Spring yard care is so important to preserving and enhancing critical habitat for beneficial insects and birds. See our Green Lawn Care Guidelines here. If you have a lawn care service, now is the time to contact them, share our guidelines, and request modifications to the standard “mow and blow” services.
Five tips to start with:
- Keep leaf blowers out of your garden beds. Leaves and plant materials are a natural part of the eco-system and provide vital habitat. Remove some leaves if necessary and loosen remaining leaves.
- Keep your yard crew out of your garden beds as they may step on delicate plants just emerging.
- Cut back tall flower stems, leaving 6″ – 12″ standing. Save the stems in a corner of your yard, upright if possible, instead of discarding them. They may be harboring unhatched insects that will be critical food for baby birds.
- Cut your grasses down to just above the crown, but leave the chaff in the garden to enhance the soil and protect from spring temperature swings. Last year’s seed heads, grasses and stalks provide food and nesting materials for birds.
- Do not subscribe to backyard mosquito spray services which result in insecticide-resistant mosquitoes and may have other harmful effects.
You can be part of a nationwide movement to provide habitat and regenerate biodiversity right in your own yard. For more information, click here.
