10/22/2026
It's that time of year when things really begin to slow down in the garden. While all those beautiful pictures of perfectly tidied gardens may lead us to believe it's time to start cleaning everything up for winter, I've learned that sometimes doing less work can actually do more good.
Leaving some of the garden standing through winter provides food and shelter for many of the little friends that call our yards home. Seed heads offer a winter snack for birds, while hollow stems, fallen leaves, and other plant material provide places for beneficial insects to overwinter. These are some of the small things that help build a healthier, more balanced garden ecosystem and can even help with pest management in the seasons ahead.
Another thing I've come to appreciate is just how valuable fallen leaves are. Rather than hauling them all away, use them as mulch in your garden beds. They're fabulous for building soil as they break down, and if you don't particularly love the look, a light layer of bark over the top can tidy things up. Don't have many deciduous trees in your yard? This is a wonderful opportunity to get to know your neighbors a little better or lend a hand to friends with their raking duties.
Mulching now also helps protect our soil from erosion with all that rain headed our way. I'll personally be working on adding more terracing to my garden as well. Living on a hill has taught me a thing or two about what torrential downpours can wash away, and those heavy rains seem to be becoming more common.
And perhaps the best part of all this is that a little less fall cleanup means a little more time to simply enjoy the garden. There's plenty happening out there, even when it looks like everything is slowing down.
