Want more fireflies next summer? What you do after they disappear matters more than you might think. 💫⁠ ⁠ The glowing adults that light up summer evenings are only the most visible chapter of a firefly’s life. Lightning bugs spend most of their lives hidden at ground level — in soil, leaf litter, moss and decaying wood.⁠ ⁠ Which means a tidy fall garden can be surprisingly inhospitable to next summer’s light show.⁠ ⁠ If you want to make your landscape more welcoming to fireflies, start with what happens after the glow fades.⁠ ⁠ 🍂 Leave fallen leaves where you can.⁠ 🪵 Let some logs and decaying wood remain.⁠ 🌾 Grow layers of grasses, perennials and shrubs.⁠ 🌙 Turn off unnecessary outdoor lights.⁠ 🚫 Avoid broad-spectrum pesticides and excessive mowing.⁠ ⁠ Fireflies face growing pressure from habitat loss, pesticides and light pollution. But our own gardens can provide some of the dark, undisturbed habitat they need.⁠ ⁠ Next summer’s fireflies are already out there. How we garden no...