Welcoming Wildlife in Winter – Garden Tasks for the Cold Season

By Erin Parker, Interpretive Services Supervisor

These cold, dark days may trigger dreams about summer’s lush gardens- especially when the seed catalogs start arriving in your mailbox! While Michigan’s garden season is still months away, there are several tasks that we can do to increase the wildlife activity and improve our backyard greenspaces come spring.

Consider the gaps

One activity that makes sense to do in the winter is to review what features and plants already exist. Birds and small mammals like shrubs and trees for cover, to escape from predators, as shelter from severe weather, and for food. Are there any wildlife-friendly shrubs or trees in the spaces you maintain? Could you add a few?

Adding native shrubs can increase wildlife value to your yard. And if it includes fruit, like this winterberry holly (Ilex verticillata) it both adds color to the landscape and provides food throughout the winter.

If you are considering converting some turf-grass lawn to native pollinator garden, mapping out a small space to start with can be a good winter-time activity, too. Like all winter gardening projects, it’s easy to get overly amibitious about size and scope so start small!

Another winter task is to consider if there are non-native plants or shrubs that could be removed. Especially things like the buckthorns (glossy and common), tree-of-heaven, boxwoods. These shrubs don’t provide healthy food sources for insects or birds and do spread readily into our ecosystems. Tree of heaven is also a host for the spotted lanternfly, an agricultural pest on grapes and other crops that is just starting to spread into Michigan and other midwestern states.

Finally, is there a winter water source? Water becomes a scarce commodity in the cold and even a small bird bath with a heater that keeps it from freezing can be a wildlife attractant in the winter. Keep the water extremely shallow, despite the name “bird bath”, songbirds and other wildlife aren’t looking to soak! They want to drink and splash and are much more likely to use a water source where they can stand with their feathers out of the water.

A shallow birdbath or other moving water source can bring birds and wildlife throughout the winter. Adding a heater keeps it from freezing and keeping the water level low means small songbirds are more likely to utilize it for splashing and drinking. They don’t want a deep pool, just enough to stand in and splash around. Adding rocks to the bottom can help keep it attractive if the water level is too deep.

Sowing seeds for spring

Another wintertime activity that both helps prepare your spring garden for new native plant additions and scratches the itch of planting: winter seed sowing. Many Michigan native plants and seeds require this season of cold to germinate. In the wild, these seeds would naturally be exposed to the cold, snow, and seasonal fluctuations of freezing and thawing. Gardeners can take advantage of this need through several techniques.

One is simply to sow seeds of native plants, outside, on a day when there is light, fluffy snow that helps the seeds disappear from the watchful eyes of hungry birds and animals. The germination rate for this method is likely lower than others, as the seeds will have to outcompete whatever is already established below the snow come spring. However, it’s a great way to add a few native plants into a bed or easily use up seeds that aren’t going to otherwise be planted.

A second method is winter sowing in recycled milk jugs, salad containers, or even re-used plastic pots. This technique requires some damp potting soil, a container, and some sort of cover or lid. Domed salad or takeout containers can be great for this purpose! Make sure there are plenty of drainage holes in the bottom before you start sowing. Plant seeds in the container in the damp soil. Make sure to label the container with pencil that won’t erase in the rain and snow! Take your planted containers outside where they will receive sunlight and be exposed to the cold. Much like the method above, seeds that require a cold season to germinate will get the temperatures they need to break dormancy. Another benefit of winter sowing in containers is that the containers function as greenhouses and plants get a little head start on the growing season. Gardeners need to make sure their plants don’t cook in the sun as spring arrives, but will not need to harden off their winter-sown seedlings as they will already have been exposed to wind, rain, and sun as they grew.

All of these things can increase the wildlife value of your yard, bringing pollinators, birds, and small mammals to eat, shelter, and even nest. And they’re nice ways to connect to the seasons as we take advantage of the calm, cold days of winter before the busy spring arrives!

Resources and events to learn more

Seeds to community: Winter Sowing– January 24^th, 2026- Ann Arbor- Matthei Botanical Garden

Seed Swap and Sale– January 31^st, 2026- White Lake- Metroparks

Garden Club– Multiple dates and times throughout 2026- White Lake – Metroparks

2026 Smart Gardening Conference – March 28^th, 2026 – Belleville- MSU

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