Unusually, sometimes doing less in your garden provides more benefits for you, for your plants, and for wildlife.
The autumn garden tidy up can be an enjoyable and reflective time, as well as an opportunity to notice some of the autumnal changes such as the emergence of fungi, the opening of seed heads from plants such as poppy and red campion, and of course the vibrant display of changing leaf colours.
But many birds, insects and mammals rely upon the wild and messy parts of a garden into the autumn and crucially, over winter, so don’t be too over-zealous in an attempt to tidy up before the winter.
Here are five ‘less is more in-actions’ that your garden wildlife will thank you for:
- Don’t rake the leaves from your lawn – they will break down naturally and add organic matter and nutrients to the soil.
- Don’t burn or bin leaves and other garden waste – create habitat piles within beds, under shrubs, trees and hedgerows, or tucked into corners. These are ideal habitat for hibernating hedgehogs, frogs, toads, bumblebees, butterflies and many other insects.
- Don’t cut all your lawn – leaving areas of longer grass can benefit many insects such as spiders, beetles, caterpillars and butterflies. They will return the favour next spring and summer by helping to reduce aphid and other troublesome insects.
- Don’t cut back all dead stems – leaving old growth to rot down slowly will provide additional places for insects and other wildlife to feed and hide over the winter, as well as acting as a slow release fertiliser for the soil.
- Don’t cut hedges back – if you want to trim your hedge, wait until all fruit has been used and consider only cutting back part of it in rotation, leaving thick and sheltered areas for birds and other over-wintering wildlife.
Once you have not done all of those and more, grab a blanket and a hot drink, and enjoy sitting outside, noticing the ever changing colours, sounds and smells.