Healthy Yards Monroe County

Black-eyed Susan

Reimage your yard, not as a pristine green space with an expanse of lawn, but rather as a biodiverse habitat for hundreds of living species. Planting a variety of native trees, shrubs, and perennials will attract a diverse population of insects.  Insects play a key role upon which other species in an ecosystem largely depend. That includes us! It’s our responsibility to ensure our insects and pollinators have the host plants on which to feed and mature.

To Get Started

  • Reduce lawn – plant a diversity of native trees, shrubs, and flowers
  • Identify native trees you already have in your yard – or plant one or more to provide a robust food web
  • Choose a diversity of native flowering plants that bloom throughout the season
  • Read and follow Fall, Winter, and Spring clean-up suggestions – Fallen leaves feed the soil & shelter caterpillar cocoons and pupae that overwinter
  • Learn to identify and remove invasive plants
  • Do Not Use synthetic pesticides and fertilizers

For more information please visit Healthy Yards Monroe County and the Healthy Yards homeowners’ page