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POLLINATORS
Aide pollinators for fun and to ensure their survival.
Climate change is threatening these insects on which we depend for a LOT of our food.
Why Pollinators Matter
We depend on insects to pollinate 40% of the food we eat! Because those insects don't hang around gardens or farms only when humans need them, we must entice them to stick around all growing season by planting pollen-producing blooms. Happily, they're easy to grow and beautiful to our eyes, too.
Leave Some Leaves in the Fall
In fall, rake some leaves to a back corner or under shrubs to protect shrub and tree roots from winter damage. They will nourish the plants—and the decomposers of the soil’s food web, from worms to firefly larvae! If piled 3” to 6” deep, they also will ensure a protective winter home for some species of moths, butterflies and other pollinator species. Learn more here.
Leave a Few Bare Patches of Soil, Too
We just asked you to cover some bare soil with fall leaves. Why are we asking you to leave some soil bare, too? Some solitary bees and bumble bees live in the soil, and can't burrow into heavily vegetated or mulched ground. Leaving a few bare patches under other shrubs or in other out of the way places makes a big difference.
Avoid Pesticides
There's no way around it: Pesticides also kill "good bugs," like ladybugs and pollinators. Even pesticide companies that aim for the ground to avoid flying pollinators still poison pollinators living in the soil. Please strive to live in harmony with nature, even if it means a few more insects in the garden and having to clean the gutters and refill the birdbath more frequently.
Leave Some Pruned Branches & Stems
Some native species of bees build nurseries in the trimmed ends of woody branches and stout stems of shrubs and sturdier wildflowers. In the spring, when trimming shrubs, leave a few cut branches. In the fall, prune and leave some stems of Purple Coneflowers, Black-Eyed Susans, etc. Vary their heights, 6"-24" above the soil. Learn more, below, on bee nurseries.
Encourage Native Bees' Nurseries
Here's a fun project that will fascinate you and the kids! First, watch this "Bee Nurseries" video. Then, follow these easy instructions and you'll have mama bees and their "Cinderella daughters" raising babies in your yard in the spring, summer and fall!
Find more helpful tips here:
And here: