SUPPORTING POLLINATORS AFTER A FREEZE – EMBRACING IMPERFECTION IN THE GARDEN
By Lauren Simpson
The deep freeze has come and gone, and our gardens look pretty dreary, with leaves drooping and flowers fading. We want to prune, pull, and put in order! But bees, butterflies, and other pollinators need us to wait just a little longer. Here are three ways that we can embrace imperfection in our gardens to help pollinators emerge safely from winter.
- Embrace the stems.
After a freeze, our first impulse is to prune dormant stems and twigs. But leaving these intact through early spring can help bees. The vast majority of our native bees are ” solitary ,” meaning that they don’t nest in hives like honey bees. Instead, females lay their eggs in nesting compartments dedicated to their own offspring. Roughly 30% of solitary bees nest in wood, hollow or pithy plant stems, and other cavities. The young of the tiny bees nesting in stems won’t emerge until the spring, so cutting back old stems too early can harm the bees developing inside. The solution is to leave these stems intact through early spring. Read more about attracting and supporting stem-nesting bees here: https://www.houzz.com/magazine/small-carpenter-bees-are-looking-for-a-home-in-your-plant-stems-stsetivw-vs~39422662?utm_source=238TH+&utm_campaign=newsletter&utm_medium=email
- Embrace the leaves.
We should also allow fallen leaves to remain in our garden beds because they shelter many kinds of wildlife , including beneficial insects . For example, the adults of some butterflies will overwinter in leaf piles, while some moth and butterfly caterpillars spend winter wrapped in a leaf. And beneficial insects that eat garden pests will also shelter here. So as much as possible, leave the leaves.
- Embrace the “weeds.”
Nectar is a commodity in short supply after a deep freeze. So especially when our gardens are bare, we let early-blooming wildflowers flourish in our landscape─for example, Wood Sorrels , Crow Poison , and Carolina Geranium . This also means we wait as long as possible to mow when the grass is dormant in winter. Not only does less mowing allow these nectar sources to grow when little else does, but it also reduces air pollution and leaves wildlife undisturbed.
By embracing a little imperfection, we can help pollinators a lot!
Links to more on her garden and organizations to contact about similar certifications:
- facebook.com/St-Julians-Crossing-wildlife-habitat-1609337762653792/
- iNaturalist: https://www.inaturalist.org/?utm_source=238TH+&utm_campaign=newsletter&utm_medium=email
(user name: “laurenjansensimpson”).
- Monarch Watch: https://www.monarchwatch.org/?utm_source=238TH+&utm_campaign=newsletter&utm_medium=email
- National Wildlife Federation Certified Wildlife Habitat: https://www.nwf.org/Garden-for-Wildlife/Certify?utm_source=238TH+&utm_campaign=newsletter&utm_medium=email
- Monarch Watch Waystation / National Wildlife Federation: https://www.nwf.org/~/media/PDFs/Garden-for-Wildlife/Monarch-Conservation-in-Americas-Cities_Guide-121715.pdf?utm_source=238TH+&utm_campaign=newsletter&utm_medium=email
- North American Butterfly Association Certified Butterfly Garden
