News Flash

May 23 Tuesday Tip

Plant a variety of pollinator plants to ensure nectar is available for pollinators all season long. For example, plant early bloomers such as Wild Geranium, mid-season bloomers such as Marsh Milkweed, and late season bloomers like Smooth Blue Aster.&n...

Friday Forb: Smooth Blue Aster

Smooth Blue Aster (Aster laevis): A native aster with several small lavender-blue, star-like flowers that bloom in autumn, sometimes blooming into November. The leaves are smooth to the touch. It grows to three feet tall and has a rigid, upright stem. It ...

Meet Natural Resources Commissioner Rosemary Husbands

In honor of Pollinator Awareness Month, the City's Natural Resources Commissioners are sharing their personal pollinator-friendly landscaping projects.

How did you learn about pollinator-friendly landscaping? 

I was bored with regular gard...

Pollinator of the Week: Monarch Butterfly

The Monarch Butterfly is widely known and recognizable by its orange and black markings, but maybe not as well-known as a pollinator. Its Latin name, Danau plexippus, literally means ‘sleepy transformation’, due to its metamorphosis wi...

Friday Forb: Purple Prairie Clover

Purple Prairie Clover (Dalea purpurea) is a native forb with purple cone-like flower heads that bloom in late summer. It grows in dry, well-drained soil conditions, often found in prairie ecosystems. Purple Prairie Clover has a deep tap root system and is...

Meet Natural Resources Commissioner Will Stein

In honor of Pollinator Awareness Month, the City's Natural Resources Commissioners are sharing their personal pollinator-friendly landscaping projects.

Going Beyond No-Mow May

When our family moved to Mendota Heights in 2008, we purchased a home in the Frie...

May 16 Tuesday Tip

Avoid the use of herbicide, pesticides, and insecticides whenever possible. If applied improperly, use of these chemicals can cause drift that could contaminate pollen and nectar collected by pollinators for several days or even months after it is applied...

Pollinator of the Week: Rusty Patched Bumble Bee

Friday Forb: Wild Ginger

Wild Ginger (Asarum canadense) is a native forb with heart-shaped leaves that often forms small colonies along the forest floor. It has a small, red, bell-shaped flower that lies on the ground at the base of the plant. The flower evolved to attract small ...

Meet Natural Resources Commissioner Nissa Tupper

In honor of Pollinator Awareness Month, the City's Natural Resources Commissioners are sharing their personal pollinator-friendly landscaping projects.

What made you decide to install your project?

We love being outdoors as a family and found our h...

May 9 Tuesday Tip

Plant native host or nectar plants for specific pollinator species, such as milkweed species for the Monarch butterfly, rose species for the Eastern Tiger Swallowtail Butterfly, or clover species for the Abberant Cellophane Bee.

Pollinator of the Week: Dakota Skipper

The Dakota Skipper (Hesperia dacotae) is a small, northern prairie butterfly. Its historic range extended from southern Saskatchewan and Manitoba through the Dakotas, Minnesota, Iowa, and east to the Chicago area. It is now on the MN Endangered List, and ...

Friday Forb: Butterfly Milkweed

A native perennial often found in dry, rocky soil in open woods, prairies, and savannahs. It grows up to 2.5 feet in height, with lance-shaped simple leaves, and bright orange blooms June-August. Butterfly Milkweed attracts many species of butterflies, is...

May 2 Tuesday Tip

• In the fall, leave leaves and yard debris in your landscape and perennial grasses and flowers standing. Wait until well into the following spring before cutting back perennials and raking up leaves and debris to provide nesting habitat for pollinators ove...

Pollinator of the Week: Aberrant Cellophane Bee

Colletes aberrans (Aberrant Cellophane Bee) are ground nesting bees, similar in size and shape to honey bees, but are much harrier than most bees. They get their name from the thin, cellophane-like lining in the walls of their nests. They are brownish in ...

Pollinator Friendly Yards

What are you doing to help pollinators this season? Maybe you are planting native pollinator-beneficial plants, trees, or shrubs, or committing to reducing or eliminating the use of pesticides and chemicals in your landscape.

If so, Mendota Heights residen...