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Deep Winter Garden Reflection: Stop Digging and Start Observing

by E. Aliperti 



If you are like me, your Spring garden is a year long cycle involving a lot of planning. I’m heavily informed by research and observations I’ve made over the past twenty years in various gardens that I’ve had a hand in creating. I keep a journal with things that stand out and review it in the winter as part of my spring routine. I noted that last year, I invested in 28 potted native trees and shrubs, placing them strategically around my property. This spring, I’ll plant close to 200 bare root native plants on the banks of North Creek. I purchased these through the annual NYS DEC plant sale, a great way to affordably invest in your land. My hope is these plants will eventually help stabilize the creek bank while simultaneously creating wildlife habitat and food sources. 


Another reminder noted in my journal was a big lesson that will deeply inform how I garden moving forward. In mid-August, I moved a number of plants around, attempting to fill in space and create larger bunches of certain plant types. I started to notice a few native pollinators. I stopped digging and started observing, they seemed to be ground nesters. In the transplanting process, I unknowingly disturbed at least one nest inadvertently. l watched a lone ground nester attempt to return to her nest only to find the entrance destroyed. I had been putting so much thought into the plants I wanted to put in the ground to support wildlife and pollinators, I had given little, or no thought, to ground nesters and their habitat. This gave me pause. 



Newly informed and paying more attention, I started noticing ground bees everywhere! I learned that a majority of bees build their nests by digging in the ground, making soil the most common material used by bees for nesting. Most ground nesting bees are solitary and docile, meaning they are not a part of a larger colony and do not defend their nests. They are only above ground for about three weeks a year, the rest of the time is spent underground. In my own yard I saw big iridescent wasps, tiny wood nesting bees, and fuzzy ground nesters. According to The Xerces Society, 70% of native bees are ground nesters, 30% are stem/wood nesters, and 1% are cavity nesters. I also learned that an estimated 80% of ground nesting bees die due to early spring clean up. So even though I love the aesthetics of certain manicured gardens, I have learned the value of ‘chaos’ gardening.  


Once I was paying more attention to native pollinators, I made another unexpected discovery in my barn near where the woodpile is stored. I heard soft buzzing and stopped to watch. It turns out, they were native bees provisioning their nests in small holes in the logs stacked in the woodpile. I was committed to not burn the nests, so I carefully marked all the logs with neon tags until the next season. 



With my peaked awareness, two takeaways have stuck with me. One, not all plants love to be moved and, two, ground nesting bees do not care about aesthetics. In fact, the areas that I left bare dirt are the very areas that they built their nests. Now when I notice an opening to a nest in the dirt, like the woodpile, I flag it to insure I do not disturb the site. It will be a great marker to come back to in spring to try to catch the emerging new generation of pollinators. 


From this reflection I’ve learned my ongoing motivation to keep tending to the land comes from knowing I’m supporting wildlife and pollinators. Bare dirt and undisturbed ground is now an intentional part of my landscaping, along with unmowed grass, leaf mulch and dead trees. My personal reward, that could also be yours, is the awe that comes along with noticing and watching these tiny creatures living their secret, complex and peaceful lives. 



When doing your spring garden planning consider the following as noted in my garden journal: 


  • Wait six-weeks after the last frost before you rake up leaves, put plants in the ground, mow your grass or mulch.

    • Avoid commercial mulch. Not only is it toxic, it will make it impossible for ground nesters to emerge, killing the next generations.

    • Challenge yourself to leave parts of your lawn unmowed.

    • Redefine beauty by avoiding spring clean up all together!

  • Wait to dig/clean up until after the temperatures are above 70 for over a week.

    • Stop and notice any small holes in the ground.

    • Wait and watch for activity and mark nests with flags so as to not lose sight of them.

    • Do not dig after mid August so as to not disturb ground nesting baby bees.

  • Create bare dirt spots in the sun to provide nesting sites.

  • Avoid commercial nesting cavities (bug hotels).

  • Consider placing dead wood/log piles on ground and leaving dead standing trees.

  • Create a rock pile feature. 

  • Create water sources such as birdbaths.

  • Consider creating undisturbed areas of your yard/property free from human stomping.

  • Cut flower stems to ~12 inches to leave stems for stem nesters while leaving some as is for the birds.


Embrace chaos gardening and welcome a variety of colorful, beneficial pollinators!


RESOURCES:


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