Grass lawns are an American tradition. Everyone who has any type of garden or property aspires to have a perfect and well-maintained green carpet. But as we now know, weed can be a dead zone for native insects and birds, devoid of any food or habitat for native species. Mowing, watering, fertilizing, and pest control applied to lawns have a negative impact on the environment and can be time-consuming and expensive.
With 40 million acres dedicated to them in the US, grasses are the largest irrigated crop grown in the US, but offer minimal benefits to wildlife due to their lack of floral resources and nesting sites for native bees.
Why have a lawn for bees?
Having an unmowed bee lawn simply means allowing the grass to grow undisturbed during the month of May. This means that you will not mow the grass or use any other gardening equipment that could disturb its growth. Instead, you can sit back, relax, and enjoy the beauty of your lawn in its natural state.
- Bee grasses have flowers mixed with various types of grass.
- The flowers of a bee grass provide nectar and pollen to pollinators.
- Bee lawns are environmentally friendly because they use less fertilizers and pesticides.
- Bee grass can still be used like a regular lawn with a lot of foot traffic.
- A bee lawn can attract more than 60 species of native bees, including many endangered ones.
But what if you still want to have grass, but also provide habitat by actively planting things that attract bees? You can do this by planting a “Bee Lawn”, a seed mixture developed by the University of Minnesota. Incorporating three types of flowers, Dutch white clover (Trifolium repens)Self-healing (Prunella vulgaris)and creeping thyme (Thymus serpyllum) on your lawn can make your lawn much more hospitable to wildlife.
A bee grass that blooms at 3″ or less will not use as many resources since there is no need to fertilize or water. You still have to mow the lawn, but much less frequently. A bee lawn is not as valuable as a landscape fully planted with native shrubs and perennials, but it can be part of your toolbox for providing a complete habitat suitable for bees. Lawns are still a great addition to our landscapes, but why not make them more bee-friendly?
In spring, hungry, newly emerged native bees face a critical period. In urban and suburban areas, it can be difficult to locate floral resources, but you can help by letting the grass grow for a longer period of time, allowing the flowers to bloom. And if you’re totally committed or afraid of what your neighbors think, how about a May without mowers? Instead of mowing your lawn every 5 to 7 days, double or triple the time between mowings. And forget about bee stings. Native bees rarely sting and mostly only sting when you step on them, so wear shoes on the grass!
Add these flowers to your lawn
white clover It is not native and is commonly considered a weed and lawn purists are always trying to get rid of it. Shade tolerant and considered a legume that has great benefit for your lawn. fixes its own nitrogen. That means you can add nitrogen to the soil which actually fertilizes it. Plus, clover resists darkening caused by pet urine! That sold it to me.
Self-healing or PrunellaIt is native and grows in sun or partial shade and has a long flowering period, from June to August. And the purple flower really adds some color to the lawn. Used medicinally for centuries, prunella is a member of the mint family and can spread vigorously like mint, making it suitable for lawns.
creeping thyme It is a non-native species with small pink flowers that provide nectar to pollinators. For more information on establishing a creeping thyme lawn, see Moss, Sedge, and Creeping Thyme Lawn Alternatives.
Others to try
Other candidates to try or keep if you already have them are Common violets (Viola sororia) which are native and host plants for some fritillary butterflies. The bees are always buzzing around my violets. They don’t bother me on the lawn, but I banish them from my flower beds.
dandelions They are another candidate for a bee lawn. Although they are not native, I see dandelions blooming all year round, even in winter when pollinator forage is low or non-existent.
Creeping Charlie (Glechoma hederacea) It can be an annoying and vigorous weed that is almost impossible to eradicate. But why bother? Bees love early flowers.
Not many plants can adapt to being cut short and trampled, so you must select your varieties carefully. They should be low growing, flower at very low heights and be tolerant of foot traffic. Additionally, they must be attractive to bees, compete with other grasses for space, and be perennial. And maybe you already have a bee lawn! If you already have several flowering weeds growing in your lawn, avoid using herbicide applications.
Plant a premix
I recommend Flowering Lawn seed kits, or Skinny. You can mix and match different seed mixtures with your existing lawn to easily transform it into a low-flowering lawn that neighbors will admire and perhaps want to emulate. There is no need to remove existing grass, simply reseed in any season to let the flowers begin to grow. You can even reseed in the snow! When the snow melts, the seeds will sink into the soil and germinate when ready in the spring.
Watch my Kaylee interview from skinnywho have devised combinations of premixed seeds that are easy to apply at any time of the year.
At the end of winter, I usually leave bare areas and sprinkle some flower seeds on top to germinate.
By planting a variety of native plants, providing natural nesting sites, reducing pesticide use, and disseminating information about pollinator conservation, you can create a thriving ecosystem that supports not only pollinators but also birds, mammals, and other wild animals.
For more design ideas to help pollinators, visit:
Pollinator Planting Design Guide with Logos
