Garden Cleanup for Spring

Spring Clean Up in the Garden

If you wandered over to our pollinator garden last summer and fall, I hope you were as excited as I was about the success of our little garden. The flowers were beautiful and attracted lots of bees, butterflies, and other pollinators.

If you have wandered over recently you may be thinking “Why isn’t this garden cleaned up for spring?”. The garden is not neglected, it is providing cover and protection for our overwintering pollinators.

The insects that we worked hard to attract last year haven’t yet awakened from their winter slumber. Some of our native bees lay their eggs in old plant stems and some butterflies and moths overwinter in chrysalids that are hiding under the dead leaves. If we clean up the garden too soon we will discard our pollinators with the dead leaves and garden debris.

So, when should we clean up the garden? The Xerxes Society for Invertebrate Conservation has put out some easy to remember guidelines that can help us remember when it is ok to clean up.
• Have I put the away the snow shovel, mittens and winter coat?
• Would I plant tomatoes now?
• Is the lawn growing tall?
• Have I paid my taxes?
• Are the apples and pears finished blooming?

When the guidelines above are met then it is time to work in the garden. Summer will be here soon enough and the memories of the untidy garden will be lost under the summer blooms.

For more information:
https://xerces.org/blog/dont-spring-into-garden-cleanup-too-soon

Julie Harms