OKLAHOMA CITY — If you’ve ever seen any of the small, colorful gardens scattered throughout yards and flower beds throughout the city, then you’ve likely been looking at a pollinator garden, a purpose-planted collection of weeds and flowers meant to feed bees, butterflies, and more.
With pollinator populations rapidly dwindling due to climate change and habitat destruction, some city residents want to help protect bee, butterfly, and wasp species by planting the kinds of weeds and vegetation that serve as their food. This includes dandelion, milkweed, henbit, clover, and plenty of other plants.
But some OKC residents worry that growing these pollinator-friendly weeds – or even just letting them grow naturally in their yards by declining to mow – will run afoul of state and city regulations regarding lawn maintenance and grass height.
Despite those concerns (as well as a recent Change.org petition pushing for OKC regulators to “allow pollinator-friendly yards in Oklahoma”,) city officials say that these micro-sized conservation efforts are no problem, as long as they’re handled correctly.
“This last fiscal year, we did about 78,000 inspections for tall grass and weed complaints,” said Chad Davidson, the City of OKC’s Code Enforcement Superintendent. “But those complaints turn out to be pollinator gardens only about three, four, five times a year. And in those cases, we really just make sure there’s no Johnson grass or invasive weed species.”
Most pollinator gardens naturally comply
But even though residents might worry that letting pollinator-friendly weeds grow will attract tall grass complaints, the reality is that many of the most beneficial plants won’t grow to a restricted height.
“Our state statute [for height limits on grass and weeds] is twelve inches in height, and all of our staff has measuring devices to check that when they do inspections,” Davidson said.
The naturally growing plant species most often found in Oklahoma yards that are most beneficial for pollinators, such as dandelions and clover, will reach their flowering height far before that twelve-inch threshold.
White clover will flower between four and six inches and dandelions can flower at as little as two inches.
“When we get those calls and then go out and see it’s a garden with bees and butterflies in them, we’ll typically just talk to the resident and make sure there’s not invasive weeds in there,” said Davidson, whose background is in horticulture and who began work with the city in the Parks Department. “Your butterfly garden shouldn’t have Johnson grass or Dallis grass.”
Those invasive weed species will grow much higher and more quickly and won’t provide any benefit for pollinators.
Plant for success
With these regulatory considerations in mind, many OKC residents still want to plant and maintain the kind of garden that will aid and support pollinator populations, especially as their falling numbers are recently reaching dire levels.
“There’s been a decline of over 59% in the last year of the monarch population,” said Katie Hawk of Okies for Monarchs and the Oklahoma Monarch Society.
To better encourage Oklahomans to plant pollinator-friendly yards and gardens, the Okies for Monarchs website even features a section titled “How to Avoid Complaints” that offers residents a handy guide to planting within regulations.
“The best thing people can do is to create quality habitat,” Hawk told OKC Free Press in a call this week. “But of course we also have city ordinances, so there are ways to work with that.”
Some of the simplest ways to avoid complaints and calls to City Hall are to designate specific areas of your home and yard for pollinators that are out of sight of the neighbors.
“Maybe avoid doing it in your front yard and instead carve out maybe a third of your backyard,” Hawk said.
She also suggests being more precise and intentional with yard maintenance.
“One other strategy is when my grass gets too tall, but I have nectar ‘weeds’ growing such as dandelions, clover, or henbit, instead of mowing it, I will simply weed-eat the tall grass to be shorter and leave the nectaring vegetation,” she explained. “It’s a time-saving technique that’s a win-win for me and the pollinators.”
If a person wants to help pollinators like monarchs by simply letting their lawn grow a little longer, however, Hawk said it’s best to choose the right times to skip mowing for an extra week or two at the specific times of year when monarchs are migrating through Oklahoma.
“Late March and early April is when it’s hot and heavy with the spring migration, and then again in early October for the fall,” she said. “That’s when our heaviest monarch activity is in Oklahoma.”
Skipping even one or two mows during those times can result in more dandelions, clover, and henbit to provide much-needed food for monarchs on their migration journey.
Communicate before calling
Something that both Hawk and Davidson agree on is the importance of communication in preventing complaints or frustrations regarding pollinator gardens.
“Signage goes a long way,” said Hawk. “Putting a sign in your pollinator garden to explain what it’s for not only tells people ‘hey, I have a purpose here,’ but it can also inspire people to learn and maybe to want to do the same thing.”
Davidson echoed that call for clearer communication between residents by stressing the importance of talking to your neighbors before filing a complaint.
As he explained, some instances of tall grass and weeds could be well-intended pollinator gardens, but sometimes they could even be an indication that a neighbor is injured, incapacitated, or even just needing assistance with their yard.
“My suggestion,” he said, “is just to knock on that neighbor’s door and say ‘hey, is there something going on here? Can I help?’”
Brett Fieldcamp has been covering arts, entertainment, news, housing, and culture in Oklahoma for nearly 15 years, writing for several local and state publications. He’s also a musician and songwriter and holds a certification as Specialist of Spirits from The Society of Wine Educators.