Tired of lawn maintenance?

For those who would like to change up their turf management, or find a better alternative for those shaded areas where nothing grows, consider ground covers. Two early adopters of a trend away from high maintenance lawns, Center Moriches Free Public Library and John Kanas’s Main Street field in East Moriches, both had impressive displays this spring of low-growing, easy-to-maintain ground covers that also attract pollinators.

In a small patch left of its rear entrance, CMFPL has created a carpet of tiny white clover, inviting a busy bumble bee to work from flower to flower.

Drivers along Montauk Highway in East Moriches this spring were treated to a gorgeous purple-red vision of creeping thyme in bloom around the aged green farm truck in Kanas’s field.

Among clover’s many benefits is its ability to grow quickly, thrive in a variety of soil and weather conditions, including northeast winters, and add nutrients to the soil, eliminating the need for chemical fertilizers.

It’s also a favorite of nectar-loving pollinators like bees, butterflies and moths. In large fields, clover helps support earthworms, a vital contributor to soil health. Once established, its carpeting effect helps suppress weeds and requires less water and weed killers, thus making it beneficial to environmental health as well.

In drought-prone conditions, creeping thyme is a better choice than clover since it can withstand limited moisture, doesn’t require mowing and repels deer, mosquitos and rabbits. Its dense, carpet-like appearance also suppresses weeds.

However, beautiful as it is, creeping thyme is best suited to sunny locations with limited foot traffic, necessitating paving stones or other options. It can also take longer to establish than clover.  For additional information about the benefits and disadvantages of growing clover and creeping thyme, consult our local co-operative extension.

Other native plants which may be more suited to your needs are also available.  White star creeper, woodland phlox, sweet woodruff, hostas, Roman chamomile, ajuga bugleweed, and creeping speedwell are some of the most popular in our area.

There are other advantages to growing ground covers instead of turf grass.  According to a report in USA Today by Doyle Rice (March 28, 2025), the National Academy of Sciences estimates “over one-third of native bee species are at risk of extinction; over 22 percent of native pollinators are at an elevated risk.” Habitat loss, pesticide use, and climate change are the chief agents of their demise.

Without them, we face a serious threat to our food supply since flowering plants, fruits and some vegetables rely on pollinators to produce what we eat.  Without food sources, nectar producing plants, for example, and shelter and nesting areas provided by dead vegetation, pollinators like bats, birds, insects and some mammals—whose movements help distribute pollen across plants in fields and in the landscape—will continue to decline, placing our food supply in jeopardy.

Reducing our reliance on chemical herbicides and pesticides, incorporating more flowering native plant species into our gardens and landscapes, and leaving some dead vegetation for nesting and shelter will help alleviate pollinator decline.