A Flowering Lawn: Bees and Dandelions

A flowering lawn is not something that most people see as being beautiful or positive. When my husband and I had our first child we decided to forgo the fertilizer that treated the pesky dandelions, crab grass and creeping charlie because we didn’t want our little one crawling on chemicals. This was hard for me as I grew up in a family that was proud of our lush lawn that was dark green, weed-free, and manicured. In fact, I remember my father paying me one cent per dandelion to dig up the buttery-yellow flowering plants. Those dandelion tap roots were definitely a chore to dig out. Little did I know that the weeds we were treating, digging out, and eradicating were some of the most important flowers of the spring!

If you watch the news, read the newspaper, or follow any type of social media, you have probably been informed of one or more of the problems facing the bee population, not only in the United States, but across the world. You may have read about the declination of bees, Colony Collapse Disorder (a phenomenon where the worker bees abandon a colony and leave all of the honey, the queen bee, and a few nurse bees to care for the young), or pesticide poisoning of bees. The University of Minnesota pinpoints three reasons for the decline in the number of bees and why this matters:

Why the decline in bees?

1. Flowerless yards that lack plant diversity.
2. Pesticide use such as the neonicotinoids.
3. Diseases (Israeli Acute Paralysis virus and Nosema) and parasites (varroa mite).

Why does this matter?

1. Over 70% of our flowering plants depend on bees and other pollinators to reproduce.
2. Pollinated plants grow more than 30% of our food and beverages.
3.  About $29 billion in U.S. farm income is generated by bees and other pollinators.

Back to those pesky (or beautiful) dandelions. Dandelions are often the very first meal bees consume after they sleepily awake from their winter hibernation because dandelions are one of the first flowers to bloom profusely in the spring, especially in cool northern climates. Bees need quick nourishment after they emerge, and dandelions provide just that! Dandelions provide both protein (pollen) and carbohydrate (nectar). Did you know that bees can smell dandelions from a mile away? What should you do about all of those dandelions in your yard? I can see you cringing right now. Yes, let those dandelions grow! If you do this, you will be saving yourself money each year and saving plants and critters alike. According to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service:

Homeowners use up to 10 times more chemical pesticides per acre on their lawns than farmers use on crops, and they spend more per acre, on average, to maintain their lawns than farmers spend per agricultural acre.

Surprising, isn’t it? All of these pesticides are leached into the ground, get washed into creeks, lakes, and/or drains, and can even travel long distances by rain or fog, which is called non-point source pollution. Nearly eight years is the time it took me, after we chose to stop fertilizing our lawn, to accept dandelions (and creeping charlie, and violets, and thistle) growing happily in our lawn. I have to say that my family and I thoroughly enjoy and look forward to those first flowers opening up and greeting us in the spring. Just a few days ago, my son, daughter, and I went out to see which insects were enjoying the feast of dandelions in our front yard. We spent nearly an hour observing many different types of bees, ants, and hoverflies ingesting the nectar (carbohydrate) and pollen (protein) of the dandelions. The cherry blossoms, pear blossoms, and apple blossoms on our fruit trees were also covered with bees, thanks to the dandelions for luring the bees here in the first place. A perfect example of sustainable agriculture.

What can we do as homeowners to help boost the bee population? Well, there are multiple things:

• Do not use insecticides or pesticides and choose to buy plants from nurseries that use bee-friendly ways to eliminate pests.
• Plant bee-friendly plants.
• Accept or even enjoy a flowering lawn.

Do your part in supporting our bees by embracing a flowering lawn. See the lists below for other dandelion facts and other flowers you can plant in your yard to support the bees all season long. I leave you with a picture of my dog, Brook. She also loves the sea of dandelions in our front yard!

Dandelion Facts

• Dandelions are good for top soil. Dandelions have long tap roots that take nutrients from underneath the top soil, such as calcium, and brings that nutrients to the top soil. Other plants that have shallow roots benefit from the nutrients dandelions bring up.
• Dandelion tap roots help to aerate the soil and help reduce erosion.
• The entire dandelion plant is edible.
• Dandelion leaves taste like arugula, the leaves are best when they are picked before the plant blooms.
• Use the blossoms to make dandelion wine.
• Dandelions are very healthy to eat (as long as they haven’t been sprayed or fertilized). The greens contain vitamins C and B6, thiamin, riboflavin, calcium, iron, potassium, and manganese, folate, magnesium, phosphorus, and copper.

Plants That Bees Love                                                                             Bloom Time

• Aruncus dioecus or goatsbeard                                                     Mid
• Agastache or licorice plant                                                             Mid-to-late
• Asclepias or butterfly weed                                                            Mid-to-late
• Echinacea or coneflower                                                                 Mid
• Eupatorium maculatum or joe-pye weed                                    Mid-to-late
• Geranium or cranesbill                                                                   Early
• Hylotelephium telephium or Autumn Joy sedum                     Mid-to-late
• Liatris aspera or Rough Blazingstar                                             Mid-to-late
• Lupinus perennis or wild lupine                                                  Early-to-mid
• Monarda or beebalm                                                                       Mid-to-late
• Nepeta x faassenii or catmint                                                        Mid-to-late
• Origanum vulgare or oregano                                                       Mid-to-late
• Papaver or poppies                                                                          Early-to-mid
• Rudbeckia or Black-eyed Susan                                                    Mid-to-late
• Symphyotrichum lateriflorum or Calico aster                           Late
• Trifolium or clover                                                                          Mid-to-late

For more information on building your own pollinator-friendly space in your yard, head on over to Pollinator Parkway and download the the Parking Strip Manual. A very kind lady put a lot of time and effort into gathering a ton of helpful information for those wishing to this very thing. Get the free manual here: Parking Strip Manual