Cutting back your gardens this fall does not mean you need to keep your landscape bare! 

This summer, you have had help from your local wildlife in keeping your gardens healthy and happy, not to mention a popular hang out spot! Be sure to keep these garden friends in mind when preparing for the winter!

Birds

Native birds like black-capped chickadees, northern cardinals, and blue jays rely on our landscape for shelter and food throughout the winter. While setting up birdfeeders can be a convenient way to invite these friends to your window, it is also important to help shelter them from the elements. Keeping your evergreens unwrapped, native grasses kept long, and allowing your native shrubs to seed are great ways to encourage your garden buddies to thrive over the winter. 

By planting native shrubs like dogwoods, cedars, viburnums, serviceberries, and raspberries, you can feed your local wildlife long after you've enjoyed the fruits and flowers of the summer. Shop native plants today!

Insects

Some insects can be incredibly beneficial to your growing season. Bugs like spiders, dragonflies, and ladybugs help remove pests like mosquitoes, aphids, and fungus from your gardens. You can create shelters for these beneficial buddies by leaving small leaf or garden debris piles for them to hibernate or lay their eggs. Partner up with nature this winter by creating a bug house using old logs and leaf compost in a corner of your lot. 

Urban gardening is a great way to add your own aesthetic to the local greenspace. It is also a way to get involved in the protection of our local wildlife.