Pollinator Lawn Conversion Mix (Quickly Add Wildflowers to Your Current Lawn!)

Quickly and economically turn your existing lawn into a pollinator lawn.

With more than 40-million acres of lawns, turf grass is the single largest irrigated “crop” in the U.S.. Aside from water, lawns consume time, and mowing, and other inputs while also providing limited ecological value.

But lawns can be better.

And the easiest, low-barrier, low-cost way to quickly make an existing lawn better is to overseed it with some basic low-growing wildflowers.

Hence this mix.

Consisting of Roman chamomile (Chamaemelum nobile), Yaak yarrow (Achillea millefolium var. yaak), creeping thyme (Thymus serpyllum), self heal (Prunella vulgaris), and white clover (Trifolium repens), all low growing wildflowers, that tolerate mowing, and that can be overseeded directly into an existing lawn.

While this is a mix of native and non-native species, these are all wildflowers that will mostly prefer to stay in the lawn rather than creeping off into adjacent natural areas and becoming invasive (none of these species compete well with taller wild vegetation). Moreover, the variation of flowers is attractive to a diverse community of interesting pollinators from syrphid flies to bumble bees to various butterflies including the gorgeous little silvery blue gray hairstreak (Strymon melinus) which uses the clover both as a caterpillar host plant and as a nectar source.

Fragrant, and attractive to pollinators, this mix is formulated for a seeding rate of 8-ounces per 1000 square feet (for a robust average of 273 seeds per square foot). Additionally, this mix is hardy from about zone 3 to 10, and is very tolerant of poor soils.

Establishment is as easy as hand scattering this mix directly into the lawn, however establishment rates can be increased by first mowing the existing grass as low as possible (i.e. “scalping” it), then removing the clippings. Next a core aerator (which can be rented at many hardware stores) is used to create openings in the turf. The mix can then be over-seeded across the lawn. Fall, winter, and spring planting typically offer the best results, but summer seeding can also be effective when supported by some initial irrigation. Once established, these wildflowers typically do not need any additional water, and can be mowed regularly – however for best results the lawn should be maintained at a taller height – ideally not cut shorter than 4 inches.

Packet Size: 8-ounces (For 1000 square foot coverage).