The easiest first steps to planting with nature start with what we don’t want to do. We don’t want to rely on chemicals to keep our gardens healthy. We don’t want to keep those invasive plants like honeysuckle and Euonymus in our landscape, taking up space that far more attractive and beneficial plants could be occupying. Finally, we don’t want to have a landscape that’s dominated by mulch. It’s expanses of plants we want to see throughout the year, not mulch.

Take a look at your winter landscape. Is there anything still standing, or has it all been cut back? Do you have plants to feed the birds and to offer shelter and winter interest? We’ve shared before that the winter garden is as important as the summer pollinator garden. Use this time to plan how you will add more pollinator-friendly plants to your landscape.