The New Buzz over Bee Lawns

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Are they best for bees? A pollinator conservationist questions the value of this Minnesota innovation.​

This article first appeared in the Fall 2025 issue of Northern Gardener magazine. Visit our shop to order this or other available back issues.

STORY GAIL HUDSON

As much as Americans love their gardens, no plant is prized as much as the grass in their lawns. The continental U.S. has more than 40 million acres of this pristine carpet of green surrounding their homes. But more than a decade ago, we were encouraged to transform them by letting a few short flowers grow, all to help the bees. The “bee lawn” movement took off across the country.

But now this popular, pollinator-friendly trend is coming under new scrutiny. Heather Holm, a well-known Minnesota biologist, pollinator conservationist and award-winning author, is on a mission to change our minds about lawns yet again. Bee lawns, she says, are “one step up from concrete—the absolute bare minimum. The bee lawn really falls fairly low on the spectrum of what people can do,” she says, in spite of “messaging that has really swayed the general public.”

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Gail Hudson is a horticulturist, an Emmy® award-winning journalist and video producer, an MHS Board member and avid gardener in Minneapolis.

@gailhudsonmedia

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