Switched to native perennials in my tiny front yard and the bees showed up within a month

I live in a small townhouse in Denver with maybe 200 square feet of dirt out front. Last spring I pulled out all the grass and put in milkweed, blanket flower, and some other native stuff from a local nursery. I figured it'd take a whole season before anything happened, but within 3 weeks I had bees everywhere, even a few monarch caterpillars on the milkweed. The neighbors think it looks messy, but I'm honestly hooked on how little water it needs. Anyone else had bugs show up way faster than you expected?

2 comments

2 Comments

faith_thomas1mo agoMost Upvoted

Wait are you me? I did the same thing here in Portland with a tiny strip of dirt and the bees showed up like they had been waiting for an invitation. My next door neighbor actually complained to the HOA about my "weeds" but then she got caterpillars on her sidewalk and started asking me what plants to get.

noah_barnes1mo ago

HOA complaints always crack me up when it comes to native plants... @faith_thomas that neighbor flip is actually super common once people see the caterpillars and realize it's not just random weeds. What nobody talks about is how those tiny dirt strips act like genetic corridors for plants. I read this study once about how isolated patches of native wildflowers in city lots actually help plants adapt faster to climate change than big parks do. The bees are basically getting a buffet of locally evolved genetics right on your curb strip.