honeybees in the spring and the pretty clusters of purple berries are beautiful for me during the summer.

But after the leaves fall from the branches, those berries remain. And birds such as Mockingbirds & Cardinals feed from them all winter long!

Leave The Leaves To Help Birds & Beneficial Insects!

Don’t be in too big a hurry to rake up leaves. Those dry leaves that fluttered from surrounding trees can help provide food for birds and shelter for other small creatures.

According to the Conservation Foundation, many insects hibernate in leaf litter including larvae and cocoons of many butterflies and moths. (reference below)

Fireflies and other insects also rely on fallen leaves to survive. It’s Mother Nature’s way of providing!

Small Piles Of Twigs, Branches or Stalks

I plant Sunflowers each year in my chicken yard. Those sunflowers offer food for the bees, shade for the chickens and beauty for me during the growing season.

But at the end of the season when there is nothing remaining but the spent blooms/seeds & stalks, I cut the stalk about a foot off the ground and pile them in a corner of the chicken yard. The seed heads provide food for the birds and the small stack of stems provides protection from the harsh elements for other tiny creatures.

And by leaving short stalks when you cut back your garden plants (especially those with hollow stalks like sunflowers) they become a home for other beneficial insects like native bees to overwinter as well.

Seeds From Spent Plants & Flowers

I often plant basil and stevia as part of my Edible Landscape plan.

But at the end of the season, instead of deadheading the plants I leave the spent plants with their seedy stems. The birds feast on them all winter long. I’ll cut the plants back in the spring just in time for the new plants.

So if you’re thinking about clearing out your garden, take a break. Think about leaving some food and shelter for birds and small creatures during the cold winter months.

~ TxH~

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