Top 5 things to Do (and Avoid doing) To help our Pollinators this Fall
This is the first of a series of articles written by an EHS member, Sarah Joy Bennett.
As gardeners, it is easy for us to notice the amazing work done by our busy native pollinators. Whenever we are digging, planting and tending, there they are, floating and buzzing around us, pollinating our plants and bringing our garden to life. Bees, and butterflies are an intrinsic part of the pollination and healthy growth of nearly all plant life, and when we see the alarming rate at which their numbers have been declining, due to loss of habitat and climate change, we feel called upon to do what we can to help out. Here are my top 5 things to do, and not to do, in your garden this fall that will make a big impact on the health of your native pollinators.
Skip Garden Cleanup
I know, I know - this is going to be hard! Your hands itch for the snippers when you see those straggly hosta stems. But wait! This past summer’s dead stems are the prime nesting ground for bees and other pollinators to spend the winter. If we keep our gardens well manicured and bare, there is nowhere for them to burrow and make a winter home. Leave the cleanup until LATE in the spring, after the bees have woken up and flown off. Have a friend hide your secateurs (to remove temptation), have a glass of what you like best (to calm your cleanup jitters), and learn to appreciate nature’s “rough-around-the-edges” beauty.
Don’t Bag your Leaves
While you are relaxing, enjoying the fall and not cleaning up the garden, why not take it a step further and leave your leaves until spring? Many butterfly caterpillars drop down from the trees to pupate using leaves as cover and protection in the winter months. Raking and bagging the leaves destroys those chrysalises. Instead, you can gently rake the leaves onto your beds and leave in place there - that will give the added bonus of mulching your plants at the same time!
Leave some Deadwood
I know I am going against every “tidy garden” instinct, but hear me out: many bee species overwinter in holes burrowed into dead wood, so if you have fallen branches (and unfortunately, most of us have had plenty come down in recent storms) don’t haul them to the curb. Find an out of the way spot in your garden and make a little stick pile, use some as edging on your beds, or simply tuck them in behind your taller plants. They can be out of the way, but still incredibly useful as a winter home to sleeping bees.
Plant a Tree
Don’t worry - even if you can’t tidy, you can still get out in your garden and get your hands dirty! The fall is an ideal time to plant trees and shrubs. Seek out some native species that are a good fit to your light and soil requirements, and they will provide so much to your garden’s ecosystem, from a nesting site for birds and pollinators, to a source of food in pollen, to shelter in the winter. If you’ve lost a tree in one of this summer’s storms, now would be a wonderful time to choose a native tree (or two!) to replace it. The fall is also a good time to plant some native Ontario plants - now that the worst of the heat is past, your plugs and transplants will take much better.
Plant Some Spring Bulbs
Remember, the thaw is coming earlier these days, which means the bees are waking early, sometimes before there is enough blooming for them to eat! Help them out by adding some early blooming spring bulbs or some early flowering trees/shrubs like serviceberry, choke cherry or eastern redbud to your landscape - now is an excellent time to plant them!