Let’s make Sammamish better for bees
In 2022, Sammamish joined the Bee City USA initiative, dedicated to conserving native pollinator habitat through community education, habitat restoration, and creating pollinator‑friendly landscapes. One example of the city’s efforts is the Heritage Garden at Big Rock Park Central. Built by the city, the garden is maintained by volunteers from the Sammamish Botanical Garden Society who cultivate a variety of trees, vegetables and flowers that entice native bees. This spring, I found the tulip display so lovely and peaceful that I’ll never visit the tulip farms of Mount Vernon again.
But despite the city’s efforts, there is one area that could use improvement – our lawns. Like most of suburbia in America, Sammamish strives to achieve, nay our Home Owners Associations (HOAs) demand, a green monoculture of grass in our front yards. I could argue what a waste of time it is to grow more grass than we grow food. I could point out how the average household spends hundreds of dollars annually, if not thousands, on fertilizer, herbicides, water, and lawn service providers. I could rant about the amount of pollution the lawn care industry causes in our community. But I don’t think it would start a revolution.
Instead, I propose that we stop the war on clover. Allow me to explain.
If an HOA member sees clover in a lawn, chances are the homeowner is going to get a letter demanding the clover’s removal. That’s what happens in my neighborhood. I know because every year I let the clover grow until I get a letter reminding me to remove it because our neighborhood only wants grass lawns. But do we really?
Clover grows without much encouragement. It requires less water than grass due to deeper roots and tight bunching. Clover also adds nitrogen to the soil, which makes the grass greener. But most importantly, my fair Bee City, it entices bees to get busy. This is of paramount importance given that bees are dying in vast numbers. But don’t take my word for it.
In February 2017, in a report titled Pollinators in Peril, the Center for Biological Diversity conducted a systematic review of the status of all North American and Hawaiian native bees. Of the 1,437 bee species with sufficient data to assess, they found that more than half are declining, and nearly 1 in 4 species are at risk of extinction.
If Sammamish wants to truly be a bee city, we need to embrace the bees in our neighborhoods and stop trying to weed out clover. Instead, our neighbors, realtors, and HOAs should encourage lawns blended with grass and clover. It is better for our lawns and will help give our bees a fighting chance in their struggle for survival.
Remember, ask not what your lawn can do for you – ask what your lawn can do to support the bees.
