Tips, Tricks, and Triumphs from Our Members
Welcome to The Garden Gate!
The Garden Gate is your new hub for member-shared wisdom, tips, and photo triumphs!
We invite all GCM members to share their best gardening secrets and beautiful blooms right here.
Fall Cleanup by GCM Members: We share how we support our ecosystems in our own backyards.
Simple Actions/Lasting Results 🐝🦋
Fall Actions for a Thriving NJ Ecosystem🐝🦋
Leave the Leaves!
- Mulch: Shred leaves on garden beds to return nutrients.
- Mow: Shred leaves on your lawn for beneficial insects and the birds.
- Piles: Create brush piles for overwintering insects.
Delay Fall Garden Cleanup.
- Leave stalks: Don't cut back perennials or grasses until spring. Hollow stems shelter overwintering bees, and seed heads feed birds.
Trees & Shrubs:
- Fall is ideal for planting native trees and shrubs that offer food and shelter for wildlife.
Avoid Pesticides & Herbicides.
- No fall lawn treatments: Skip broad-leaf weed killers that harm beneficial plants and insects, instead add a clover mix seed bed. Less lawn means less mowing, less fertilizing, and more habitat.