written by Emma Harmon
By now, you have probably heard to “leave the leaves” in the fall for overwintering insects. But what else can we do to create habitat in our gardens over winter? Here are some views of my garden right now, in late March.
Leaves that have been raked and left in the garden beds.
Areas of bare dirt left for ground nesting bees.
Stems left standing for cavity-nesting insects.
Fallen or trimmed tree branches left for insect habitat.
Seed heads left for birds.
Garden debris left all winter for insect habitat. Doesn’t that look cozy?
In the later spring, after overwintering insects and queen bees have emerged, I will crush up the leaves to help them compost into the soil. I’ll add mulch, but mostly focus on the edge of my beds to appear “neat” for my neighborhood. But in the interior, I try to use mostly garden debris and plant trimmings as my mulch.
Xerces has an amazing resource called Nesting & Overwintering Habitat for Pollinators & Other Beneficial Insects. Please check it out! And come on over to Facebook to join in our daily native plant conversations.
