Leave your plants alone—the birds will thank you. Seeds from your flowers can last through March and provide food for early spring migrants.

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Goldenrods are especially spectacular: they’re top host perennials, their seeds are edible, and they shelter insect larvae inside the hard, round galls in their stems—which chickadees and woodpeckers love to excavate.

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Depending on your location, bee nesting sites may include hollow stems of goldenrod, raspberry, sumac, blackberry, and other plants. You don’t want to destroy their nests!

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Aim for a cascade of flowers that produce seeds for finches, sparrows, and other birds—food that lasts throughout the winter.

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Bottom line: Deadheading is not cool…unless you ARE a deadhead. Then you’re totally cool. 😎