Life in the Lawn

A just grass lawn only supports about 100 species and zero pollinators. A weedy lawn supports over 600 species with many pollinators visiting not native flowers like chickweed, clover, and dandelion, and native flowers like violets and wild strawberry. However, letting the lawn go wild is not the same as creating a healthy native ecosystem. The non-native weeds will need to be removed to create a meadow or prairie garden. In addition to letting the lawn go weedy there are many other ways to have a lawn and still protect pollinators.

• Use electric equipment for lawn maintenance. Gas engines can cause a lot of pollution and are very noisy, insects don’t like that.

• Mow less often, mow as little as possible to still keep the neighbors happy. When you do mow, mow on the high setting to leave more flowers.

• Mowing in the evening can also cause less harm to pollinators and not disrupt their floral visits.

• Wait to mow in the spring until there are plenty of other flowers blooming. Often lawn weeds are the first flowers to bloom and early spring flowers are essential for bumble bees and other spring pollinators. In general, try not to mow until at least the end of April.

• Leave grass clippings and leaves. The nutrients in this common yard waste are important nutrition to insects. Fall leaves are great at providing shelter to over wintering insects looking for a safe place to curl up.

• I shouldn’t even have to mention this but don’t use fertilizer, pesticides, or herbicides. All of these chemicals are harmful to pollinators and unnecessary if you don’t work for a golf course.