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Thursday, March 17, 2016

Help a pollinator out

As the weather is warming and flowers are sprouting, I thought I'd post a few early season tips to help out the pollinators!



1) Hold off a bit on mowing, or increase the height of the mower blade

Yes, many things (weeds) probably grow in your yard aside from grass. No, they probably aren't wanted by you. Those "weeds", however, are important foods to pollinators, especially the honeybee. Did you know that a dandelion can have up to 100 pollen and nectar packed florets? These are a crucial food source in the early part of the season! Just by raising the mower blade a little bit, you can make a difference in the food supply for the pollinators.

2) Plant for the seasons

Planting flowers for all seasons will help ensure food throughout the year. Plant early-blooming flowers like Heather or Rockcress to provide early food for the pollinators.

3) Plant in clusters

Multiple plants will provide more than single plants, naturally, so pollinators will be attracted to clusters.

4) Plant a variety of shapes

Not only will a variety of flower shapes add uniqueness to your garden, but it will help the pollinators out, too! Not all bees have the same size tongue, so having all sorts of different flowers will help ensure food for all pollinators.

5) Avoid buying plants/seeds pretreated with pesticides

Though you might not plan on using pesticides, that doesn't mean that the seeds or plants you want to buy don't already have them on it. Avoid purchasing products treated with neoinsecticides.


Disclaimer: Thoughts of Fluff is responsible for the content of this post. Thoughts of Fluff was not compensated for this post.


Sources:
http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/gardening-blog/2015/may/12/dandelions-pollinators-wildlife-garden
http://learn.eartheasy.com/2012/04/5-early-season-plants-which-attract-pollinators-to-your-garden/
http://www.fws.gov/pollinators/pollinatorpages/yourhelp.html
https://savebees.org/habitat/

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