It gets dark earlier in the evening and the minimum temperatures are flirting more and more with the freezing point. And you notice it in your garden too: the trees lose their leaves, the grass has a frost layer in the morning and the very last flowers of your plants are gone. Many people are busy getting their backyard ready for winter, but that is a bad idea.

Getting your garden ready for the winter is the reflex of many people to save themselves a lot of work in spring. But it's not good for the environment and it's bad for a lot of life in your backyard. You can prune your plants if there are branches blocking the way in your garden, but you should leave as much as possible. The following points tell you what you should (not) do and why.

Create a natural balance in your garden

Many gardeners use lots of chemicals to control pests. What they don't know is that a lot of these pests can survive in your backyard, precisely because you have made it winter-ready. If you don't, you allow other life into your backyard, like animals and insects, which keeps the numbers of those unwanted guests in check.

Hold on to small garden rubbish

Think rotten apples, leftover nuts, flower stems and other small garden waste. Any of these things are potential food or shelter for winter life. If you provide a good home for ladybirds, birds or bumblebees, among others, they will stay in your garden until summer and help you naturally fight various pests.

Do not remove twigs and leaves

In order to maintain the perfect lawn, it is often recommended to remove the leaves from your grass in the autumn, but this is just bad for the environment and for the health of your lawn. The natural layer of leaves protects the soil and your grass, which benefits the quality of your plant.

Break the vicious circle

Those who always keep their garden immaculate and tidy (according to Western standards) are damaging the health of their plants. The balance between certain insects is disturbed, which gives unwanted guests in your backyardmore freedom to attack those plants. To fight these pests, we buy a lot of chemicals that seep into the soil, making our garden even more unhealthy.

Go for unspoilt beauty

A natural, wild garden is not only a good idea from an ecological point of view, it is also very beautiful. You can create a wild, woody feeling in your garden and experiment with different plants and flowers. These wonderful examples of such a slightly wilder backyard will make you dream.

A natural balance in your garden will cost you less time, less money, bring a lot of extra life and be a feast for the eyes. If you want to welcome even more animals to your garden, discover our favourite insect-friendly plants that will attract dozens of bees and butterflies to your garden.