Look to your garden to see climate change. What you can do to mitigate its effects

• Climate change is altering seasonal patterns, causing plants to bloom earlier and disrupting ecosystems.
• Pollinator and invertebrate populations are declining due to habitat loss, pesticide use, and seasonal shifts.
• Gardeners can support nature by removing invasive species and planting native or naturalized plants.

An attractive and well-maintained garden or landscape instills a sense of accomplishment within ourselves while also benefiting our closest neighbors. Sometimes our green spaces are even favorable to nature. But our gardening endeavors should be second to the purpose and function that nature benefits from.

Despite the changing weather patterns and trends, your landscape can be practical and pretty while serving nature. We are all navigating a hotter planet, but that change starts with an awareness and understanding of how the impact affects Mother Nature.

Call it a fluke or even a quirk, but I have noticed some subtle changes in the garden over the past few years: azaleas partially blooming when they should be dormant, bumblebees gathering food when they should be in hibernation, and camellia bushes budding up in early rather than late summer.

The warmer world is slowly redefining what our seasons look like. Winters are cut shorter, so springtime arrives earlier each year. The hot summer temperatures are then pushed into early fall, which in turn decreases the amount of actual cold, chill time in the winter. Many Floridians don’t care for the cold, but for those who enjoy growing deciduous fruit trees like nectarines, peaches and plums, a reduction in cold weather means their trees will most likely not set fruit. Officially, chill time is considered temperatures that range between 32 degrees F and 45 degrees F, and it is measured in units. For example, plums need an average of 250 chill units while nectarines require closer to 350 units. For details on all of the edible fruit plants grown in Florida, please visit https://gardeningsolutions.ifas.ufl.edu/plants/edibles/fruits/.

Ornamental and herbaceous flowers are now starting to bloom between 5-12 days earlier, on average, in the spring season. The community of organisms that comprise our ecosystem are having to adjust to the timing mismatch of plant activity. This creates an imbalance that distresses the energy flow and food webs of the natural order.

We rely, okay, take for granted, that the pollinators will just show up when the new plant growth appears. But this population has also been hampered beyond just the shift in seasons and temperatures. That decline is exacerbated by pesticide use, light pollution, disease and loss of habitat. Florida is home to hundreds of bee and bird species, some residential and others migratory, which is another layer of displacement in the food chains. And not to be outdone, the richness of our soil relies on invertebrate activity to keep the soil healthy and fertile for our plants. According to Science Daily, earthworms, slugs and snails have declined by 45 percent globally since 1990. These are all intentional observations that do not exist in a bubble.

Understanding what impact you currently make on the planet is a great place to start. The next best thing we can do is to properly remove all invasive plants from our landscapes and intentionally plant natives and naturalized selections.

People bring in new species of plants thousands of times quicker than we can counter those that become invasive. And they arrive and thrive without the natural enemies from their native ecosystems. It is not uncommon to see many of our popular houseplants find their way into outdoor landscapes. While the intention may be in good faith, the fact is that many of these species escape your yard and aggressively grow in our naturalized areas. For example, Snake plant, Sansevieria trifasciata, Golden pothos/Epipremnum aureum, Spider plant/Chlorophytum comosum and Swiss cheese plant/Monstera Deliciosa are predicted to become a high-risk invasion and may harm ecosystems when they are deliberately transplanted outside the home.

With daylight saving time just around the corner, gardeners may feel inclined to do some pruning ahead of the winter season. But fighting off the urge to remove things unnecessarily is a win-win situation for many of the creatures currently living on our land.

Leaving in place spent flowers, bare twigs and branches and leaves on the ground offers forage and escape for subspecies you may never see. For a schedule of what to do and not do in your yard at this time of year, please visit Garden Design’s checklist at https://www.gardendesign.com/autumn/fall-garden-cleanup.html.

With the time and energy that you are not spending on pruning, you can instead invest in your soil. Improving the quality of your soil by adopting new practices is not nearly as challenging as you may think. If you need some direction to learn the cultural practices to upgrading, visit https://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/publication/EP624.

Decide now that your gardening plan for 2026 will include plenty of different plant species and enough of each species to attract pollinators. Almost half of our native bees rely on native plants to exist, so consider how your new space can help them flourish, not perish. Every landscape matters in terms of diversity and resources to the wild. Expanding your knowledge in this special area includes a visit to the following link: https://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/publication/WC428.

Time marches on, and we are all confronted with change to survive. The effects of climate change on our landscapes are becoming more visible. Acknowledging the struggles that our plants and animals face should empower us to control the few things we can by way of plant selection and care.

Candace Barone is a Master Gardener volunteer with the Duval County Extension Service and the University of Florida/IFAS. For gardening questions, call the Duval County Extension Office at (904) 255-7450 from 9 a.m. to noon and 12:30 to 3:30 p.m. Monday-Friday and ask for a Master Gardener volunteer.