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As the days grow shorter and the temperature starts to dip, wildlife activity in the garden often intensifies. Check out our pollinator page for additional ideas. Our butterfly checklist details all of Maryland’s butterflies and the plants they use.

Sow seeds and plan out next year’s garden.

O ne exception: if plants are diseased, then it’s usually best to prune and discard cuttings to prevent harboring pests that may hinder next year’s growth. Generally, by the time the grass needs its first cut in the spring, the pollinators have emerged. These areas also provide winter shelter and food for birds. Sometimes, these stalks harbor chrysalises or pupal cases from local insects like native bees. Besides leaving leaves, consider leaving standing flower and grass stalks in your garden. Because wood piles also attract snakes and other wildlife, they should be placed away from house foundations. Each type of wood provides different benefits. Fast rot woods includes elm, pine and sweetgum, while slow rot woods includes hickory, maple and oak.

The larger diameter wood pieces often are the most valuable, but smaller diameter twigs can also be used. Place wood near late-season nectar plants and/or host plants. Leave the wood in contact with the ground to encourage decay. Consider creating a wood pile for overwintering butterflies.Tick predators like wolf spiders also need the leaf cover. Because leaf litter also can serve as tick habitat, it is best to remove thick leaf litter between late March and mid-June in areas where people and pets frequent.

If you can’t leave leaves throughout the yard, consider creating a leaf pile or adding leaves to compost. Leave the leaves! Leaf litter helps replenish soil nutrients and provides overwintering habitat for a number of beneficial invertebrates.These plants are especially helpful to migratory butterflies as well as those that reproduce late in the season. Fuel fall pollinators with late-blooming nectar plants like goldenrod.List from National Wildlife Federation Backyard Ohio In addition, the majority of our butterflies (and moths) in Maryland hibernate in one life stage or another.Ĭheck out the table below for winter habits of some of our common butterfly and moth species: Hibernate as a caterpillar All of these species need late-season flowers to fuel their journey. Monarchs are well-known for their migratory habits, but other species like common buckeyes, painted ladies, red admirals and variegated fritillaries also migrate. What happens to butterflies, and how can we help them with our gardens? Common buckeye by Judy Gallagher Flickr CC by 2.0Īs the weather begins to cool, many species begin to prepare for fall and winter.