Less is More- Lazy Best Practices for Gardening For Pollinators
When we think about helping bees and butterflies, we usually think about adding things to the landscape: buying more plants, building insect hotels, or spreading bags of seed. But since June is National Pollinator Month, I want to share a secret that every busy homeowner will love: sometimes, the best way to help pollinators is simply to do less.
By shifting a few of our management habits, we can turn our yards into ecological havens without breaking a sweat. Here are a few ways that "less is more" when it comes to pollinator health.
A long-horned bee feeds on nectar and pollen from Echinacea purpurea in Eastern North Carolina. Many of the long-horned bees prefer pollen and nectar from members of the sunflower family. Even though the petals aren't pretty, the flowers in the disk are still useful! Photo by Amanda Bratcher
Mow Less Frequently (With a Catch!)
Mowing can be a major point of contention. Some folks prefer a pristine, nice green lawn with specific turf types, while others just want a green space in front of their homes that creates a restful place for the eyes. Unfortunately, standard, tightly shorn turf areas do not provide habitat, floral, or nectar resources for pollinators.
If your goal is to support pollinators, try mowing less frequently in select areas to let clover, dandelions, and other tiny flowers bloom for a few weeks, rather than shaving everything down to one to three inches.
Regular mowing frequency is vital when trying to maintain specific warm-season turf types like Bermudagrass or Centipedegrass. If you want to maintain a highly-specific, manicured turf grass, reducing your mowing frequency isn't recommended. Instead, look at the other tips below!
Tall grasses area allowed to get to their full height next to mown turf areas at the Prairie Ridge Ecostation in Raleigh. Grasses are important plants for pollinators and other wildlife for many different reasons. Photo by Amanda Bratcher
Designate "Mow-Rarely" Zones
North Carolina is home to thousands of native wildflower species, many of which are just waiting for the opportunity to land a seed in your yard and grow. Unfortunately, due to our frequent, heavy landscape maintenance practices, we often throw the baby out with the bathwater.
Select a few areas on your property—like ditch banks or backyard edges—and commit to mowing them only two to three times a year. Naturally occurring wildflowers will often establish themselves in these quiet zones for free. These are also excellent areas to supplement with native wildflower seed mixes. You must commit to mowing these spaces at least once to thrice a year, and you’ll need equipment that can handle heavier, woody stems. Without that minimal mowing, your open space will quickly start transitioning into a forest!
Opt for Fewer Pesticides
Pesticides are powerful tools in the gardening toolbox, but they aren't always the best tool for the job. When used as a quick fix without practicing Integrated Pest and Pollinator Management (IPPM), they can actually create more problems than they solve by wiping out the beneficial insects that eat our pests. Always properly identify the root cause of your plant issues before reaching for a chemical spray. We are happy to help you with a free diagnosis at you local NC Cooperative Extension Office!
Spray Yourself, Not Your Yard
If you are struggling with mosquitoes this summer, spray your skin, not your landscape. Commercial mosquito fogging services are rarely effective at long-term control because they only kill adult mosquitoes on contact and completely miss the larvae. Furthermore, these blanket barrier sprays can also wipe out our native bees and butterflies.
Instead, dump out standing water weekly. For areas where water has to stand (like rain barrels or birdbaths), use mosquito dunks. These can be bought in bulk online for relatively cheap. They utilize a naturally-occurring bacterium that targets mosquito larvae specifically, making them highly effective against mosquitoes but completely harmless to livestock, pets, humans, and bees.
Standing stems are so important for small bee species in North Carolina and you can help them simply by cutting the stems back over the winter and leave them standing in your garden. Photo by Amanda Bratcher
Trim Perennial Stems Minimally
In 2023, NC State University and Extension Master Gardener volunteers across the state conducted a research study to understand exactly when stem-nesting bees utilize dead perennial stems for nesting material. They discovered a fascinating timeline: stems that grew in the first year were actually utilized by bees in the second year.
Instead of cutting your perennial flowers flat to the ground in autumn, prune your dead stems back to 18 to 24 inches between December and February. Bees that emerge in the spring and summer the following seasons will use those standing dead hollow stems to lay their eggs. While it might sound like an eyesore to leave dead sticks standing, once your new spring foliage emerges, these old stems are quickly hidden from view.
Leave the Leaves
The "Leave the Leaves" campaign has been around for a few years now. Every fall, we hear the same refrain—some folks embrace it, while others view it as pure laziness. But leaving the leaves can work for any aesthetic if you dedicate a specific "leaf zone" under your trees or behind shrubs.
If you like fireflies, bumblebees, or beautiful giant moths in the summer, you need these leaves. These insects don't migrate, and they don't spontaneously generate in June. They are actively overwintering, pupating, and hibernating right underneath the leaf litter on your property.
Fall leaves aren't just beautiful (or a nuisance), they are important habitat for insects and other animals who overwinter in our area. Try to select areas where you will leave the leaves and won't trample them! The bees and lightning bugs will thank you. Photo by Amanda Bratcher
Think Small: Plant Plugs and Containers
Buying plants the size of a landscape plug (rather than 4-inch or 1-gallon pots) is a brilliant way to save money, increase plant establishment rates, planting windows, and install a larger volume of plants on a tight budget. You can buy plugs or sow your own native perennials in plug trays over the winter to plant out later.
Not everyone has a massive yard or in-ground garden space. Even if you only have a patio or space for a single pot, hosting just one flowering native plant during the growing season provides a critical nectar stop for passing insects. This directly contributes to habitat connectivity, making it easier for these small animals to safely navigate our modern, paved world.
Let’s Grow Together
Hopefully, these tips show you that just a few small shifts in management practices and planting methodologies are more than enough to support pollinator health. You don't have to change your entire lifestyle to make a difference—sometimes, you just have to leave the mower in the shed.
Get in Touch!
Amanda Bratcher is the horticulture agent with N.C. Cooperative Extension—Lee County Center. You can reach out to the office at 919-775-5624 for more information or questions regarding this article, or for any other questions about your garden, farm, land, or plants! Visit our website's events page at to register for upcoming programs.
