🪵 Build a Brush Pile That Becomes a Winter Shelter
A simple pile of sticks and branches can become one of the most valuable habitats in your garden.
How to build it:
• Stack larger logs or branches at the base for air gaps.
• Add medium twigs and smaller sticks on top.
• Fill gaps with leaves, bark, and straw.
• Place it in a quiet, shaded corner.
Who moves in:
• Wrens, robins, and sparrows find shelter from wind and snow.
• Toads, frogs, and small mammals overwinter safely inside.
• Beetles and pollinators use the decaying wood for nesting.
✨ Leave it undisturbed through winter. By spring, it becomes a thriving mini-ecosystem that recycles nutrients and supports wildlife.
"I hope I can be the autumn leaf, who looked at the sky and lived. And when it was time to leave, gracefully it knew life was a gift." — Dodinsky
