The result is that leaving faded flower stems to overwinter and fallen leaves to rot down is no longer disapproved of by the majority of gardeners. Instead, it’s seen as a practical, pain-free, eminently nature-friendly and decorative way to support biodiversity, providing food and shelter for garden wildlife when it’s most needed. For example, the ripe seed heads of many different kinds of popular garden plants, such as varieties of echinacea, eryngium, rudbeckia, helianthus, phlomis, aster, teasel and sedum can act as a nutritious, oil-rich winter larder for visiting garden birds. Even the discarded prunings of woody shrubs can offer a valuable overwintering habitat for garden wildlife if left as an undisturbed pile of brushwood in a quiet corner of the garden (for example, behind the garden shed). Just avoid chopping up the pruned material too finely, which would defeat the purpose of it acting as shelter and food for garden wildlife over the winter months.
