Inviting Life Back in: The Cross-Pollination of Pollinators and Landscape Design

It’s National Pollinator Week, and in addition to celebrating the enormous role pollinators play in sustaining our world, we also want to take the opportunity to spotlight their staggering decline and the ways designers can help reverse it.

Ultimately, we believe every project—every plot of land—is an opportunity to support biodiversity, pollinator and otherwise.

Pollinators are foundational…
The life-giving role that pollinators play cannot be overstated! Many of us are familiar with the ways they support agricultural productivity—over ¾ of global food crops depend to some degree on pollination. But pollinators are also essential ecological partners. They help maintain genetic diversity in plants, resulting in more resilient plant populations and a greater capacity for ecosystems to adapt to changing conditions.

Many of the plants that rely on pollinators are themselves foundational sources of food and habitat for other species. And of course, thriving plant communities sequester carbon, stabilize soils, clean our air, and help regulate the water cycle.

… but they’re in crisis
In many places, pollinator populations are in decline. The biggest culprit is the rapid loss and fragmentation of feeding and nesting habitats.

But that’s not all. It’s also a result of pesticide exposure, the spread of invasive species (which can outcompete and crowd out native plants in disturbed ecosystems), declining floral diversity and bloom continuity, and climate disruption. And while bees and butterflies may be the most well-known pollinators, their ranks also include moths, flies, beetles, birds, and—an Austin favorite—bats.

Landscape architects are uniquely positioned to help reverse pollinator declines. For landscape architects, this crisis is an opportunity for tangible impact.

Much of the pollinator habitat loss is happening in just the kinds of places we do our work. Designed landscapes themselves—lawns, over-maintained landscapes, and low-diversity plantings—often contribute to the decline. But just as development has often eroded biodiversity, every site is also a chance to rebuild ecological function and invite life back in.

Here are 5 ways landscape architects and our friends can play a role in the pollinator comeback story.

1. Know your native pollinators—and the plants they co-evolved relationships with. Pollinators are incredibly diverse, and their food and habitat needs vary widely. For example, butterflies need both nectar and specific host plants for their larvae, and moths tend to forage in the dark.

But beyond generalities, many species depend on specific coevolutionary relationships with other species. A well-known example is the mutual relationship between Monarch butterflies and milkweeds.

When we establish diverse native plant landscapes, we support a variety of co-evolved pollinator species, as well as other species who feed on those pollinators. Conversely, when we use non-native plant species, that missed opportunity extends up negatively through the food chain.

In addition to specialized plant-pollinator relationships, it’s also helpful to know which plants are considered “keystone species”—known to support dozens or even hundreds of pollinator species. In Texas, this list will include native oaks, willows, and goldenrods. Keep in mind that many specialized cultivars may not used by pollinators.

Helpful resources:

1. Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center – extensive native plant lists
2. Native Plant Finder – searchable by ZIP code
3. Xerces Society – regional pollinator plant lists and guides

2. Good pollinator design is systems design—not just planting wildflowers.
It’s important to remember that plants and pollinators evolved as part of diverse ecosystems. As much as possible, it’s best to design plants in functional communities. (A great introduction into this concept is Planting in a Post-Wild World, by Thomas Rainer and Claudia West.)

Here are a few key concepts to keep in mind when designing pollinator-friendly sites.

• -Think across seasons. Include diverse plant species with overlapping bloom times throughout the year. This serves a wider range of species and offers opportunities for visually rich landscapes throughout the year.
• -Provide nesting and overwintering habitat. Pollinators need more than foraging opportunities. Native bees, for example, nest in the ground or in cavities in dead wood, branches, and plant stems. Many insects overwinter under leaf litter or under loose soils. Incorporating these habitat features onsite will help pollinator populations thrive.
• -Ensure that management activities respect seasonal requirements of pollinators. Leaving dormant vegetation and plant stems over winter is critical.
• -Design plant communities with vertical layering. The more layers of vegetation present—think groundcover, shrubs, understory, and canopy—the more species and functions supported.
• -Integrate with other site strategies. Pollinator habitat can be a feature of systems that also serve other purposes. Consider nature-based solutions like bioretention, constructed wetlands, and green roofs opportunities for habitat support.

3. Create connected habitats—Habitat fragmentation is also a significant contributor to pollinator decline, curtailing movement and gene flow. A key component of pollinator design is attempting to bridge gaps and support pollinator pathways to and from a given site.

Here are some strategies for supporting pollinator connectivity:

• -Add stepping stones wherever possible. Many native bees can only fly a few hundred feet. Add pollinator plantings at regular intervals to connect otherwise isolated patches of habitat.
• -Use corridors creatively. Medians, parkways, bioswales, utility easements, and even rooftop planters can serve as pollinator pathways.
• -Soften barriers. Instead of solid fences, consider hedgerows. Use native trees and shrubs to bridge landscape zones.
• -Communicate and coordinate across sites. Consider partnering with neighbors or agencies to extend habitat beyond your project’s boundary.

4. Support pesticide-free landscapes—Most pesticides harm all bugs, not just the ones we call pests. We are used to thinking of pesticides in an agricultural context, yet ten times as much pesticide per acre is applied to designed landscapes as to farm fields.

Native plant landscapes can thrive without pesticides. Here are a few ways to avoid the damage of pesticides on pollinators:

• -Go beyond planting plants as individuals on a platter of mulch. Craft diverse plant communities that match the site’s conditions. Use dense, layered plantings to crowd out invasive competition.
• -Integrate plants that are known to support natural pest predators.
• -Design landscapes with structural diversity. A landscape with various layers of native vegetation, from grasses and forbs to shrubs and trees, creates greater habitat complexity that supports more wildlife, including both pollinators and beneficial predators.
• -Design out pest-prone conditions. Plants that are ill-suited to the stressors of their location are more vulnerable to pests or diseases, sometimes resulting to chemical treatment. Over-fertilizing, over-irrigating, or mismatching sun tolerance are things to look out for.
• -Avoid commonly treated nursery stock. Even without on-site pesticide use, many plants sold at nurseries may be pre-treated with with systemic insecticides like neonicotinoids, which can persist in plant tissues and soil.
• -Communicate management expectations with clients and maintenance staff to avoid “spraying just in case.” Use an integrated pest management strategy. Establish seasonal management guidance. Treat pesticide use as a last resort, favoring targeted applications if necessary.
• -Visually frame the edges of habitat areas—with mown edges, paths, or low fences—to make them legible, and consider adding educational signage. These steps may help clients and the public understand their purpose and reduce the pressure to “tidy up.”

5. Minimize light pollution—Beyond the related issues of glare and energy waste, artificial light has a high ecological cost. Moths, among other species, rely on natural darkness cues for navigation, feeding, reproduction, and predator avoidance—all of which can be easily disrupted by outdoor lighting. Designing for pollinator health means respecting the critical role of darkness.

Designers can minimize these impacts in several ways. First, only use lighting where necessary, with the minimum brightness needed for a particular task—especially near habitat areas. Using time-based controls, such as timers, dimmers, and motion sensors can help further limit illumination. Shield and direct light with cutoff fixtures and glare shields or directional screening where appropriate to minimize skyglow and horizontal light. Color makes a difference too; warmer-toned lighting has a lower impact.

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Whether you’re designing a courtyard, a streetscape, or a regional park, it’s an opportunity to bring more life into our landscapes. Supporting pollinators doesn’t require a new type of project—it just requires a more intentional approach to the ones we already design. From choosing native plants with seasonal bloom, to making space for nesting and overwintering, to designing out pesticide and light pollution, we have the tools to turn everyday landscapes into ecological assets.

If you’d like to dive a little deeper, you’re in luck! There’s a host of great resources for designers. Start with The Xerces Society’s Pollinator-Friendly Parks for a rich overview of pollinator needs and design and programming opportunities. Want to evaluate the pollinator-friendliness of a past project or just your yard? Take a look at the Habitat Assessment Guide for Pollinators in Yards, Gardens, and Parks. Want to collaborate on a pollinator-forward project? Contact us.