The garden season is beginning, with our spring ephemerals well on their way to blooming and providing much needed food for our early pollinators. If you’re like me, you are eagerly getting out into the blustery garden doing prep work. Whether this is just purely due to excitement, to prune, to get a jump on chores before the weeds consume most of your time, or all of the above! This is a perfect opportunity to consider how you want to tidy, as different methods can provide benefit not only to your aesthetics and the health of your garden, but our native flora, fauna and troglofaunal... or insects.

            The way we clean, snip and mulch can hinder or facilitate these insects and animals. In turn, if we support them, they provide pollination and natural defense to our gardens. I personally don’t like to use anything sprayed or applied in my garden, not only for my own health, but for the health of these beneficial insects. As many serious gardeners come to learn with trial and error, Mother Nature knows best. We as gardeners and lovers of the wild world can support her and reap the benefits in many ways. While there are things to consider like “feeding your soil not your plants” or the use of physical barriers, today we will be focusing mainly on clean up, nutrients and nesting sites.

Impeccably tidy gardens have become part of our culture and often feel like best practice for reasons of appearance and misconceptions regarding what is “healthiest” for the plants. In truth, these methods can lack areas for our helpful predatory insects or amphibians to nest and hibernate, or seeds that provide essential nutrients for our native birds. Taking leaves off our property leaves (no pun intended) few places for moths and butterfly pupae to overwinter, while also removing valuable nutrients to compost back into the soil. This all comes with little extra, or less effort on our parts other than learning new tactics and a little change of heart, and isn’t the lifelong learning of gardening part of what we cherish when tending our little plots.

            Here are some methods you can begin this year to allow for your little ecosystem to thrive, along with notes on timing and rationale:

-       This Spring, do your best not to chop down what was left over from the winter as far as stems go, as there may be native pollinators already nesting in the them. if you must chop, try doing so in a “mounds” as you would prune flowers to give a look of intention. Remember, this years growth will cover the old stems. When doing so attempt to spare 8-24” of varying heights of stems for nesting. According to the Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation, this is the ideal height to support a variety of pollinators (The Xerces Society, 2020). Also, if you are concerned about having bees and wasps around, refer to their article for great information that can calm your fears.

-       Mulching too early or too thick, can suffocate bees or pupae of other pollinators who have nested in the ground, which is about 70% of our native bee population, or under leaf litter (The Xerces Society, 2020). If you are going to mulch, wait until daytime temperatures are at least 50 degrees or more, to allow bees to leave their nests.

-       In spring, plant natives! Millions of years of evolution have gone into the relationship that insects and plants have developed. Not only plant to insect but insect to insect and plant to plant. Diversity, as with anything, is what keeps our world beautiful and balanced. With all our invasive plants spreading across the country, we are developing monocultures (spaces occupied by one plant species) which reduces biodiversity, and lacks the support for our native insects, whether it’s due to hosting abilities or as food sources with flower type or bloom time restriction. This in turn reduces food sources for other animals and birds due to reduced insect populations; a vicious cycle as you can see. Some plants even change the soil itself. For example, Garlic Mustard is allelopathic. This means the chemicals it produces can inhibit other plants from growing in that area. It is also reported that these chemicals can inhibit mycorrhizal fungi, the beneficial fungus that helps trees absorb water (NJAES Rutgers, 2023)

o   The National Wildlife Federation has a wonderful “Plant Finder” based on your zip code and will make it easy for you to find what plants are native to your area and tells you specifically what insects they host. Join your local native plant society and keep an eye out for native plant sales, or even get involved and volunteer!

o   When planting, consider planning for all different bloom times, from spring ephemerals to autumn blooming varieties to provided nectar for food. The Mt. Cuba Center has published wonderful trials regarding which cultivars are effective in supporting insects and pollination if you want to add plants to your garden that may not be native. I personally have a mixed garden. Keep in mind many of the double flower cultivars are lacking the reproductive system needed to support insects. (Mt.Cuba Center, 2023)

-       In Summer, create a “bee bath”. This is a fun project that can be completed with little ones. You can even tuck it in with your favorite herbs to prevent mosquitos, but more importantly change the water regularly. Just the other day I was rinsing my dogs and noticed afterwards that a group of honeybees came over to the area of grass when I was finished, and started drinking the left-over droplets off the blades. It was quiet a beautiful thing to watch.

-       In Summer, avoid use of broad spectrum or residual insecticides. While they may kill pests, they also kill our beneficial insects and are not healthy for us. Again, if we allow our insects to do their jobs, many can help reduce populations of pest insects. Recently I found a wheel bug nest as I was cutting down the invasive ailanthus tree (see attached photo). At the time I had no idea what it was, but I looked it up and quickly found out. A little more digging led me to Rutgers University website, where I found that Wheel bugs are a predator of our newest nightmare- The spotted lantern fly (Department of Entomology Rutgers, 2023). So, I stuck that section back in the garden. The wheel bug is a powerhouse for killing insects and they do have good self-defense, so don’t try to handle them, but they are not seeking you out to bite you (Illinois Extension, 2022). You know who else is a predator of the spotted lantern fly? Garden spiders and yellowjackets. Spotted lantern flies are seriously disrupting our food supply, and likely your garden. So as they say, think before you squash... or squish... or spray... the good guys.  

-       In Summer I also like to plant “sacrificial plants” to deter pests from my vegetables. I have a grape vine that I had originally intended for, well grapes, but it has become a staple for keeping the Japanese beetles off my roses. It is quite a sad site, but I leave it to deter the little “buggers”. I also plant a lot of nasturtiums. They may be one of my favorite flowers, their foliage is beautiful, and they are a peppery edible plant. Bonus is they are also a great sacrificial plant. This reduces my need for any sprays. With that being said, some things just don’t make it and I’m OK with that. I love experimenting with interplanting and crop rotation, I find it helpful for pest control, it contributes to soil and plant health, and it looks great! I also love the “ritual” of going into the garden in the morning when all the bugs are slow and tapping Japanese beetles and SLFs into soapy water. Hey, I’m a predator too!

-       In Autumn consider what you will do with fallen leaves. The best option for certain areas of your garden is to let them be. According to The National Wildlife Federation 94% of our moth populations utilize leaf litter for overwintering, including the lunar moth (The National Wildlife Federation, 2019). This is a huge food source for our birds who need these pupa and larvae to feed their young. Many reptiles and amphibians also rely on the extra warmth and protection of the leaf litter.

o   If you have areas of lawn you want free of leaf litter you can move them to your garden, but many of the moths drop from the trees, so consider making perennial beds in the areas of your lawn around the trees.

o   When moving leaves, try to do so quickly after they drop, and use them as mulch in your garden beds. This will help ground nesting pollinator bees find areas to nest, as well as provide alternate sites for snakes and amphibians (don’t forget, they are essential for garden and ecological health too!). Leaving leaves whole is best, but if you don’t like the look, you can shred them. The sooner you do this the more hopeful you can be not to harm insects as they are searching for habitat.

o   If all else fails and you don’t want to utilize the leaves, compost them on your property or offer them to a neighbor. Keeping leaves out of landfills is just fabulous, and it keeps the nutrients on your property. We don’t even rake our leaves that are on the lawn, we just go over them with the mower and we have never had to fertilize our lawn. I also keep a pile to layer over the kitchen compost scraps after I dump them.

-       In Autumn & Winter, as plants die back utilize a “chop & drop” method for stalks of perennial flowers and shrubs that were grown this season. While doing so, remember to leave various lengths of stalks of about 8-24” for nesting sites and some with seed heads. Monarda, also known as bee balm or wild bergamot is a perfect example of a good stalk, as it has a pithy stem (soft wood in the middle, which is easy to burrow into).

o   I like to chop the part I will be “disposing of” into smaller pieces and allow them to fall around the plant to compost and return nutrients to the soil. This also provides good weed suppression as a natural mulch that isn’t too dense/heavy.

o   Remember to leave last year’s stalks standing, as they may currently be housing insects.

-       In Winter, If you notice an old bee hive hanging, let it be. They will not return and it can provide food for other insects, and birds will use pieces of it for their own nests. Last year we had a baldface hornet nest in our driveway tree larger than a football. We got out of our cars every day right below it and even used a chainsaw to cut up our firewood close by, and no one was stung. No one in my family has bee allergies, and by the time I had noticed the nest I realized they weren’t bothering anyone. I also have a decent cabbage moth problem and I’m always hopefully the social bees will choose these caterpillars as their groceries for the nest.

-       In Winter, grab yourself a steaming cup of tea or my favorite, a hot toddy. Sit back and look at the wonderful job you’ve done and dream about all the wonderful activity you’ll witness next spring and summer.

Don’t forget the purpose of what you’re doing, as this can be an adjustment in what you may have previously found visually pleasing. With time you’ll learn to love the winter interest and witnessing the life returning to your home. More importantly it will provide homes for our native butterflies, bees, wasps, moths, and other animals who are an essential part of our food web and life here on Earth. It really feels wonderful to take action, even if you start small. When seeking inspiration check out some places like WeAreTheARK.org, founded by Mary Reynolds and HomeGrownNationalPark.org, co-founded by Doug Tallamy and Michelle Alfandari. Some people like to make signs for their pollinator gardens and there are some really cute ideas out there. This is an opportunity to educate your neighbors if they have questions or concerns, and remember to try not to be judgmental, no one responds well and you could inspire someone in a different stage of learning with a softer approach.

References:

The Xerces Society. 2006-2023. Portland, OR. [accessed 2023 April 1].  https://xerces.org/sites/default/files/publications/18-014.pdf

New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station Rutgers. 2023. New Brunswick, NJ. [Accessed 2023 April 3]. https://njaes.rutgers.edu/fs1212/#:~:text=Research%20shows%20that%20garlic%20mustard,take%20up%20water%20and%20nutrients.

Mt. Cuba Center. 2023. Hockessin, DE. [Accessed 2023 April 3]. https://mtcubacenter.org/research/

Department of Entomology School of Environmental and Biological Sciences
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey. 2023. New Brunswick, NJ. [accessed 2023 April 3]. https://entomology.rutgers.edu/insects.html#:~:text=Some%20feed%20on%20plants%20such,out%20of%20the%20spotted%20lanternfly.

College of Agricultural, Consumer & Environmental Sciences, Illinois Extension. 2022. Urbana, IL. [accessed 2023 April 7]. https://extension.illinois.edu/blogs/good-growing/2022-10-07-wheel-bugs-good-bugs-painful-bite

The National Wildlife Federation. 2019. Merrifield, VA. [accessed 2023 April 1]. https://www.nwf.org/Home/Magazines/National-Wildlife/2020/Dec-Jan/Gardening/Winter-Yards