The season is moving into autumn, with cooler nighttime temperatures and the possibility of additional rainfall. It's time to get your butterfly/pollinator garden ready for winter. 

Bruce Glickson, chair of our Milkweed for Monarchs Campaign, offers a few tips on fall garden prep: 

• Prune some of your plants and shrubs. Be sure to consider your specific plants. Some may need thinning or only a slight pruning. Others may require a full cutback to encourage new growth in the spring.
• Leave some plant debris on the ground. The debris will protect plant roots as well as some pollinators from hard winter conditions. It also may contain eggs that will hatch and seeds that will sprout in the spring as temperatures warm—saving you from having to replant your garden.
• Add in blooming nectar plants. These will provide seasonlong hospitality for next year's beautiful and interesting butterflies and pollinators.
• Plant bulbs now to ensure early spring growth and a pretty start to your gardens. 
• Plant milkweed seeds so good plants will develop next year. This is vital to continue the life cycle of the monarch butterfly.

For free seeds, please contact bgmonarchs@gmail.com. 

Here's hoping for another wonderful summer filled with many butterfly sightings!