The leaves collect at the edges of the yard where birds find insects and worms to eat. Wildflowers volunteer and surprise me with beautiful blossoms. After my unsuccessful attempt to cultivate foxglove, an accommodating bird dropped seeds at the edge of the yard, and I now have foxglove blooming most of the summer. The area over the septic field is mowed only in early spring and wildflowers and grasses have volunteered, giving a fair impression of a tiny meadow. Butterflies and moths are attracted there.
Spring is a perfect time to start or add to brush piles.
I put them in the back corners of the yard, out of sight. Branches, stalks of the perennials from spring cleaning gardens, and even grass sod from digging a new garden build up over the years as I add to the piles and they settle from rain and age. Salamanders, snakes, birds and mice all use the brush piles for shelter. When selecting flowering plants for the garden, I look for single blossom varieties that have sweeter and more accessible nectar than do double blossom varieties. This includes members of the daisy family such as aster, gayfeather, goldenrod, sunflower, and black-eyed Susan.