This one small act of doing nothing for a bit can significantly help our pollinator friends.

Pollinators are Friends

When it comes to bugs, I'm usually not a big fan unless that bug is a pollinator.  We always hear about insects like bees being vital for the ecosystem, and the reason for that is bees are pollinators.  Along with bees insects and animals like bats, butterflies, hummingbirds, and beetles are also pollinators.

Pollinators are extremely important to the environment because they pollinate the food we eat and the flowers we enjoy.  The National Parks Service describes a pollinator as:

A pollinator is anything that helps carry pollen from the male part of the flower (stamen) to the female part of the same or another flower (stigma). The movement of pollen must occur for the plant to become fertilized and produce fruits, seeds, and young plants.

Pollinators are so incredibly important that according to the National Parks Service,  one in every three bites of food we eat is thanks to pollinators! So these little guys are doing us a huge service. And you can do them a huge service, by simply doing nothing.

Help Out Pollinators by Doing, Well, Nothing

How often can we honestly say that doing nothing is helpful?  It's rare, but this is one of those instances where doing nothing is not only helpful, it is encouraged!  Spring is officially here, and on warmer days when the sun pops out and the temperature is warm, all I want to do is pick out new plants for my landscaping and clean up the yard.

By the time spring rolls around after a long winter, your yard and garden can tend to look a little bit worse for wear.  Usually, there's a layer of fallen leaves from the fall, sticks, grass, and other dead plant matter covering the ground.  However, by leaving these things on the ground, you can actually help keep pollinators safe.

Leave the Leaves and Delay Your Spring Cleaning

According to Gardening Know How, it is recommended to leave the leaves that fall to the ground in the fall, and delay your spring yard clean up as these things will help protect overwintering pollinators.

There is a very good reason to wait on cleaning your garden – pollinators. Many pollinators, like bees and butterflies, overwinter in dead plant material. They ride out the cold weather there and emerge in spring to do their good work.

When you remove the leftover dead material too early in the springtime,  you could unintentionally kill or harm insects living within the dead matter.

How Long Should You Wait to Clean Up Your Yard in the Spring?

While it may be a bit of an eyesore when you look out and see all of the leaves all over your yard, it's important to remember this is just temporary, and for a good cause.

Garding Know How recommends waiting until the temperature is consistently around 50 degrees before doing your spring yard work.

By removing dead material too early, you risk destroying many of these pollinators. A good rule of thumb is to wait until temperatures are consistently about 50 degrees F. (10 C.). This will help protect habitat in the spring and ensure you have a robust and healthy pollinator population and overall garden ecosystem.

So there you have it! If your neighbors ever make a comment on the way your yard looks, be sure to let them know you're not lazy, you're simply helping out pollinators!