As summer comes to an end and temperatures begin to drop, I’ve started to think about fall yard maintenance. This autumn, I’m giving particular thought to how my yard can become a habitat garden for pollinators! Habitat gardens aren’t just about beautiful blooms for bees; they also aim to provide shelter and food for a variety of critters throughout the winter.

Recent research indicates insect populations are declining in many places around the globe. The culprit? It’s a mix of many entwined factors, including climate change, pesticide use, and intensive land development. While these issues are overwhelming, it’s important to remember that we have the power to create small pockets of natural habitat in our own front and back yards. After all, if enough of us can do this, we can make a big collective difference in our local ecosystems! Here are a few steps I’m taking this fall to protect pollinators and contribute to a healthy environment in my community.

Leave the leaves.

This fall, I’m embracing the amazing benefits of dormant plants. It might sound silly to intentionally cultivate a messy yard, but consider the following: Leaving some leaves and standing plant material in your yard can help provide an important overwintering habitat for pollinators. Many insects hibernate in fallen leaves and duff during the colder months — think of it as an insulated sleeping bag! Plant structures like standing stalks and dead flowers provide shelter for butterflies, while layers of leaf litter protect eggs, larvae, hibernating bees, and dormant spiders. The National Wildlife Federation recommends that the more you can leave untouched, the greater the benefits for wildlife.

Plant native plants.

Native plants are the best food for pollinators, and fall is actually the perfect time to plant them! Adding native plants to your garden is not only beneficial to wildlife, but also to the flowers, vegetables, or fruits already growing in your garden.

So what kind of native plants should you plant? All blooming plants that produce nectar will attract a wide variety of pollinators. Honey bees, for example, are generalists and will happily forage a myriad of different flowers. Since bees need to forage throughout the spring, summer, and fall, a succession of blooms will provide year-round nectar. An effective pollinator garden therefore incorporates plants that flower in different seasons so something is blooming in every season except winter.

Fall is the best time to get perennial plants in the ground so they have time over winter to develop robust root systems that help them survive through the dry summer months. Plus, many native plant seeds need need cold, wet conditions in order to germinate. To let nature do the work, simply sow the seeds before the rainy season starts.

USDA Plants is an excellent resource to find out if a particular species is native to your area. For example, I’m sowing Matilija poppy, yarrow, and wooly thyme seeds this fall since I learned that these pollinator-friendly plants are native to the California Central Coast!

Try integrated pest management.

Many herbicides and pesticides are broad-spectrum, meaning that they can kill native bees and butterflies alongside unwanted cockroaches and ants. Plus, excess pesticides can be washed off when it rains and flow into the local waterways via storm drains — in Carmel, for example, that means garden pesticides can be swept right into our beautiful bay and impact ocean life.

This fall, I’m managing pests without harmful chemicals by fostering natural predators like frogs and lizards; integrating beneficial insects like ladybugs; and using organic tools like horticultural oils to ward off caterpillars and other leaf-eaters. By using natural pest management methods, I can prevent toxic pesticides and herbicides from harming pollinators and other wildlife in my community.

How will you make your garden more pollinator-friendly this fall? Let us know in the comments below!

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How to Create a Pollinator-Friendly Fall Garden