Create and Maintain a Pollinator-Friendly Yard: Five tips from the Department of Conservation

A beautiful outdoor area for personal enjoyment and entertaining that requires less work and money to establish and maintain while being safe for humans, pets and plants may sound like the stuff dreams are made of. Yet all of that and more is possible when an outdoor area is created with the goal of attracting and protecting pollinators such as ants, bees, beetles, butterflies, flies, hummingbirds, moths and wasps.

Pollinator-friendly environments offer numerous benefits. For example, more than 80% of the plant population, which supplies sustenance to humans and animals, is dependent on pollinators. Conversely, without pollinators, the vast majority of the fruits, vegetables, dairy products and meat products humans consume would be unavailable.

A recent study led by the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and published in “Environmental Health Perspectives” in 2022 illustrates the devastating consequences of the decline in pollinators: Data from crop yields from experimental farms around the world shows the decline in the number of “robust pollinators” led to the production of 3 to 5% less fruit, vegetables and nuts in 2020. As a result, an estimated 427,000 deaths occur annually due to “lost healthy food consumption and associated diseases.”

In addition to promoting health, pollinator-friendly outdoor areas also require less time and money to maintain. They require little, if any, manual irrigation, resulting in time saved and less water consumption. They also require less or no mowing, which leads to lower fuel costs and more time relaxing in the outdoor area than working in it. Finally, no fertilizer or pesticides are needed, again resulting in less labor and expense.

But practical benefits are not the only reason to create a pollinator-friendly yard.

“Pollination is such a beautiful and amazing process,” says Jamie Koehler, Master Gardener. “It fascinates me how plants and insects have figured out ways to help each other.”

Local sources such as the Cape Girardeau Conservation Center, which is part of the Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC), offer assistance to those wishing to create and maintain a pollinator-friendly outdoor space.

James Borowiak, MDC private land conservationist, explains the role the MDC plays in helping Missourians attract pollinators to their yards and help them thrive.

“The Department of Conservation is dedicated to assisting Missouri citizens with establishing pollinator plots not only to support biodiversity within the ecosystem, but also to foster a connection between people and nature,” Borowiak says. “This enthusiastic connection will ensure a sustainable future for our delicate ecosystems.”

Visitors to the Cape Girardeau Nature Conservation Center will find a wide variety of resources, including free brochures and pamphlets, books at a nominal fee, educational programs, and staff members who are happy to provide information and answer any questions they may have.

Alex Holmes, Cape Girardeau Conservation Nature Center assistant manager, is one of those individuals. Here, Holmes shares five tips for developing and maintaining a pollinator-friendly yard, patio or deck:

1. Utilize as many native plants as possible.

Whatever your goal — to attract a specific pollinator such as hummingbirds or butterflies or to create a yard that attracts a wide variety of pollinators — Holmes says using the highest number of native plants is the way to achieve that goal.

“Be sure to plant for all four seasons and choose varieties so some plants are in bloom throughout the entire growing season,” Holmes says.

2. Visit the Missouri Wildflower Nursery.

Perhaps the largest source of native plants and located in Jefferson City, Mo., this nursery holds yearly plant sales throughout the state, including one at the Cape Girardeau Conservation Nature Center. Their catalog is a veritable cornucopia of well-organized, clear, and concise information and includes a photo of every plant with its light preference, flower color, space and moisture needs. Especially helpful is the “bloom period” information for every plant offered, information that is crucial to ensuring pollinators find the blooms they need from early spring through late fall.

3. Provide pollinators with fresh water.

Make sure the water is somewhat shallow.

“A birdbath with stones or marbles in the bottom is an ideal water source for pollinators,” Holmes says.

4. Avoid pesticides.

Pesticides such as lawn treatments and flea and insect pellets should not be used on yards. As PennState Extension notes at www.extension.psu.edu, pesticides have both sublethal and lethal effects. Repercussions on bees, for example, range from “impaired foraging and homing ability and reduced immune response” to a significantly-shortened lifespan during foraging season. Instead of the typical six-week lifespan, some pesticide-treated bees live only a few days.

And while a gardener’s first inclination might be to inspect plants and physically remove pests, Holmes advises they be left alone, allowing nature to unfold without undue interference.

5. Resist “putting the garden to bed” in the fall.

Holmes suggests waiting until temperatures rise into the 40s or 50s to clean up the beds, as well as refraining from bagging up or burning material removed, to avoid killing the pollinators living in plant stems, etc. and to avoid destroying the eggs they have planted there. Instead, create an area that is hidden from view, if preferred, for those materials and allow them to decompose naturally, continuing to serve the pollinators as they do.

Master Gardener Jamie Koehler says this is beneficial to pollinators.

“Gardens are the pollinators’ perfect winter home,” Koehler says. “Pollinators can seek refuge in the leaf litter, grasses, and stems of plants until spring comes and they continue on with their life cycle.”

Whatever your circumstances — large back yard or small patio or deck, experienced gardener or total novice, retiree with plenty of time or weekend gardener — a beautiful and safe outdoor area can be yours through the creation of a yard that invites pollinators and allows them to flourish.

What is a pollinator?

Pollinators are living creatures that carry pollen from the male part of a flower to the female part of the same or another flower, leading to plant fertilization and the production of seeds, fruits and even young plants. In the broader sense of the word, pollinators include not just ants, bees, beetles, butterflies, flies, hummingbirds, moths and wasps, but also birds and small mammals, including bats!

Local Master Gardener Jamie Koehler says pollen is sometimes adhered inside a plant so firmly that a pollinator must resort to “buzz pollination.” The pollinator grasps the flower and then buzzes its wings so rapidly the pollen is shaken loose and onto their bodies. It is, as Koehler explains, like us “shaking a tree to get the fruit to fall to the ground.”

Let’s take a look at some of the most common pollinators and how they work:

The honey bee

The most commonly-thought-of pollinator is not a native species; instead, honey bees originated in Europe. A honey bee can fly up to 15 miles per hour and fly around the world after consuming just one ounce of honey. They’re also prolific dancers. They perform a “waggle dance” of jerky back-and-forth movements and figure-eights to indicate the location of a food source. And despite common misconception, honey bees are often not the best bees for the job; native bees can be far more beneficial to farmers, orchardists and home gardeners.

Native bees

There are approximately 4,000 bee species native to the U.S., and some are smaller than a grain of rice. Their in-flight wing movement mimics that of tiny tornadoes, their eyes perceive ultralight, and some, such as leafcutter bees, eat their siblings if they are blocking the entrance to their nest!

Flies and gnats

Koehler says gnats enter a jack-in-the-pulpit, a large flower that looks like a big funnel with a flap over the top, and crawl to the bottom of the bloom, collecting pollen as they go. Once at the bottom, the gnat cannot return by the same route and must instead exit, carrying its load of pollen, through a tiny hole at the bottom of the bloom.