Many gardeners are adding perennials , shrubs and trees that support pollinators to their landscape . But , how about your lawn ? We ’re insure more interest in bee lawn , including backup from the United States Department of State of Minnesota to encourage lawns that are good for pollinators and the satellite .
What is a Bee Lawn ?
Most lawn in our mood consist of a premix of turf pot , chiefly Kentucky bluegrass . A bee lawn includes low - mature flowers as well as sward sess . Bee lawns have many benefits , including providing foraging and nesting spaces for worm , reducing the amount of water supply , fertilizer and mowing required , and a great power to defy periods of implosion therapy or drought . These are tough , pesticide - complimentary plantings that calculate green most of the time of year , but have periods of flowering that can be delightful and are important to many coinage of bees . Bee lawn are specially appropriate if your lawn is fundamentally esthetic ( that is , it functions as a green blank between your home , garden and the street ) . Those whose lawn are largely recreational ( that is , children act ) may opt to plant apollinator pocket garden .
Dutch white clover is a key component of bee lawns.
TheUniversity of Minnesota Bee Labrecommends a mix of non - aboriginal , but bee - beneficial flowers , such asDutch white clover , creeping thymeandlanceleaf self - healas well as fine fescue grass for bee lawn . While dandelions and crawl Charlie have some pollinator benefit , they are n’t recommended due to their tendency to infest lawns and choke out other flowers . University of Minnesota studies found thatlawns with bee - well-disposed , bloom plant view more bee and more variety of beesthan traditional lawns . Having Dutch clover alone in a lawn attracted 55 mintage of pollinate worm , according to one report .
Lawns to Legumes
In 2019 , the Minnesota Legislature fund theLawns to Legumes task , which provided $ 900,000 for workshop , planting guides and some city and individual labor financial support to further homeowners to replace lawn areas with pollinator - friendly plantings , which can vary from belittled scoop planting to full meadows .
plant a Bee Lawn
To sum a bee lawn to your property , you could either replace the current lawn with a planting intermixture of seed of Festuca elatior and flowers . Or you’re able to tote up flower to your current lawn . The benefits of a fresh starting line glide path are that you will have the correct mix of grass seed and flush semen and they will uprise up together . supplement your grass with flowers is less expensive , but the blossom seeds must compete with the grass and may not replete in as well . If you resolve to take this approach , scalp or pout Gunter Grass 1 column inch or shorter , aerate and then add flower seed .
The good time to plant a bee lawn is in fall . seeded player overwinters and then germinates in spring . you’re able to add a bee lawn in spring , too , and Metro Blooms hasseveral shop scheduledfor this spring explicate how bee lawns work and how to instal them .
Caring for a bee lawn could not be simpler . you may keep it mowed - sooner at 3 inches or so in height . An constituent fertiliser can be applied at planting and it should be water on a regular basis as it is getting established . Beyond that , just let it grow and learn all the pollinator that derive to bask it .
For a cryptical dive on both the chronicle of lawns ( fascinating ! ) and how to institute a bee lawn , check out this helpful video from 2015 from the University of Minnesota .
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