“Your Yard can BEE the Change” is the slogan from the Minnesota Board of Water and Soil Resources for a new program that provides grants to home owners or land owners alike who would like to establish a bee lawn in Minnesota. This legislation was signed by Governor Tim Walz in May 2019 and the time to apply for a grant is now here. The application deadline is Jan. 10. You can find more information regarding the program on this link https://bwsr.state.mn.us/lawns-legumes-your-yard-can-bee-change .

“The Lawns to Legumes program offers a combination of workshops, coaching, planting guides and cost-share funding for installing pollinator-friendly native plantings in residential lawns. The program also includes a public education campaign to raise awareness for pollinator habitat projects and will establish demonstration neighborhoods that showcase best practices” according to the Board of Water and Soil Resources website.

“Funding is provided through the Environment and Natural Resources Trust Fund (ENRTF) and will be targeted in  priority areas  to benefit the Rusty patched bumblebee and other at-risk species.” In Lyon County, we are generally in the lower risk category but there are some areas that have been identified as Category 2 which is in the middle of the priority needs. You will see that most of the twin city metro area is located within the highest need areas.

The key to going through this process is to first make sure that if you live within city limits that you talk to city administration about this process and what permits you may need in order to have a bee lawn. A bee lawn looks similar to a native prairie and depending on what plants you decide on, you can have a shorter bee lawn that you would only need to mow a few times a year or you can have it look more natural such as a prairie planting which means no mowing except to help control weeds if necessary. A few plants that are considered the top ten plants for Native Bumblebees: Virginia Bluebells Mertensia virginica, Blazingstars Liatris species, Wild White Indigo Baptisa alba, Milkweeds Asclepias species, Goldenrods Solidago species, Beebalms Monarda species, Beardtongues Penstemon species, Red Columbine Aquilegia Canadensis, Asters Aster species, and Blue Giant Hyssop Agastache foeniculum. You will find that all of these plants are easy to care for and make for a nice prairie planting.

Plants that are used for the bee lawn are a bit different. A gardener can have pockets of habitat, flowering trees and shrubs, pollinator lawn, and as described above pollinator meadow. A bee lawn (otherwise called a pollinator lawn) usually includes White clover (Trifolium repens) – Creeping thyme (Thymus serphyllum) – Self heal (Prunella vulgaris ssp. Lanceolata) – Ground plum (Astragalus crassicarpus) in sandy soils and Grasses – Fine fescues (Festuca sp.) These plants can be mowed a few times a year. The next set of plants bloom above typical mowing heights, but make can nice additions to gardens or border areas. – Prairie Groundsel (Packera plattensis) – Lanceleaf Coreopsis (Coreopsis lanceolata) – Calico Aster (Symphyotrichum lateriflorum).

Gardeners can also establish their own lawns using non-native plants as well. Ajugas hybrid, Alliums, Anemones, Baptisas, Bee Balms, Calamintha nepeta Catmints, Columbines, Coneflowers, Coral Bells, Coreopsis, Creeping Phlox, Dutch White clover, Dahlias, Delphiniums, Foxgloves, hardy Hibiscus, Hyssops, Lamiums, Lupines, Pulmonarias, Roses (single blossom), Rudbekias, Russian Sage, hybrid Salvia, Scabios, Sedums, Sea Holly, Sneezeweeds, and Stachys.

This is a great opportunity to be able to provide food for pollinators of all kinds but particularly bees. The grant process will help those who are interested in putting together either a private bee lawn or if there are groups who wish to do something with the bee lawns, there is funding for them as well. For more information on gardening, you can reach me at s.dejaeghere@me.com

–Photo courtesy of Minnesota Board of Water and Soil