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.
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.