For the Birds Ecological Landscape Services

05/24/2026

05/16/2026

05/15/2026

Still holding out on mowing your lawn? 🌱🐝

Here’s a great resource from Bee City USA that helps reframe the No Mow May conversation. The campaign has been incredibly successful at getting people thinking about bees and pollinators this time of year — and that awareness is a really good thing.

The updated guidance, though, is not to wait until the end of May to mow. Letting turfgrass grow too long can actually reduce flowering diversity and may not provide the meaningful habitat people hope it does.

Instead, consider:

* Mowing periodically to encourage native violets and low flowers already present
* Reducing lawn areas over time
* Or even better — start killing your lawn this year and replace sections with native plants that truly support native bees and other pollinators 🐝

Awareness was the first step. Habitat is the next one.

If there are flowers in your lawn, mowing less can feed hungry native bees. But the best way to help is provide native plants, natural nesting sites, avoid pesticides, and spread the word.

05/01/2026

Planning on a hike sometime soon? Check out our handy-dandy spring wildflower guide!

The PDF link to download it and print a copy is in the comments. Happy exploring — and remember to not pick any flowers you might find! 🫶

05/01/2026

Got the itch to clean up your garden? Here is a great resource from Xerces about cutting back your flower stems for bee habitat 🐝

https://xerces.org/sites/default/files/publications/22-005_01_web-screen.pdf

04/18/2026

Violets NOT violence: my latest newsletter:

Violets NOT violence: We can never forget that the living world is worth fighting for, not through war but through active, relentless love.

Today’s task: Look down at the violets and really see them. Watch them glow in the light. See who visits: the mining bee whose babies eat only pollen from violets; the fritillary caterpillar just coming out of diapause so she can one day become a butterfly; a rabbit plopping her bunny-butt on the whole plant while her babies rest nearby.

These things matter. They aren’t abstractions. And more than ever before, these animals and plants depend on us not just to notice them but to care for them and protect them.

Six years ago, I joined my local Howard County Bee City so I could be part of a team advocating for the littlest creatures in our community. One of our many initiatives is the annual Violets Photo Contest that awards fun prizes for submitted images in numerous categories.

But you don’t have to live in my town to love and appreciate the wonder of violets. Take a picture anyway. Post it so your friends start noticing violets too. Let’s start a violet movement, dropping the “n” out of “violent” in favor of flowers.

Check out my newsletter and sign up here: https://www.humanegardener.com/newsletter-april-2026/

04/18/2026

If you’ve ever looked at a fresh native seeding and thought, “Is that a wildflower… or a weed?” — you’re not alone.

The folks at Michigan Wildflower Farm put together a very satisfying (yes, a little nerdy 😉) collection of native wildflower seedlings to help with ID. It’s an awesome resource if you’re prepping a site or just trying to figure out what’s popping up.

Take a look!

https://www.michiganwildflowerfarm.com/wildflower-seedlings/