Out in my garden, under the October sun, a ragged Gulf Fritillary moves from leaf to leaf, looking for a spot to lay her final eggs. She’s missing parts of both rear wings and many of her scales. She flies on.

I’ve pulled out most of the yellowing Passion Vine that she is looking for. But she persists, finds a scrap, and lays a perfect egg.

As your plants begin to fade, try not to clear them out too quickly, or too well. The creatures that surround us will go about their business until frost, and many overwinter amid dead stems and fallen leaves. A garden full of summer’s traces, browned and dry, gives many of our wild companions a winter home.