SEPTEMBER EXTRA 2019 birdsandblooms.com 15
Brush piles give
brown thrashers
and other birds a
spot to forage.nutrients for the plants
growing in your soil.
Let at least one area of
your garden serve as a
wild space, David advises.
Even if it’s only a couple
square feet, local fauna
reap the benefits. Create a
small pile of leaves, sticks,
stems and rocks for tiny
insects seeking shelter.
Leave ornamental grasses
untouched until early
spring. Dead flowers
and leftover seed heads
feed birds into fall and
provide nesting materials
for breeding pairs in the
following year.
This approach might
also help you zero in on
your yard. “It reinforces
the need for gardeners
to take notes,” David
says. Keep detailed
information on your
landscape to recognize
year-to-year problems
and create solutions for
future growing seasons.
You may notice that
certain plants aren’t a
good fit for your space
and should be removed.
Of course, some spots
may still call for cleanup.
Most vegetables have
diseases that carry intothe next growing season,
and the dead leaves of
some plants, like roses,
are susceptible to fungal
blight. Stop the spread by
removing those types of
dead plant material every
fall or early winter.
The messy gardening
movement is picking up
steam nationwide. Some
organizations, including
The Nature Conservancy
and the Cornell Lab of
Ornithology, have even
collected pledges from
those who promise to be
a little more lazy with
their landscaping.ANNUAL
CLEANUP
CHECKLIST
KEEP:
Sticks and rock piles
Dead leaves
Flower stalks and
seed heads
REMOVE:
Diseased plants
Dead annuals
Vegetable garden
debris
Fallen rose leaves