Critical to American agriculture, this non-native European honey bee (Apis mellifera) is visiting a saguaro cactus blossom. Honey bees can compete with native bees for resources, which presents complicated conservation questions. Photo Courtesy of Bruce Taubert.
Authors: Sharika Kapur, ASU Undergraduate Student Researcher, and Kelli L. Larson, Professor of Geography and Sustainability at ASU
Sharika Kapur is majoring in Sustainability with a concentration in Society and Sustainability. She aspires to leverage her education to drive positive social and ecological change. Beyond her academic pursuits, she loves to express herself creatively through painting and sculpting. She would love to connect with others passionate about environmental health. You can reach her via LinkedIn.
Kelli Larson is a Professor at Arizona State University who moved to the Sonoran Desert in 2005 and regularly engages students in her research. Her work focuses on how people interact with nature and manage urban landscapes and the environment. When she is not working, Kelli practices yoga and loves to hike, paddle, and otherwise explore nature and different places throughout Arizona and elsewhere. She also enjoys spending time with her dogs, going to plays, and cooking. You can learn more about Kelli or contact her through ASU.
The lawn-care industry has globally promoted neat, uniform, and weed-free turfgrass landscapes, often characterized by lush, hyper-green lawns. However, these lawns not only reduce biodiversity but also demand a significant amount of water to survive, particularly in semi-arid regions like Arizona. Instead of managing monocultural lawns —that is, landscapes comprising a single species of turfgrass, residents can transform their yards into habitat to support wildlife and improve biodiversity in neighborhoods. Perhaps now is the time to make your yard do more — for wildlife and you.
Research conducted at Arizona State University shows promise for people adopting yards to support local wildlife across the U.S. Several studies conducted by Kelli Larson, a Professor of geography and sustainability at ASU, reveal insights on residents’ yard preferences and priorities. Much of Larson’s research has focused on metro Phoenix, but her work also includes surveying residents across six metropolitan areas including Los Angeles, Miami, Baltimore, Boston, and Minneapolis–Saint Paul. Across these regions and elsewhere, evidence suggests that many residents are willing to support alternative yard designs, though residents face certain constraints that slow the shift towards wildlife-supporting landscapes.
In particular, Larson’s research has found that very few survey respondents maintain monocultural lawns. Although nearly all surveyed residents in the six-region study had at least some grass in their yards, less than 3% reported having no other plants. In other words, very few people maintain a lawn with a single turfgrass species. Additionally, a 2018 study of U.S. households showed that about 60% of surveyed residents have already added features to support wildlife to their yards, and approximately half planned to do so in the future (i.e., in the next 5-10 years). As shown in the graph on the right, these features include native plants, trees, and other types of vegetation (e.g., shrubs).
Although survey data indicate great promise for expanding wildlife-supporting yards, several survey-based studies have specifically identified aesthetics and low maintenance as higher priorities than increasing plant variety and supporting wildlife (see the chart below). In the 2018 survey of residents, beauty literally tops the chart, and, related to a neat aesthetic (purple bars), people tended to prioritize weed-free yards. For this reason, yard designs must first consider people’s aesthetic preferences, which include flowering plants, the color green, and a natural look or an orderly appearance. Meanwhile, personal enjoyment and low-maintenance priorities (aqua bars) — both of which relate to leisure — were among the top three priorities. Meanwhile, wildlife-related priorities (dark green) — including habitat provisioning and plant diversity — are less important, although they are still moderately important to residents, on average.
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Overall, these results indicate that in order to expand wildlife habitat in people’s yards a, residential and other landscapes must be designed to meet aesthetic preferences and limit the time and effort involved in maintaining them — at least for a majority of people to appreciate and sustain them.
You might be thinking: but isn’t aesthetic appeal a personal preference? Indeed, it is. As explained by Professor Larson, varying aesthetic preferences are important to understand for landscaping decisions: “What constitutes a beautiful landscape to one person may be different from another. For example, some residents prefer tidy green lawns or simple, orderly yards, while others prefer a more natural look with diverse and abundant vegetation that better supports birds, pollinators, and other wildlife.”
In the same vein, people’s lifestyles vary dramatically, which affects how much time they can or will spend maintaining their yards. While some people love to spend time gardening, most want low-maintenance yards that limit the effort required to sustain them. In fact, Larson’s research has found that individuals who garden as a hobby are more likely to maintain wildlife-supporting gardens; meanwhile, time, costs, and other maintenance factors prevent many people from maintaining yards as wildlife habitat.
Related to landscape aesthetics, Joan Nassauer, a Professor of landscape architecture at the University of Michigan, developed and tested a theory for using “cues to care” as a way of incorporating biodiversity into urban and rural landscapes managed by people. In doing so, much of her research has been conducted in the twin cities of Minneapolis–St. Paul and in the Detroit area. In the 1990s, Nassauer defined “cues to care” as objective landscape characteristics that recognizably communicate that people are taking care of a landscape. In many urban, suburban, and rural settings, she has demonstrated how landscape designs that include “just enough” cues to care increase acceptance of habitats that might otherwise look messy, which contradicts social norms for neat and orderly yards.
Professor Larson recommends using Nassauer’s “cues to care” theory to tame the often-unruly appearance attributed to more “natural looking” landscapes that provide habitat to wildlife. For designing wildlife-supporting yards that people appreciate, cues-to-care tips are detailed below. Overall, the idea is that more naturalistic yards can support local wildlife and garner aesthetic appreciation by incorporating elements that people tend to view positively. Since maintenance factors are also crucial for the integration of wildlife habitat in residents’ yards, Larson further recommends that residents make strategic decisions — alongside cues to care — to minimize the time and effort required in maintaining yards.
Maintain a clear view through intentional design elements
Maintaining a “line of sight” is one strategy that gives the appearance of an intentional, well-designed yard. This entails adequately spacing plants to ensure that windows and doors are not obscured, which signifies deliberate placement of vegetation instead of uncontrolled growth. In general, the key is having clear views of the key exterior features of the house to ensure the property doesn’t appear overgrown and abandoned. Without a clear line of sight, yards may look disorganized since diverse and abundant plants can result in various focal points that cause visual chaos.
Incorporate linear and curvy edges to enhance visual appeal
A line of sight can be further maintained by adding planter boxes and containers or pathways and curvilinear features. For example, mowing strips along sideways or walkways—along with other crisp edges and linear or curved features — tend to convey care while garnering aesthetic appreciation. Painted fences, stone walls, and other elements work with the line of sight to further add order to the yard, effectively guiding the eye across the property.
Design for eye-catching boldness and visual structure
Bold vegetation patterns can also indicate active management of the space while amplifying the beauty of yards. This includes choosing plants with varying shades of green and an array of colorful flowers. Another tactic to achieve boldness is creating visually impactful spaces by strategically arranging plants. For instance, a mix of high and low vegetation (i.e., differently sized trees, shrubs, and herbaceous plants) adds dimension to the yard, as can pots and other containers. Having this sort of “vegetation structure” in yards also supports wildlife by providing places to find shelter and rear young.
Choose your plants to avoid messiness and reduce maintenance
Strategic vegetation choices can also be important for people who appreciate tidiness and easy-to-maintain yards. For instance, people may want to consider the extent of “leaf litter” or “organic debris” of their plant options since some shed leaves, seeds, and other organic matter more so than others. For residents who prefer tidier yards that are easy to maintain, they therefore might opt for plants with low litter. Alternatively, placing plants with no or low litter near walkways or entrances can reduce messy-looking organic matter and the need for clean-up in strategic locations of yards.
Prioritize the plant attributes that make sense for your lifestyle
Another suggestion for reducing yard maintenance is opting for slow-growing plants; while they may take longer to achieve a certain size, slower-growing vegetation doesn’t need to be pruned as often, thereby minimizing time and costs. Similarly, low water-use or climate-adapted plants — such as plants native to the ecosystem where you live — can reduce the effort required to maintain yards. Irrigating less can also slow growth, thereby lessening the time and effort needed to prune plants or trim trees.
Add non-living habitat features to provide food, water, and shelter
Wildlife-supporting features like nest boxes, bird feeders, and bird baths are easy to incorporate and also act as yard decorations. Requiring little upkeep, these simple additions still allow residents to express their commitment to supporting native wildlife to others. Similar to planters and container boxes, these objects can also help break up vegetation and create distinct areas of the yard for a more organized look.
Whether through plant choices or other design features, maintaining a wildlife-supporting yard is an opportunity to showcase your creativity while supporting local birds, pollinators, and other wildlife. By prioritizing elements that garner aesthetic appreciation and are easy to maintain, you can achieve your priorities (and perhaps your neighbors’ too) while helping to protect wildlife and boost biodiversity. In doing so, you can even get your yard certified as wildlife habitat by the National Wildlife Federation. You’ll even receive a sign to let people know you are managing your yard to support local wildlife, which is a definite cue-of-care!
Learn more about certified wildlife gardens in Arizona
Find out the biodiversity impacts of certified wildlife habitats in the U.S.
Read more about Larson’s team and research
Be sure to sign up for Arizona Wildlife Federation’s E-News to receive regular updates on Gardening for Wildlife in Arizona!
Meet the ASU Team
Other links to research articles and other resources:
Larson, K.L. et al. (2009). Residents’ yard choices and rationales in a desert city: social priorities, ecological impacts, and decision tradeoffs. Environmental Management, 44: 921-937. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00267-009-9353-1
Larson, K. L. et al. (2022). Examining the potential to expand wildlife-supporting residential yards and gardens. Landscape and Urban Planning, 222, 104396. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.landurbplan.2022.104396
Nassauer, J. I. (2011). Care and stewardship: From home to planet. Landscape and Urban Planning, 100: 321-323. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.landurbplan.2011.02.022.
Li, J., & Nassauer, J. I. (2020). Cues to care: A systematic analytical review. Landscape and Urban Planning, 201, 103821. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.landurbplan.2020.103821
Cornell Lab. (2015). Tips to make a “messy” wildlife garden look good. All About Birds. Cornell Lab. https://www.allaboutbirds.org/news/tips-to-make-a-wildlife-garden-look-great/#. Last accessed August 2, 2024.
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