Winterizing Your Garden A Guide to Helping Wildlife Thrive in the Cold

As winter sets in and temperatures drop, cold rainy days and heavy snow will come in the upcoming months. During these chilly months, your garden becomes a haven for wildlife seeking warmth and sustenance. You should assess your backyard garden to see how wildlife-friendly it is or could be. Your yard can be home to a lot of wildlife in winter. Even in peak winter, your garden can help wildlife by giving them shelter, food, and water to spend winters and raise their young.

From birds and amphibians to insects, each species adapts to the winter climate in a unique way. Deer, mice, rabbits, and squirrels don't hibernate and need food in winter. Many birds, such as robins, starlings, cardinals, and goldfinches, continue to eat and spend the winter in our backyards. Additionally, ants, honeybees, lady beetles, and spiders overwinter in our gardens.

As a gardener, it is your responsibility to ensure you can protect wildlife in your garden and they can thrive there comfortably all winter. What should we do to help these creatures survive the winter? Let's find out.

How to Prepare Your Winter Garden for Wildlife

Here are ways to make your garden a safe winter habitat for wildlife.

Leave Wild Corners to Provide Habitat

Don't tidy up every corner of your garden and avoid raking leaves. Piles of fallen leaves and brushwood make perfect hiding and hibernating spots. It might look messy, but these messy areas shelter valuable insects and small mammals. They also work as an organic mulch that decomposes to add essential nutrients to the soil. Add leaves you remove from your walkway or driveway to your garden.

Unfortunately, more than half of hedgehogs die during the first winter due to a lack of food or because late summer-born hedgehogs are too small to hibernate. Those who make it out alive will likely have found a warm nest among leaf piles or other spots. Save garden cleanup for early spring.

Provide Winter Food

The best way to provide winter food to our wildlife is by growing plants in your garden that produce berries, seeds, or nuts. Many birds we see throughout the year eat insects, seeds, and fruits. Some excellent options to plant are viburnums, dogwood, and deciduous winterberry. Perennials like coneflowers can have their seed heads left on flowers to add visual interest to your winter garden and provide food to wildlife. Sparrows, goldfinches, and juncos eat seeds of ragweed and species of mints, thistles, and sunflowers.

When the weather gets cold, put small amounts of food out, such as sliced apples, unsalted nuts, carrots, leaf spinach, or lightly cooked meats, and see if animals enjoy them.

Hang Nutrient-rich Bird Feeders and Suet Treats

Bird feeders are most needed during winter when natural garden food is limited. The landscape is bare in freezing winters, and food is less abundant, so bird feeders become a reliable food source.

Hang wooden or metal bird feeders in your garden and fill them with high-quality bird feed loaded with nutrient-rich seeds. Display the feeder in an open spot so birds can access it easily, and you can enjoy the incredible views.

Also, bird suet is a perfect treat for your feathered friends. Hang bird suet treats in suet feeders in the garden to give your birds an energy boost. This hard fat helps them tolerate the colder temperatures and gives you a vibrant winter bird activity to enjoy.

Provide Cozy Wildlife Shelters

Create cozy shelters and nooks in your garden to protect wildlife from harsh winters. Install bird boxes, hedgehog houses, and bat boxes to offer a warm space for our hibernating friends. Position these shelters strategically so that they face away from cold winds, ensuring optimal protection.

If your garden has nesting boxes, clean them before winter approaches. Some birds will sleep in these boxes during winter, and other animals can also use them for shelter.

Plant Native Evergreens

Plant bushes, shrubs, and native evergreens to provide habitat and shelter. Evergreens like spruce, cedar, fir, and hemlock can provide thick, necessary winter shelter for various small mammals and songbirds. They remain full all year. Birds can hide among branches, and mammals can also hide among or under branches.

If you want to add a tree to your landscape, plant trees that produce winter berries, such as juniper and dogwood. Vibrant berries attract beautiful birds to your space, providing them with both food and shelter.

Provide Fresh Water

Birds and animals need fresh water in winter for survival. Provide water sources to your wintering wildlife friends.

Install Beautiful Bird Baths or Create a Pond

Install a birdbath, a small pond, or a water bowl to give your wildlife a reliable water source. These small features can make a huge difference. Freezing winter can make it challenging for water to remain liquid. To solve this problem, add a heating element to the birdbath or buy a heated birdbath. Make sure to swap frozen water with fresh water regularly.

Check Your Ponds Regularly

If your garden has a pond, don't forget the creatures living in it. Add a pond de-icer to prevent the surface water from freezing and allow your pond to serve as a good water source for garden wildlife. You can simply place a pan of hot water on the surface of the pond to melt the ice. Don't pour boiling water on the ice–it can harm the underwater species. If the pond is iced for a long time, the oxygen levels can start to fall, and toxic gases may accumulate in the water, which can harm fish and frogs.

The Bottom Line

These winter wildlife care tips will help our wildlife and ecosystem thrive throughout the cold months. Most gardeners don't use outdoor space much in winter because gardens look dull. However, it's still necessary to help your garden friends in need. By doing these simple tasks, you can ensure all active wildlife have a safe and warm place to spend the winters.

So, look around your yard for places where shrubs can offer food, evergreen trees can provide winter cover, and a pond can provide water for years. Embrace the beauty of winter and winterize your garden for wildlife!