Gardening Sweet Spots
By Donna Hessel
Our gardens are as important in winter as in summer to support small mammals. You may not see raccoons, opossums, squirrels, chipmunks and other small animals when the temperatures dip below freezing for a period of days because they are hibernating. If the small critters that inhabit your gardens year-around are fortunate, you’ve provided a variety of types of shelter to provide them with winter homes. Here are a few suggestions you can plan now to implement later this year for next winter…or pat yourself on the back for having provided them already.
Leaf Cover, Brush and Wood Piles
Lots of creatures seek refuge from the bitter cold by burrowing into piles of small branches and brush that you can collect and build up over the summer and during fall cleanup. Branches should be piled loosely and brush (leaves and grass) stashed in layers so animals can easily burrow into the pile to make a winter nest. Rake the leaves off your grass, yes. But rake them onto your gardens, both to mulch overwintering perennials, and to provide winter habitats for mice and other tiny animals.
If you pile wood for fireplaces, crisscross the logs when you stack them to leave spaces for animals to find winter shelter. Wood is a great insulator, and you can be sure something will find protection in the pile. It’s preferable to accommodate them there than to having them cozy up in your garage or attic! So, wear gloves and be careful when removing logs from the pile. If you live in an area where you can have an outdoor bonfire and decide to host a winter marshmallow roast, carry the logs to a different location so you don’t risk burning any animals that may have made the pile a winter home.
Hollow Trees, Conifers and Evergreen Shrubs
Dead, hollow trees also make great winter homes for both birds and small mammals such as raccoons. If a tree has toppled in a location where it is not a hazard, leave it where it has fallen until spring.
Conifers and evergreens are also great for wildlife in the winter, as their branches are dense, and snow-covered needles provide thermal cover, protection from wind and shelter that is scarce. Low-growing evergreen shrubs, such as rhododendrons and hollies, and evergreen groundcovers provide protection from predators. Densely branched deciduous bushes that have winter berries provide both food and perches for critters to survey their surroundings.
Perennials and Ornamental Grasses
Snow-covered dormant perennials and ornamental grasses not only provide a lovely winter garden vista, they provide cover and food for small mammals. Leave black-eyed susans and coneflowers standing until spring. Ornamental grasses can remain in place until late March to provide both shelter and food from their seedheads.
Food and Water
Even critters that hibernate poke their heads out of their winter homes when the temperatures climb into the high 30s and 40s, as they tend to do periodically in the winter in our area. They need to find a source of food and water to support them through the remainder of the winter season. High-fat foods are extremely useful in winter. Fatty seeds and grains like sunflower seeds, peanuts and cracked corn are high-fat. Mixed dried fruits, grains and leftover kitchen fats such as bacon, sausage or chicken fat — cooled until solid – are also good food sources. Set them out in a foil pie pan, or smear fats on rocks or low branches.
If you have a pond, stream or other water feature in your yard, keep part of it unfrozen by using an aerator or de-icer. Wildlife will soon find and use the open water source. A birdbath or shallow dish filled with fresh water can be kept from freezing with a heater specially designed for birdbaths available from garden centers. If you put a tennis ball, ping pong ball or other small floating object in your birdbath, the wind will blow the object around and keep the surface of the water from freezing over.
Planning Now for Next Year
These suggestions for creating a more eco-friendly garden that will also provide winter shelter are from Doug Tallamy, author, scientist and professor at the University of Delaware. He is passionate about helping home gardeners create ecological, biodiverse gardens:
- Plant an oak tree. Oaks provide habitat and food.
- Create a layered planting or border. Start with a row of canopy trees, add medium-sized trees and tall shrubs, tuck in small shrubs, fill in with herbaceous plants.
- If you have space, add groves or thickets of native trees or berry bushes.
- Plant native fruit trees – pawpaws, persimmons, black cherries and service berries – food for you, birds and pollinators.
- Screen with native hedges – they provide habitat and food for wildlife
- Create a pond or pool. It will attract toads, frogs and turtles and provide a water source for small mammals.
- Make a meadow. Even a small meadow area will attract wildlife. Adding a mix of native plants will attract a bevy of pollinators and birds.
- Grow vines. They are a secret weapon of wildlife gardening, especially in a small garden where taking advantage of vertical space – arbors, trellises and fences – provides opportunities to grow native plants that will attract hummingbirds and other pollinators.
You may not see small creatures at all in the winter since most are nocturnal and venture out only after you are fast asleep. Squirrels will be most visible, as they will visit your bird feeder during the day. But rest assured, the other small wildlife that inhabit your gardens and are cozy in the winter shelter that you’ve provided for them are much appreciative.
Photos courtesy of pexels.com
Information sources: PHS (Pensylvania Horticultural Society) – online newsletter – “How to Make Your Garden a Winter Oasis for Wildlife,” by Rachel Link, February 10, 2022. totalpond.com/blogs/water-gardening/creating-a-winter-sanctuary-for-wildlife. humanesociety.org/resources/help-backyard-wildlife-prepare-cold-weather. Garden Design – online newsletter – October, 2022 – Doug Tallamy, author… These tips originally appeared in “Going Wild”—an article about bringing the wonders of biodiversity into your garden—in the Spring 2016 issue of Garden Design magazine. provenwinners.com/learn/winter/winter-plants-wildlife “Plants that help wildlife in the winter”
Proven Winners online article. Contributor: Susan Martin
