Winter gardening doesn't have to mean hours of toiling outside in the cold, with frost-bitten fingers and muddy boots leaving a trail of destruction in your flower beds. In fact, a little bit of intentional "laziness" can go a long way in making your garden a winter haven for wildlife, which we all know needs as much help as possible at the moment with changing weather patterns.
I will explain why leaving parts of your garden to nature provides food, shelter, and rest stops for birds, insects, and other creatures that struggle during the colder months. Being a lazy winter gardener like me is the easiest way to a healthy garden. Below are some practical, easy tips to transform your winter garden into a low-maintenance wildlife sanctuary so you can enjoy warm brews inside and less defrosting from unnecessary garden toil this winter.
1. Leave the Leaves
First, resist the urge to clear away all those fallen leaves. Leaf litter is like a natural duvet for your garden, providing warmth and shelter for insects and small mammals. Many beneficial insects, like ladybugs and beetles, nest in leaves to overwinter. Even frogs and hedgehogs will take advantage of a cosy leaf pile!
Consider raking leaves into designated wildlife corners or under shrubs to keep things looking intentional rather than unkempt. These leaf piles can also act as natural mulch, enriching the soil over time while supporting garden critters.
If you do need to rake up leaves from paths or lawns don't just add them to your green bin for removal, consider making leaf mould in the garden. This is a super easy way to recycle your fallen leaves into amazing soil improver and the best part is there are no secret ingredients or complicated steps other than collecting them in bags and waiting for them to break down naturally.
2. Skip Deadheading and Pruning
Leaving seed heads and dried flower stalks intact might feel counterintuitive, but they're a valuable winter food source for birds. Seed heads from plants like Echinacea, Sunflowers, Oxeye Daisies and Ornamental grasses offer seeds for birds like finches and sparrows. Plus, these dried stems can give the garden some beautiful winter structure, creating interesting silhouettes against the frost.
When it comes to shrubs and perennials, hold off on the pruning until late winter or early spring. This gives insects a safe space to overwinter and keeps your garden looking a bit fuller, even in the winter months. Additionally, stems from plants like hollow-stemmed perennials provide shelter for beneficial insects like solitary bees and even Lacewings. I also believe that a winter garden full of dried plants and frost-covered stems looks far nicer than barren bare earth.
3. Add a Log or Cuttings Pile
If you have fallen branches or need to cut up herbaceous perennials that may have collapsed or fallen over, reuse them. Gather up fallen branches and logs to create a cosy cuttings pile in an out-of-the-way corner. These piles make fantastic winter homes for a wide range of wildlife, from hibernating hedgehogs and frogs to insects that thrive in decaying wood.
Creating a log pile is simple: stack branches, logs, and even some stones to form a shelter. As the wood decays, it also supports fungi and creates a moist environment for critters. This low-maintenance habitat will continue to break down over the years, contributing nutrients back into your garden's ecosystem.
Consider all dead winter plants a resource that can help nature and keep our soil healthy. Remember that all plants have grown using the soil's nutrients and access to water, so allowing them to rot back to the soil helps replenish these vital resources.
4. Install a Bird Feeder and Water Source
Food and water become harder for birds to find in winter, so a simple feeder can make all the difference. You don't need anything fancy—basic seed mixes, peanuts, and suet balls are popular with various bird species. Position the feeder in a spot that gives birds easy access to shelter, like near a hedge or tree, where they can quickly retreat if needed. Even leaving your herbaceous perennials over winter multiplies the food source for birds and mammals.
Providing fresh water is equally important, as natural water sources can freeze over. A shallow birdbath works well; to prevent freezing, adding a small ball or stick that moves with the wind can help keep the water available. For extra warmth, consider placing the birdbath in a sunny spot or ensure a standby bowl is ready to be refilled if your main bird bath freezes over.
5. Let the Lawn Rest
It's tempting to rake, mow, and neaten your lawn throughout autumn, but leaving parts of it untouched during winter can provide essential shelter for insects and small animals. Allowing areas of grass to grow longer supports invertebrates like beetles and worms, which, in turn, attract birds. I leave sections under my trees to grow from July and then leave them right through the winter as long grass.
If you have the space, consider designating a small "wild" patch or two on your lawn. Longer grass traps heat and moisture, creating a warm microhabitat for bugs, which are an essential winter food source for birds. Come spring, you can tidy up these patches and see your garden bounce back to life.
Alternatively, consider creating a mini meadow in your garden for the ultimate low-maintenance wildlife boost.
6. Plant Native Winter-Blooming Plants
While most of your planting should ideally happen in autumn or spring, winter is still a good time to assess where to add native, winter-flowering plants. Plants like winter Honeysuckle, Mahonia, Viburnum 'Dawn' and Hellebores provide much-needed nectar for any early-emerging pollinators on a warmer winter day. Evergreen plants, like Ivy, also offer shelter and food, as Ivy berries ripen in winter.
Even if you can't plant now, planning where to add these varieties in the spring will help ensure that your garden remains a year-round wildlife haven. This is why spending less time cutting things back in winter and more time in the warmth of your lounges drawing up planting plans and designs is a far better use of time! Native plants are particularly important because they're familiar to local wildlife and tend to be well-suited to your soil and climate. This means that wildlife knows how to get food and shelter from them!
7. Minimize Light Pollution
While outdoor lights can help with nighttime visibility, they can also disrupt wildlife activity in your garden. Artificial lighting interferes with natural rhythms, such as nocturnal animals' feeding habits. If you can, minimize the use of outdoor lights or use motion-activated lights rather than permanent fixtures. This small change can help maintain a more natural environment for your garden's nocturnal inhabitants, like hedgehogs, moths, and bats.
Turning off your floodlights at night (or having them on a short infrared 15-second timer instead) is one of the best things you can do to help wildlife. As many housing estates now are completely floodlit at night, wildlife is threatened and can't camouflage itself as easily, so it will retreat to darker areas. This, in turn, means that there's more competition for these more sheltered dark areas and less wildlife benefiting from our gardens.
8. Create Shelter with a Hedge or Evergreen Plants
If you have space, a native hedge provides fantastic year-round shelter for birds, insects, and small mammals. Species like hawthorn, holly, and yew create dense, protective habitats where wildlife can roost, hibernate, or find food even in winter. If you're not keen on planting a hedge, large evergreen shrubs can provide similar shelter, especially at the back of flower beds or garden borders. They also help break up ugly fence lines and can make your garden feel bigger as a design tip! Their dense, foliage-covered branches offer protection from winter winds and create hiding spots for animals seeking refuge from the cold.
Summary
Winter is the perfect season to embrace a little "lazy" gardening, which gives you a break and provides critical support to wildlife. By leaving certain areas undisturbed, minimizing light, and adding a few simple features, you can turn your winter garden into a sanctuary that sustains various wildlife.
So, this winter, let your garden go a bit wild like a true Garden Ninja! You'll find that a small amount of effort (or lack thereof) will encourage a thriving, biodiverse garden come spring, as the creatures you've supported will play their part in your garden's health and growth. Nature does much of the work for you—all you have to do is step back and enjoy.
Until next time, Happy Gardening!
Lee Garden Ninja
About Lee
Lee Burkhill aka the Garden Ninja is a multi-award-winning garden designer, horticulturist, garden blogger, vlogger, TV Presenter and YouTuber. Hailing from the North West of England, Lee has an infectious enthusiasm for helping gardeners all over the world. The Garden Ninja is his garden design business and online gardening blog, and he was recently voted one of the Top 10 Gardening Bloggers and Garden Vloggers in the UK. Lee is also part of the BBC Garden Rescue Team, which you can watch on weekdays at 3.45 pm on BBC One or BBC iPlayer. Here at Lazy Susan, we’re looking forward to sharing his exclusive horticultural tips, tricks and advice on our blog.
