To autumn tidy up, or not?
It always used to be the case that come autumn gardeners would clear away all the summers growth, their thinking was that it removes the dose of many pathogens that might have been growing on the leaves – and for things like black spot on roses this is indeed what you should do. But not the whole garden. Nature needs it too, and while we’re using it less over the colder wetter months, why not leave some wild areas. Piles of leaves for bugs to shelter in, ground undisturbed for bumblebees to hibernate, or foliage left where it slumps to allow hedgehogs to create their hibernation nests under it.
Over the years I’ve tidied less and less in autumn and will wait until spring to get the garden ready for the new growing year, and whether or not it’s a coincidence but I’ve seen more hedgehogs in the gardens I tend.
Now there’s probably areas closer to the house, that you look out on maybe, that you’ll want to neaten a bit. Take this image as an example, the long strappy leaves of the crocosmia on the right hand side have fallen onto the lawn, I’ll cut those back so the grass doesn’t die off underneath them, but the rest of the vegetation further back in the border can all stay, to provide valuable habitat.
