Garden Biodiversity: Why Autumn Matters Most

Autumn is not only a season of harvest and preparing the garden for winter. It is also a key moment to support the biodiversity around our gardens. By leaving space for insects, birds, and small animals, you contribute to maintaining natural balance and strengthening the vitality of your soil and crops.

Why think about biodiversity in autumn?

As temperatures drop, many beneficial organisms look for shelter and food to survive the winter. A welcoming garden during this period offers them both, ensuring their presence and activity in spring—when they become precious allies against pests and for pollination.

5 simple actions to encourage biodiversity in your garden

1. Leave some wild corners 🌾
   A patch of grass, a pile of leaves or wood becomes a refuge for hedgehogs, ground beetles, and earwigs—essential helpers in the garden.

2. Provide shelters 🐝🐦
   An insect hotel, a stone pile, a birdhouse, or a stack of branches: all small structures that serve as habitats for many species.

3. Feed late pollinators 🌼
   Flowers such as asters, borage, or phacelia still provide nectar and pollen in October, supporting bees and hoverflies until the first frost.

4. Protect the soil with living cover 🌱
   Sow green manures (mustard, vetch, rye) or mulch. This nourishes soil organisms and prevents the soil from being left bare.

5. Welcome birds 🐦
   By planting berry bushes or leaving some seed heads (sunflower, amaranth), you provide them with valuable food. In return, they help regulate insects naturally.

A living garden, even in winter

A garden rich in biodiversity is more resilient and better able to withstand diseases and climate extremes. In autumn, every small gesture in favor of life is a promise of vitality for the season ahead.

At Cycle en Terre, we believe that cultivating local, open-pollinated seeds is also part of this diversity and autonomy that we value so much.