Good morning. It seems it was just a few weeks ago when we were talking about daffodils and first tulips and, by the time you read this, the leaves will be starting to change. Nights are getting chilly, and it will be time to pick apples and prepare the wood pile. Time does seem to escape all of us.

As I write this, my mind has turned from summer pursuits to autumn outings, fall plantings and the long journey ahead for so many creatures. It is this journey, and the preparations for it, that I would like to talk about today.

Specifically, the ways you can help.

I know that many of you scan the photos that go with this column before reading, so you probably noticed a picture of eaten-upon and scraggly weeds that made you all question my gardening sanity. And yes, that mess grows at my house each year. I not only tolerate it, I appreciate it for what it does.

Like you, I get a bit worried when I read or hear stories about how what we humans do negatively impacts wildlife. Earlier this summer, I read that fireflies may be gone in a decade, that annual migrations have become difficult for songbirds and hummers due to construction on the Atlantic Flyway and that Monarch butterflies are fewer in number because of loss of habitat.

Sometimes it just seems overwhelming, and I think, “What can I do against all of this? Well, if each of us helps a little, it will add up to more than you think. So let’s talk about the little things we, as gardeners, can do.

Back to those scraggly weeds, milkweed to be specific. Milkweed is the chosen plant where Monarch butterflies lay their eggs. When caterpillars hatch, they eat the leaves until they are big enough to spin their cocoons and emerge two weeks later as the large orange and black beauties we all enjoy.

And when those butterflies appear, they seek out one of their favorite foods, goldenrod – yep, two weeds that many people take great pains to eradicate from their landscape but that grow naturally across the Northeast.

Everything is intertwined, and our weeds are the butterfly’s life cycle. Now, I am aware that many gardeners don’t think they have the space available for weeds. But, they don’t have to be in your garden. They grow everywhere, so just leave them behind the garage, or where you keep the trash or behind that fence. The butterflies don’t care where they are.

We have had several hatches at our house this year, and happily our granddaughter was here for a few. To watch a 2-year-old twirl in the midst of two or three dozen newly hatched butterflies as they dry their wings – and she smiles with glee – is worth way more than a few unsightly stands of weeds.

Our last batch, the ones that will migrate to Mexico and Central America for the winter, will be hatching as you read this. She and I have kept close watch as the caterpillars have eaten and grown and spun their cocoons. And while it is a great science lesson, it is also far more magical for a 2-year-old and her gardening gram. So before you pull the milkweed and goldenrod this fall or next spring when it emerges, think about the Monarchs that will fill your garden and make everyone smile.

Another autumn undertaking for many is the traditional harvest decorating. Soon pumpkins, gourds and mums will appear on front walkways; and for many of you, so will cornstalks. This year, instead of dead cornstalks, you might consider living millet. It is lovely with many of the same corn characteristics, although it is classified as an annual grass.

I found one at Longfellow’s Greenhouse in Manchester, and it is planted in a simple bushel basket which complements mums and pumpkins rather nicely. This particular one is an All-American Selection called Purple Majesty. It is lovely with purple leaves and cattail-like flower heads. But the nice part about millet is that songbirds love the seeds in the stalks.

When I took the photo for this column, I disturbed at least a half-dozen finches, indigo buntings and rosy grosbeaks sitting below, waiting for seeds the smaller birds were dropping. Now I know it is easy to buy millet seed and put it in the feeder, but I look at it this way – wouldn’t we all rather have that red, red tomato off the bush in the garden than the one that’s wrapped in plastic at the grocery store. It just is better.

Try to keep feeders for both songbirds and hummers filled for the next month as they build up their energy supplies for the long journey ahead.

I have also included a photo of some Rubrum red fountain grass that makes a great fall decoration. I don’t know if it will help any living thing in particular, but it looks pretty. Neither the millet nor the particular kind of fountain grass I got will take our winter, but they will make good additions to the compost pile. And speaking of the compost pile, if you have one or just an area where you put garden trimmings, it is also a great place to put those pumpkins, squash and gourds when the frost finally destroys them. Chipmunks and squirrels will find them and make good use of the seeds over the winter.

So until next time, remember that both beauty and desirability are in the eye of the beholder. Perhaps you can take the time to enjoy a beautiful fall day in a local orchard, pick some apples and make a pie for that elderly neighbor who lives alone or for the school group that is raising money for some other worthy cause. And don’t forget to cut those flowers and fill the vases before it’s too late.

Happy gardening.

Jody Goodwin has been gardening for more than 25 years. She lives in Turner with her husband, Ike, her two dogs and two cats. She can be reached by writing to her in care of the Sun Journal, 104 Park St., Lewiston, Maine, 04243-4400 or by e-mail at [email protected].