# @ahs_gardening on Instagram

- **Type:** Image
- **Original URL:** https://www.instagram.com/p/DSkm41eEuyw
- **Gondola URL:** https://gondola.cc/posts/55035528-ahs-gardening-instagram
- **Thumbnail:** https://img.gondola.cc/tr:w-,h-,fo-auto/postThumbnails/d213596b86.jpg
- **Posted:** 2025-12-22T16:12:42.000+00:00
- **Account Owner:** American Horticultural Society | American Gardener Magazine (@ahs_gardening) — https://gondola.cc/ahs_gardening

## Caption

When we think about wildlife in fall, our attention often goes skyward. Monarchs migrating south. Birds gathering for the journey ahead. What’s easier to miss are the thousands of insects spending winter right where they are — tucked into leaf litter, soil, stems, and bark.⁠
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In the September/October issue of American Gardener, Nancy Lawson reminds us that many declining insect species don’t leave for warmer places. They overwinter in our gardens, relying on the quiet layers we’re often quick to remove.⁠
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One of the simplest ways gardeners can help is also one of the hardest to embrace.⁠
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🍂 Leave the leaves⁠
Fallen leaves aren’t mess. They’re insulation. They moderate soil temperatures, hold moisture, shelter overwintering insects, and provide foraging opportunities for birds. Instead of bagging or shredding them, try letting leaves collect beneath trees, tucking them into beds, or moving them where they can do some good. A garden can still look cared for while allowing space for life to persist.⁠
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Everything is about balance. A wildlife-supportive garden doesn’t require abandoning order — it asks us to rethink what “tidy” really means.⁠
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Nancy Lawson’s Gardening with Wildlife column consistently offers clear-eyed, practical ways gardeners can support the ecosystems right outside their doors. Small decisions, made season after season, add up.⁠
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Read the full article in the September/October issue at ahsgardening.org.⁠
Not a member yet. Join at connect.ahsgardening.org/join.⁠
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Writer & photographer: Nancy Lawson (humanegardener)⁠
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#gardeningwithwildlife #leavetheleaves #fallgardening #insects #winterhabitat #sustainablegardening #americangardener #ahsgardening #americanhorticulturalsociety #leaflitter #pollinatorfriendly

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## Tags

americangardener, insects, gardeningwithwildlife, pollinatorfriendly, ahsgardening, winterhabitat, sustainablegardening, leaflitter, fallgardening, leavetheleaves, americanhorticulturalsociety

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