Leaving Nature to Flourish

As autumn settles in, the air cools, the days shorten, and the garden begins its graceful surrender. It's tempting to reach for the rake, clippers, and mower to “tidy up” the garden before winter. 

But nature doesn’t need a spotless yard—wildlife needs a welcoming one. The fallen leaves, seed heads, weeds, and tall grass that may look “messy” to us are actually essential shelter and food sources for countless creatures during the colder months. To honor them is to honor the deeper rhythm of the seasons.

Autumn is a season of release—yet in that letting go, life is not ending. It is only shifting, preparing, sheltering.

The front garden at Giardino Foresta in all of it’s autumn glory. The leaves are left where they fall and the garden is ready for winter.

This fall, instead of rushing into clean-up mode, consider serving as a haven for wildlife. By choosing to leave natural habitats intact, you’ll support butterflies, birds, pollinators, small mammals, and beneficial insects who depend on your garden for survival.

Here’s how to create a wildlife sanctuary in your garden this autumn:

🍁 1. Leave the Leaves

Those crunchy leaves are more than yard waste—they’re a home! Butterflies, fireflies, moths, and many other critters overwinter in leaf litter. By letting leaves rest under trees and in garden beds, you’re providing them with safe shelter until spring. As a bonus, the leaves will break down over time and help build healthy soil structure. A true win-win!

🌻 2. Keep Seed Heads Standing

Spent blooms may look scraggly to us, but they’re a winter feast for birds. Coneflowers, sunflowers, black-eyed Susans, and grasses all produce seeds that provide natural food long after the growing season ends. Leave the seed heads tall, and you’ll be rewarded with the sight of hungry chickadees, finches, orioles, and sparrows stopping by for a snack.

🌼 3. Leave the Weeds

Plants like clover, dandelions, and violets may be labeled “weeds,” but they are crucial early food sources for pollinators. By letting some of these plants stay, you’re offering nectar and pollen when little else is available.

🌱 4. Don’t Mow Too Short

Short cut lawns may look neat, but taller grass provides shelter for insects and protects the soil from erosion during winter rains and snow. Raise your mower blades and let your lawn act as habitat, not just carpet.

The mountain overlook on the walking the trails. A great place for wildlife during the winter!

Choose Habitat Over Aesthetics

This fall, you have the power to decide: a sterile, tidy yard—or a thriving sanctuary for wildlife. Every leaf left on the ground, every seed head that stands, and every unmowed patch of grass helps create a living refuge through the cold months. As a bonus, it leaves you with a shorter to-do list!

Of course, there is necessary maintenance to be done - for example, removing diseased foliage or pruning trees to keep them healthy - but aside from those tasks, give yourself a break and help Mother Nature by leaving the rest.

When you grow with the flow of the seasons, you’re not just gardening—you’re partnering with nature. Make it easy on yourself and keep in mind that it’s also a good idea to wait to clean up in the Spring as well. Choose habitat over aesthetics.

This year, choose to serve as a haven. When we go with the flow, especially in autumn’s gentle descent, we remember: the garden is not ours alone. It is a shared home, a sanctuary, a sacred weaving of lives. Let the land rest as it is.

Farm Updates

September has been a time of intense growth for Giardino Foresta. I’ve been quiet on social media because I’ve been channeling my energy to some big changes and projects. Fall planting has also been taking place, in between the rains and lingering 90 degree days. 

This flower farm has been such an adventure and it makes me proud to look back on all that has happened since starting last June. It both does and doesn’t feel like this company has existed for 15 months! 

One big change that I am able to share with you all is that the Botanical Bath Soaks are now available year-round at Minerals and Mystics, which includes three new blends! I’m very excited to be able to offer these, not only in our online shop, but to the local community as well. 

I use soil blocks for a majority of seed starting. It’s a great way to start strong seedlings with robust roots, and it is very compact - there are 40 seeds on this tray, so I can start hundreds of seeds in very little space.

Hundreds of plant babies have been planted, including snapdragons, feverfew, and hellebores for next spring and ornamental kale for this winter. 

Flower farming is a funny thing. You can get caught up enjoying the little things, absorbing the present moment, and marveling at how incredible nature is, juxtaposed by planning a season (or two!) ahead, planting seeds (both literal and figurative) that won’t be ready for weeks, sometimes months, and looking forward to the next year when the mistakes and lessons learned this year can be put into action.

Hellebores freshly planted along the walking trails

Alongside the flower farm, I’ve turned over my family’s vegetable garden for the colder months. Radishes, carrots, leafy greens, beets, and garlic are already starting to sprout. I think my garden helpers deserve some credit for helping get the raised beds ready!

One of our chickens, Sky, helping me turn over one of my raised beds, with Bonny excitedly looking on from the other side of the fence.

Sometimes I forget why, on top of the flower farm, I keep a vegetable garden for my family. Then I tend to the vegetable garden and am reminded: it sparks joy. Like, lots of soul nurturing joy. It brings me deep happiness and satisfaction in a way that I have a hard time putting into words.

I admittedly let myself work to the edge of burn out in September. Life is happening, illnesses are making their way around, and there’s a lot happening within Giardino Foresta that I’m really excited about, but that last one also means more work on my end. I also volunteered to lead the Fall Garden Club at my son’s school, but that also means spending more time with him, which I love.

Still, after spending a couple hours in the veg garden just because it brings me joy has been reenergizing, even in the midst of fall planting and everything that comes with the changing of the seasons. I need to remember this.

My house is a hot mess but my heart is full. 

Remember to take time to do what brings you joy. Your soul will thank you.