A different approach to Fall clean up…

The New England Aster (Sympphyotrichum novae-angliae) and Smooth Blue Aster (Symphyotrichum laeve) are blooming and adding some bright color to my Fall yard as the other flowers start to fade and dry up. Monarch butterfly travelers continue to make a “pit stop” on the remaining blooms for the journey to Mexico. Some painted lady butterflies have been visiting too!. I found a 5th instar Monarch caterpillar this week on some aging swamp milkweed (Asclepias incarnata). I was surprised and initially happy see the little guy but this also made me sad as there is not enough time for it to form its chrysalis and emerge as a butterfly that will make the long journey south.

A native landscape provides sustenance and protection for the visitors passing through as well as the full time inhabitants. If you take time to look you will find so much life everywhere, feasting on the remaining green leaves and plant matter, hiding under fallen dried leaves and hunkering down in old stems for a winter nap. We sterilize our landscape each Fall when we rake and remove the dried leaves, cut down the weathered stalks and remove the old seed heads. With that activity and practice we take away the potential for the next growing season. This year consider taking a different approach to Fall clean up. Leave the leaves and dried vegetation in your garden beds for the bees, moths, and butterflies to overwinter in the organic litter. Keep the dried flower heads for winter garden interest and more importantly to provide an ongoing feast through the cold months for the bird inhabitants. The new life for the next growing season is already here. Give it what it needs to make it to that next seaon!