Planning a Pollinator Garden
From the Bee City USA Committee
As you begin planning your garden this spring, why not keep pollinators in mind? A simple way to help bees, hummingbirds, butterflies, and moths is to replace a portion of the lawn area with native plantings that will provide food and shelter for wildlife. You can start small and gradually increase the size of the planting area as time and interest permit. Remember, trial and error is a normal part of the process, and even a small increase in native plant area will help our local pollinators!
Transforming lawn areas to native landscape plantings offers many advantages in the Chesapeake Bay watershed. For example, because native plants have deeper roots than turfgrass, they will improve drainage, reducing flooding and runoff. And because they don't require mowing, they will reduce the health hazards such as carcinogens, environmental pollutants, and excessive noise produced by gas-powered mowers. Native landscapes support biodiversity that helps to control populations of pests such as mosquitoes. Native plantings also create more visual interest than lawns and can address challenging site conditions such as steep slopes and erosion issues.
Keep in mind our local climate, and select plants that grow in our USDA hardiness zone, 7, to maximize likelihood of year-to-year survival. Also consider the garden site’s sun exposure and soil conditions. Most sun-loving plants require 6 hours of sunlight each day; if the planting area does not receive that much sun, then select plants that will tolerate partial to full shade. Select drought-tolerant plants for dry areas and moisture-loving plants for wetter areas.
For optimal results, select plants with a variety of flower or foliage colors, heights, and fruit or seed pods to attract a diversity of pollinators, and select plants with different bloom times to ensure you have flowers throughout the season.
If you're looking for additional guidance, Casey Trees has native garden starter kits to make it easy.
Learn more:
Find native plant recommendations
NO MOW APRIL
The City of College Park encourages residents to refrain from mowing their lawns during the month of April to support local pollinators. Pollinators are necessary for the reproduction of native plants as well as food crops, without them we wouldn’t be here! However, many of our native pollinator species are at risk, especially in urban areas, in part because they have lost much of their habitat to development (buildings, roads, and manicured lawns). Participating in No Mow April is a small and easy step we can take to help early season pollinators that are foraging for food sources and habitat.
There is no registration for No Mow April -- the College Park City Council passed Resolution 22-R-13 to permanently designate April as No Mow Month and waive the tall grass enforcement for College Park residents during April. Signage, denoting participation in No Mow April, is optional, and the City has a limited number of these colorful yard signs available on a first-come, first-served basis.
Residents who want to display support or help spread awareness of No Mow April may pick up a yard sign at Davis Hall, 9217 51st Ave, during business hours. Signs do not need to be returned at the end of the No Mow Month.
