The case for a (somewhat) messy spring garden

By Monica C ardoza The Washington Post

WITH TEMPERAtures reaching the 60s in some places in February, landscaping crews already returning to properties and spring cleaning on the horizon, it’s tempting to tidy up the garden alongside the house. Proceed with caution here, though.

Any leaves or spent perennials left from the fall served an important role over the winter, providing shelter and food for insects. And resisting the urge to wipe the garden clean can continue to foster a wildlife habitat for those beneficial creatures.

“We create nectar gardens to attract butterflies, then rake the garden and literally throw them all away,” says Randi Eckel, an entomologist and owner of Toadshade Wildflower Farm, a mail-order native plant nursery in Frenchtown, New Jersey. “We need to think about all the life stages of these insects instead of focusing only on the beautiful adults. We also have to feed their children.”

Now, young stages of butterflies, moths and other beneficial insects are nestled in last year’s leaves, some of them munching on decomposing duff — leaves, twigs, bark and other plant litter. By waiting to clean up your garden until daytime temperatures are consistently above 50 degrees for at least seven consecutive days, and approaching the chore with a light touch, you can keep giving those youngsters a head start on life.

That’s not to say, though, that you can’t start yard and gardening work. Here are suggestions for how to approach spring cleaning in the garden, without going overboard.

• Match insects to their host plants

Many people know the common names of the native plants in their gardens. Fewer can match each plant to the insect that relies on it for its dietary and reproductive needs. For example, Baltimore checkerspots overwinter as caterpillars at the base of white turtlehead (Chelone glabra), and swallowtail butterflies attach their chrysalises to Hubricht’s bluestar (Amsonia hubrichtii). Knowing which plants support which insects, and how, will make you less likely to want to disturb your garden too early.

• Remove leaves from hard surfaces and pathways

Neaten the yard while also preventing slips and falls by clearing paths, patios, decks and driveways of leaves. While you’re at it, thin out thick, moist piles of leaves in the yard, which can attract ticks. If possible, relocate the leaves on the property — perhaps to woods, if you have them. Or spread them around the base of trees to create garden beds. When fall arrives, these areas will serve as what Eckel calls “soft landings:” places where butterflies and moths that have been feeding on your trees can drop into a garden to overwinter instead of onto a lawn. But, she says, “do not pile the leaves up like a volcano. No tree likes anything volcanoed up around the bark.”

If you have room in your yard, consider mixing the leaves with fallen twigs to create a brush pile. Adult mourning cloak, question mark and comma butterflies may overwinter next year in these piles. They are “some of the first butterflies we see in spring,” says Eckel, who is also president of the Native Plant Society of New Jersey.

Jennifer Brunelle, owner of Greenleaf Designer Gardens in Littleton, discourages her clients in the Boston suburbs from having brush piles, because her area is overrun with rabbits, which tend to nest in them. But Eckel is a fan. “A brush pile is so much simpler than a compost pile. It’s where you stack sticks and excess leaves. Over time, it settles and breaks down some, and you put more things on top of it.”

• Edge the beds

Few things neaten a naturalistic garden like fresh edging around beds. Use a spade with a straight edge or a half-moon edger with a semicircular blade to cut into the ground along the existing edge. “Edging gives a nice, sharp look that makes these gardens look very classy,” Eckel says. If plants are hanging over into the lawn, create an edge farther out and enlarge the size of the bed at the same time.

• Address storm damage

Perennials that have bent or broken because of wind or snowstorms can be left alone. But if you want order, cut the