Celebrating the spring equinox this week is especially welcome after the bitterly cold winter we’ve just experienced. No doubt the warm sunshine of recent days beckons gardeners outdoors. But if you find yourself itching to head outside to start spring cleanup, take a pause and exercise patience. Before starting work, look closely at what you may be removing from your landscape.   

Throughout the winter months, your garden has provided essential habitat for beneficial creatures like pollinators and songbirds. Removing precious cover in the form of leaves and stems now is like ripping the roof off your home with weeks of cold nights still ahead! And springing too quickly to work isn’t good for the gardens themselves. Walking in dormant gardens is disruptive to emerging plants and causes compaction to the soil.    

Typical spring clean-up advice centers on when and how; this season also ask yourself why. Before you start clearing away all the organic material in your yard, take a moment to ask yourself a crucial question: why are you “cleaning up” the outdoors in the first place? Is it simply because it’s routine practice, because your neighbors are doing it, or because your landscaper wants to use the leaf blower again? These reasons may not justify the disruption of wildlife or the removal of organic matter that could benefit the very plants you want to nurture.   

Perhaps you need to eliminate some diseased vegetation or allow a bit more sunlight to reach newly sprouting plants; these are valid reasons for gentle maintenance. It's possible that some of the wonderful stems you left standing this winter have fallen into pathways or driveways. Maybe things are becoming a bit too unruly for the character of your neighborhood. In that case, gentle trimming around the edges may be necessary, but think about leaving certain areas completely undisturbed while carefully managing the spaces that are crucial for maintaining good neighborly aesthetics.  

No matter what outdoor tidying you choose to do, try to postpone it as long as possible and clean up as minimally as you can manage. The unpredictable nature of spring weather makes it difficult to determine a specific date for gardening tasks. However, it's generally safe to start light garden maintenance when soil temperatures consistently reach above 50 degrees. Remember, we're referring to “soil” temperatures, not air temperatures — there's a significant difference. It's the soil temperature that triggers plant growth and coincides with the emergence of many, though not all, insects.  

When you do head out to start the process of getting ready for the new season, embrace these tips and the pollinators, songbirds and even your garden will thank you.   

Prune carefully

If your spring garden to-do list includes pruning, keep a sharp eye out for cocoons and chrysalises. Some of our most beautiful moths and butterflies spend the winter in a delicate cocoon dangling from a branch, including swallowtail butterflies, a favorite visitor to local pollinator gardens. If you spot a cocoon or chrysalis, just allow that limb to stay intact. You can always cut it back later in the season, or next year is another year and the work will still be there, we promise.   

When removing old growth from your perennials, aim to leave at least 18 inches of the stalk intact to safeguard the habitat of bees and other beneficial insects that may be hibernating inside the stalks. Instead of making a single cut, consider taking small snips and allowing the pieces to fall to the ground, creating a natural mulch.

If you do decide to cut the stalks down to the ground, bundle the stems and hang them from a fence post or tree, or gently pile them in a corner of your yard. This way, when the pollinators emerge, they can easily return to your garden.

This activity is also a wonderful opportunity for kids to learn about the vital role that pollinators play in our ecosystem. For what it's worth, we do very little cutting back of our own perennials and find that when left to nature, most plants naturally fall over and decompose, creating a lovely mulch layer on the ground, with new growth soon covering any remnants of last year's stems.  

Gently remove some leaves from lawns and gardens, especially if they are too thick for sun-loving perennials. While leaves can hinder plant growth, they also protect beneficial insects like ladybugs and butterflies, and fireflies rely on decaying leaf litter for most of their lives. Additionally, leaves attract songbirds looking for bugs, and serve as free soil amendments and mulch, enriching the soil over time. So only rake lightly and be sure to leave some leaves permanently in place.   

Pause before applying mulch. Beneficial insects including native bees and the remarkable hummingbird clearwing moth, overwinter in soil burrows, mulching too early could obstruct their emergence. Wood mulch can also hinder the growth and spread of beneficial native plants. Personally, we favor green mulch — a dense layer of native ground-covers interspersed among shrubs, perennials, and trees, creating a solid foundation for your garden. Organic materials like the leaves and stems mentioned earlier also contribute to a healthy natural mulching effect for both plants and soil. However, if you feel you must use mulch, wait until the soil has dried out and the weather has warmed up.   

You may be wondering why what you do in your own yard matters or even why you would want insects there at all. Just earlier this week the results of a 20-year study were released announcing catastrophic losses of America’s butterfly population. Teams of scientists involved in the study warn that these losses are indicative of a bigger unraveling of biodiversity that will have impacts up and down the food web. More on that in future articles, but for now those same scientists also emphasize that what individuals do in their own small patches has never been more important, all of the seasons of the year. 

So, what is a gardener itching with spring fever to do?   

1. Gather fallen sticks and twigs and create a brush pile for the birds.  

2. Remove any trash that may have blown in over the winter.  

3. Clear away holiday greenery and get planters ready for spring blooms.  

4. Check your garden for frost heaves that can push plants right out of the ground; if you find any, get the plants back in the ground or protect them until the weather warms.  

5. Inventory your tools and clean, sharpen, and sterilize them ahead of the new season.  

6. Take a good look around your yard and start noting the places that are calling out for some new life, new looks, and new beneficial native plants this season.   

7. Use these last weeks before peak gardening season to learn and strategize.

8. Learn more about the native plants at the root of ecological gardening so that you can best match the right plant to the right place.

9. Use these last weeks before peak gardening season to learn and strategize. 10. Learn more about the native plants at the root of ecological gardening so that you can best match the right plant to the right place. Our website www.PricklyEds.com offers an array of useful resources.

Additionally, take time to delve into the landscaping processes that create thriving, resilient environments. Here are three April events that may interest both experienced and novice ecological gardeners alike: 

Tiverton Public Library Garden Expo on Saturday, Apr. 5 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. — https://tivertonlibrary.org/springexpo/  

The ABCs and 123s of Creating and Maintaining Living Landscapes on Wednesday, Apr. 23 from 6:30 p.m to 8:30 p.m. at the Barrington Public Library —  https://barringtonlibrary.libcal.com/event/14054038  

Transforming the Landscape Symposium, hosted by the Audubon Society of Rhode Island on Saturday, Apr. 26 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m — https://asri.org/PollinatorSymposium/

“Life in the Garden” brings eco-friendly garden tips from Cindy and Ed Moura of Prickly Ed’s Cactus Patch Native Plant Emporium, where they are passionate about helping people realize the essential role everyone can play in supporting life right outside their own doors.