How to Do Spring Garden Cleanup for Pollinators and Wildlife

Every year the same thing happens. We’ll get a string of sunny, warm days in late winter / early spring which causes something inside me to start screaming, “It’s spring!” At the same time, a familiar “itch” is triggered. I call it my “gardening itch.” You know the one – the desire to play in the dirt, work in your garden, and see things start to grow again.

At first the warm weather only lasts a few days before the next cold spell settles in, which quiets the screaming and lessens the itch. It’s relatively easy at that point to remind myself that it is still winter. But as the warm spells begin to last longer and the first ephemeral spring wildflowers begin to bloom, the screaming and gardening itch become almost irresistible.

I know that it is going to get cold again. In fact, it’s quite likely that we’ll get another snowstorm, maybe multiple snowstorms, before winter is truly over for the year. But none of that matters. I want to get out and play in my gardens.

I know I’m not the only one who feels this way. Most gardeners I know struggle with similar feelings as winter slowly begins to release its hold on their part of the world. It’s one of the reasons why gardening centers often fill up with flowers so early in the season. They wouldn’t do that if there wasn’t a market of hungry gardeners dying to get their hands dirty, even if we know it’s still too early.

So, what can we do to scratch that gardening itch during this late winter / early spring period? Spring garden cleanup can be a tempting answer, especially if you followed a more ecological garden cleanup routine last fall. However, that may or may not be the best answer.

There is a wealth of information available regarding fall garden cleanup routines for pollinators and wildlife. At Backyard Ecology™, we’ve contributed to that stockpile of information with a blog, podcast, and video on the topic.

However, as multiple people have pointed out to me, there’s a relative dearth of information available about what to do in the spring after you’ve delayed doing the tasks in the fall. Which of those tasks still need to be done? And when? So, let’s try to fill that gap by talking about spring garden cleanup for pollinators and wildlife.

Remember, traditional fall garden cleanup routines typically focus on removing things like fallen leaves and dead vegetation. These practices are based on agricultural needs and routines, but don’t serve the same purposes in pollinator and wildlife gardens or larger habitats.

When gardening for pollinators and wildlife or creating larger habitats, it is recommended that you leave the leaves and allow dead vegetation to remain standing whenever possible. This provides places for all kinds of insect eggs, chrysalises, cocoons, caterpillars, salamanders, songbirds, and a variety of other critters to find shelter or forage throughout the winter.

Let’s start by talking about all those leaves that you left during the fall. If you left them pretty much where they fell, then odds are that most of the leaves will have naturally disappeared over the winter. In that case… problem solved. There’s no work or cleanup to be done.

If you piled your leaves up in an empty garden bed or the back corner of your yard, then you likely still have a good number of leaves left in that location. So, now what? This is where it gets tricky, and you have to make some decisions.

Many of the insects overwintering in the pile of leaves will have emerged by the time the nighttime temperatures are consistently above 50 degrees Fahrenheit. But, there will be some that won’t emerge until later. Plus, new critters may be moving into the pile at any time to do their own thing.

If you can designate that area as “the leaf pile” and just leave the leaves there, then that will ensure that all the animals in the pile are able to keep doing their thing. This fall, you can add your new leaves to the pile and just let it be a perpetual leaf pile if you want.

Another possibility is to wait as long as you can before doing anything, preferably until after the lows are consistently above 50 degrees. Then spread the pile out for a day or two so that any new critters who were seeking shelter in the pile have a chance to move on. At that point you can mulch, burn, or otherwise cleanup the pile of leaves while impacting the fewest animals who may still be in the leaves.

Allowing your dead flower stalks and other vegetation to remain standing in the fall is commonly recommended to provide overwintering locations for insects such as stem nesting bees. The standing vegetation also allows for eggs, butterfly chrysalises, or other insects which may be on the plant to continue to develop and be ready to emerge at the appropriate time the following year.

Cutting the vegetation back and disposing of it too early can negate the good you tried to do in the fall by leaving the vegetation. So, when is the right time to cut things back? I’ve heard a variety of recommendations – after daytime temps are consistently above 50 degrees, after nighttime temperatures are consistently above 50 degrees, after you’ve put away all your winter clothes, after it’s safe to plant tomatoes outside without protection, etc.

Personally, I wait until the redbuds bloom because I know that there are stem nesting bees and wasps in my area that are active at that time of year. However, I also know that there is still the potential for chrysalises, eggs, and other insects to be on the vegetation I remove. So, I gently pile that vegetation somewhere that it can remain until all the insects have had a chance to leave.

When cutting back your dead vegetation, leave approximately 10-24 inches of stem standing in the ground. This will provide the current year’s crop of stem nesting bees a place to nest. It won’t take long for the stems to disappear as new growth hides the bare stems.

Another important consideration in the spring, and which isn’t directly related to fall garden cleanup, is when and how often to begin mowing. I’ve already written an article that dives deep into that topic. Rather than repeat all the information in that article, I’m just going to encourage you to read that article.

All the spring garden cleanup activities we’ve talked about so far only take into account the needs of the insects or other critters that might be using the leaves or dead vegetation. But, we’re talking about our yards and gardens. We’re as much a part of those ecosystems as the critters that we’re trying to attract and support. So, we need to find a balance that takes our needs into consideration too – just like I talked about doing for our fall garden cleanup routines.

Your balance may be different than mine or anyone else’s, and that’s ok. There are all kinds of ways to get creative and find balances or compromises that work for you and the pollinators and wildlife.

For example, if you have flower stalks or other vegetation that you left standing in the fall but they’re now falling over and becoming a nuisance as you walk by, then go ahead and cut them back regardless of whether “it’s time.” You can still leave other vegetation that is “behaving better” or is in a location where it doesn’t matter if it leans a bit. Even if you cut it all back early, maybe you can move the cut vegetation someplace where it can remain until any critters in or on it have a chance to emerge later in the season.

Or another example might be redoing a garden bed or other area. Many of us, myself included, have at some point made the mistake of planting a species which is too aggressive for the space where we put it. Eventually, we may decide to completely redo that bed so that it better serves the purpose that we want it to serve.

Depending on the species and your schedule, late winter / early spring might be a good time to get started on that project, which might mean removing vegetation before “it’s time.” That’s fine. There’s no “perfect” time to do something like that, so just do it when you have time and enjoy the long-term benefits.

Remember, plants in the wild are always getting trampled, eaten, or broken off which gives us a lot of leeway in managing our gardens. Take advantage of that when looking for creative ways to scratch your gardening itch and do any necessary spring garden cleanup.