Every fall I watch the great cutback begin — perennials sheared to the ground, gardens tidied into submission. And every fall I want to say: leave some of it standing.
Those hollow stems are winter apartments. Native bees, ladybugs, lacewings — half the beneficial insects in your garden overwinter in last year's growth. Cut it all down and bag it, and you've evicted your own pest control.
I'm not saying let it go wild. Just leave the back of the border standing until spring. The birds will work the seed heads all winter, and you'll be rewarded for your restraint. Tidiness is overrated; habitat isn't.
