Mario Bautista
I don’t mind cleaning up my raised beds for winter. I enjoy the brisk air and the opportunity to get my hands in the dirt one last time. But last year’s flowers, particularly the calendulas and Iceland poppies, lasted until the end of October.
Ms. Weather might prove me wrong, but so far, it looks like there will be as many flowering plants this year as last. During September, I pulled out plants that were long past their prime. Even the bumblebees ignored them.
But when and what to clean up?
And, do you really need to tidy up your garden?
As the chill of autumn creeps in and the days grow shorter, many gardeners feel the urge to tidy up their flowerbeds. *They* say you should clear away those late-blooming flowers and cut back perennials to make everything look neat and orderly.
But hold on a second! Before you grab your kitchen scissors and pruning shears, let’s explore why leaving your garden a little messy this fall could be beneficial for both your plants and local wildlife.
LET MOTHER NATURE DO HER THING
First off, it’s important to know that nature has its own rhythm, and sometimes our desire for a perfectly manicured garden or lawn doesn’t align with that.
The dead stems and leaves left behind in your flower beds serve several crucial purposes. (Puschki seed heads are especially beautiful, don’t you think?). Instead of rushing to clear everything away, consider the advantages of letting your garden remain a bit untidy.
Before I go further, we’re talking about flowers here, not vegetable crops. That’s because it is not a good idea to leave cabbage, kale, and other brassicas in the ground over the winter. You’re likely to end up with a root maggot infestation or club root problem.
The dead stems and leaves act as insulation for plant roots during the cold winter months. They help to maintain a more stable temperature in the soil, protecting delicate root systems from the damaging freeze-thaw cycles we experience here.
And so, if you cut everything back, you expose those roots to freezing temperatures, which can stress or even kill your plants.
Many beneficial insects overwinter in the debris of your garden. Let’s take hover flies, those yellow and black flies that resemble wasps. The larvae of these flies can be found in garden debris, feeding on pests like aphids. Yes, aphids do overwinter.
By leaving at least some wilted plant matter in place, you’re providing a safe haven for these helpful predators that will keep pest populations in check come spring. (Notice I didn’t mention slugs).
Birds are an important part of your garden’s ecosystem, and the seeds left behind in your flower bed provide a vital food source during the winter. During winter, you’ll likely see birds, like the Pacific wren, pecking around your garden, searching for seeds and insects hidden in the debris. It’s a wonderful way to support our local wildlife.
As organic matter decomposes over the winter, it enriches the soil, adding nutrients that promote healthy plant growth in the spring. Image, this happens while you sleep, without you doing a thing! You won’t need to add as much compost or kelp.
Let’s face it: who wants to spend time cleaning up the garden when there are other fun activities to pursue? By leaving the tidying until spring, you’ll have less to collect, as much of the debris will have broken down over the winter. Like magic, when the ice and snow melts, you’ll be left with just a few easy-to-manage stems to cut back. At least, that’s the theory.
Plant debris acts as a protective layer as well, safeguarding the soil from erosion caused by heavy rains, or desiccation caused by westerly winds. This helps maintain soil structure (also known as ‘tilth’), keeping it fluffy, healthy, and fertile.
Keeping some plants in place can help trap snow in your garden, and that’s a good thing. Snow serves as a natural insulator, a quilt that protects your perennials, rhododendrons and other shrubs by maintaining a more stable soil temperature. When the ground is bare during a deep freeze, as we’ve seen with salmonberry bushes, the lack of insulation can lead to their demise.
Dead plant material can help retain moisture in the soil; and improve drainage. Heads up: If water pools up on top of your soil, letting plants rot in place and turning in compost and other organics will solve your problem.
Finally, soil enriched by organic matter is fluffier, which means weeds are easier to pull! Woohoo!
While the instinct to tidy up your garden in autumn is understandable, taking a step back and considering the benefits of leaving it a little messy can lead to a healthier, more vibrant garden.
In the words of Masanobu Fukuoka, author of The One-Straw Revolution” and practiced and developed the idea of “Natural Farming” and “do-nothing” farming:
The usual way to go about developing a method is to ask ‘How about trying this?’ or ‘How about trying that?’
“This only results in making the farmer busier.
“My way was opposite. I was aiming at a pleasant, natural way of farming which results in making the work easier instead of harder: ‘How about not doing this? How about not doing that?’”
Instead of viewing autumn cleanup as a necessity, see it as an opportunity to support pollinators and wildlife, enrich your soil, and ultimately, make your gardening life a little easier come spring. So, take a deep breath, grab a warm drink, and enjoy the beauty of the season without the pressure to tidy up. At least, not yet!
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