Three Instagram users are rounding up winter gardening tips that will help your garden reach its full potential when spring arrives.
The scoop
Instagram users Dagny Kream (@thecottagepeach), Meagan Lloyd (@meggrowsplants), and Amy Chapman (@inthecottagegarden) teamed up to create a video full of helpful winter gardening hacks.
The video's first tip comes from Chapman, who explains how all-natural birdfeeders can keep your avian friends warm through the cold season. The user recommends making homemade birdfeeders out of scooped-out oranges and string, which can be filled with birdseed and hung from trees.
"Now your garden birds will be able to build up fat reserves to keep them warm through the cold nights," she says.
The next tip requires zero effort. Lloyd encourages viewers to simply "leave the leaves" instead of raking them up for aesthetic reasons.
"Fall leaves provide food, shelter, and nesting materials for a variety of wildlife," she explains, "and give beneficial insects a place to [go] over winter."
As an added bonus, chickens enjoy foraging through fallen leaves, so letting your crunchy leaves stay on the ground "gives them loads of enrichment."
The third and final tip also rewards those of us who would rather leave our plants untouched.
"Don't give into the temptation to give crispy old plants a trim in the winter," Kream insists, adding: "Perennials … provide food in the form of seeds and shelter for tons of wildlife. So unless your garden has signs of disease, wait to do your garden clean-up until spring."
How it's helping
Maintaining a healthy garden is a net positive not just for you, but also for your local ecosystem. In addition to saving you money and time at the grocery store by providing fresh fruits, veggies, and herbs from your backyard, gardens also attract pollinators and increase biodiversity in your community, which enriches the livelihood of local wildlife and other surrounding plants.
Other tips for keeping your garden healthy include using natural weed-killing solutions, mulching your dead leaves, and employing organic fertilizers throughout your garden.
What everyone's saying
Commenters shared their own information and tips for winter gardening.
"The leaves also form air pockets that helps insulate the soil. This helps create habitat for insects but also protects perennials from frost," one user wrote.
"Make sure to clean your feeders before refilling them each time. [So] many birds are contracting diseases from unkept feeders and spreading it to other birds," another user said.
"We love doing this!!" a third user commented.
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