By Lindsey Spaulding, Botany Landscape Team Lead
With fall just around the corner, and leaves beginning to drop, I wanted to send out some helpful resources and reminders on how to help the gardens wind down for the year!
Highlight #1: Leave the leaves
For years, our culture encourages us to pick up all the leaves that land on the ground and send them away to the landfill or local organic resource center. But, there is a MUCH better solution, leave them on your property and in your garden beds. Nature knows how to recycle and use those leaves best, as a natural mulch, home for overwintering caterpillars, and as a way to replenish the soil with needed nutrients.
“Leaving the leaves and other plant debris doesn’t have to mean sacrificing your yard to the wilderness. The leaves don’t need to be left exactly where they fall. You can rake them into garden beds, around tree bases, or into other designated areas. Too many leaves can kill grass, but in soil they can suppress weeds, retain moisture, and boost nutrition.
Avoid shredding leaves with a mower. Raking or blowing (electric) are alternatives that will keep leaves whole for the best cover and protect the insects and eggs already living there.
If you decide you need to clean up the leaves and debris in spring, make sure you wait until late in the season so as not to destroy all the life you’ve worked to protect.” - Xerces society
Highlight #2: More garden beds + shade gardens
If you find yourself with more leaves than garden beds can handle, may I suggest creating more native garden beds? The term soft landings was coined by Heather Holmes and speaks to the importance of the area directly underneath trees, where overwintering caterpillars and other native bugs spend the winter if there is a plant community already there. These plant communities are vital to supporting local ecosystems, birds especially, because they require significant numbers of caterpillars in the spring to raise their young! If there are no soft landings and natural areas, there are no places for caterpillars to over winter, which means no food sources for those lovely birds to raise their brood. Shade gardens are a truly unsung hero and can be absolutely beautiful. Plus, the more shade gardens you have, the less raking you have to do in the fall to move leaves into garden beds. Here is a great video about landscaping for shade gardens!
Ps- we have a shade garden kit as part of our fall presale to make your fall project that much easier!
Highlight #3: Let your garden grow wild
This Ted Talk by Rebecca McMackin has picked up a lot of interest in the last year and I want to give those who are new to the concept of native gardening a chance to understand why it is so important to have a native garden.
“Many gardeners work hard to maintain clean, tidy environments ... which is the exact opposite of what wildlife wants, says ecological horticulturist Rebecca McMackin. She shows the beauty of letting your garden run wild, surveying the success she's had increasing biodiversity even in the middle of New York City — and offers tips for cultivating a garden that can be home to birds, bees, butterflies and more.”