How to Prepare Your Garden for Wildlife in New Jersey

With the days growing shorter, the last family shore trips of the year are quickly being replaced with holiday plans and football games. The golden days of autumn are here, and with it, the urge to close up the garden for the season, cutting back spent flowers and raking up every last leaf in time for the town's leaf pickup. For many of us here in New Jersey, it’s a familiar routine—preparing the yard for its long winter rest.

But behind its crunchy, colorless surface, your garden is still alive, its roots intertwined with the local wildlife preparing for the colder months ahead. The birds, insects, and small creatures that thrive in our backyards are seeking shelter—under leaves, inside hollow stems, or nestled in the soil. By leaving parts of your garden a little wild and embracing the natural rhythm of the season, you can create a winter sanctuary for the more wild residents of your neighborhood.

Here are some wildlife-friendly tips to help winterize your garden while supporting the natural ecosystem around you.

1. Leave the Leaves

Leaves provide an important overwintering habitat for beneficial insects like butterflies, moths, and bees. They also act as a natural mulch, helping to protect plant roots from the cold and add nutrients back into the soil as they break down. According to the Xerces Society, many pollinators rely on leaf litter for shelter, and leaving leaves can provide the perfect microhabitat for them during the winter.

2. Hold Off on Cutting Back Perennials

It’s common to cut back dead or dying perennials in the fall, but leaving even some of them standing in your garden beds can offer shelter and food sources for local wildlife. Seed heads from plants like coneflowers (Echinacea) and black-eyed Susans (Rudbeckia) provide much-needed food for birds. Hollow stems are wonderful nesting sites for solitary bees and other beneficial insects. Wait until early spring to trim these plants, and you too can be a local bug's best friend!

3. Create Brush Piles for Shelter

Instead of clearing fallen branches and garden debris, consider creating a small brush pile in a corner of your yard. These piles can act as a sanctuary for small critters seeking shelter from the cold winter months. They offer protection from wind and snow, and as they break down, they add organic matter to the soil, further benefiting your garden.

4. Leave Some Bare Ground

Many pollinators, like ground-nesting bees, need exposed soil to dig their nests. This is good news for those who do not want to have their entire yard covered with leaves. Leave a few small patches of bare ground undisturbed and you can help these pollinators be as snug as a bug in a rug! These areas will provide nesting sites for beneficial pollinators that overwinter underground and emerge in spring ready to pollinate your plants.

5. Provide Water and Food Sources

As temperatures drop, natural food and water sources can become scarce, especially with the drought we have been experiencing. If you are someone who feels that the winter is too dull and quiet, try adding a bird feeder to help sustain local birds throughout the winter. The local birds will love it and their cheery cheeps and tweets will brighten up even the darkest winter day!

6. Avoid Using Pesticides

Even in the colder months, it's important to limit the use of pesticides in your garden. Many insects, including beneficial ones, overwinter in the soil, leaf litter, or plant debris, and pesticide use can harm them even when they're dormant. Instead, rely on natural pest control methods and let the ecosystem maintain its balance.

By incorporating these simple practices into your winter gardening routine, you’ll not only help local wildlife survive the colder months but also encourage a healthier, more vibrant garden come spring. Remember, a little bit of mess can go a long way in supporting biodiversity right here in New Jersey.

For more detailed guidance on how to support pollinators and other beneficial wildlife throughout the year, check out the Xerces Society’s Bring Back the Pollinators campaign here.