If your fall garden still has seed heads, fallen leaves and a few untidy corners, there may be good reason to leave some of them alone.
Those spaces can provide winter shelter for insects and food for birds. Snohomish Conservation District brought the idea back to readers’ attention this week by sharing Emma Kilgore’s winter-garden guide, first published in December 2021.
The advice also appears in updated guidance from the Xerces Society, dated Sept. 17, 2026. A useful place to start is one part of the yard where you can leave a little habitat through the colder months.
Move leaves where they can stay
Leaves do not have to remain across a walkway to help wildlife. Rake them into a garden bed or another designated area instead. Xerces recommends keeping them whole: shredding can damage insects sheltering among them and removes some of the cover intact leaves provide.
A leaf-covered patch can shelter butterflies and other invertebrates through winter while adding organic material to the soil.
Keep some stems and seed heads
Before cutting everything back, look for perennial stems and seed heads you could leave standing. Seeds offer food for birds, and some native bees use stems as nesting places.
The conservation district distinguishes those plants from diseased material that should be removed. Its guide also cautions against putting diseased plants into a compost pile.
Make room for shelter
A small pile of branches or logs can provide another sheltered corner. Xerces suggests tucking one behind a hedge or planting area if you prefer to keep it out of view. Native plants at different heights can add further habitat, from ground cover to shrubs and trees.
Where possible, limit digging and other soil disturbance around potential nesting places. Ground-nesting bees also spend part of their lives beneath the surface.
Let spring arrive before the big cleanup
Xerces recommends waiting until spring is well underway before removing habitat you have kept through winter. For now, choosing a few areas to leave undisturbed is a manageable start. The garden can look cared for while still leaving its smaller residents somewhere to spend the season.
