Dont cut back your borders till spring

Its now late November but I have kept all the tall stems on perennials. I dont think of this a being messy in fact, to my eyes, this is much more interesting than tidy clear beds.

All these stems will provide valuable habitat right through the winter for many different insects and also shelter for small rodents.

Some insects will be happy amongst the foliage, others attach themselves to stems for hibarnaton and some, like ladybirds may even get into hollow stem centers.

At ground level, the stems will hold onto fallen leaves creating a cosy carpet of rotting matter about the soil surface. Great for lots of lavae and worms as both food and frost insulation.

In this state your garden is similar to all the wild scrub or rough grassland areas that are missing from our landscapes. This makes your garden a really valuable bit of winter habitat if you dont tidy it up.

I try and avoid clearing up until about late March, or when I see strong new green growth at the base of the stems. Then I tidy it all away in a pile so that any insects still attached can contintue to benefit. But then, with clear soil between my plants, the early ground nesting bees can begin to emerge and get busy again.