As the weather thaws, yards across the country jolt back to life with weeds aplenty. To many homeowners, this growth may seem like a problem in need of taking care of, but if you’re a pollinator, you might find much needed food and shelter among this foliage. In north Florida, some observe what we call “No-Mow March,” the intentional suspension of traditional yard maintenance in the early spring. Leaving these early-season plants in place is an excellent way to support our pollinators and discover the wilderness in your own neighborhood.
No-Mow in Innovation Park
This March, I have the pleasure of documenting this seasonal transition in WFSU Public Media’s own backyard. Home to The National High Magnetic Field Laboratory, the FAMU-FSU College of Engineering, and many other local industrial pursuits, I am tasked with capturing this narrative in our three No-Mow areas across Innovation Park. At the center of this story is the relationship between native plants and their pollinators.
Having evolved side-by-side, it is of great importance that the two are able to find each other for reproduction and sustenance, respectively. I’ll be specifically keeping my eyes peeled for solitary nesting bees and how they interact with the introduction of our newly hospitable no-mow fields. Within this project, I’d also like to inquire further into the idea that you can find natural spaces anywhere, even in the most industrialized areas. In my experience, getting down to ground level transforms a rather desolate landscape into something completely different, expansive, and diverse.
Of course, not everything that pops up in our yards is native. Some plants traveled with European settlers and have been part of our ecosystems for hundreds of years. Other nonnative species can aggressively take over space: the exotic invasives. Below are resources to help you learn your garden space.
Further reading, viewing, and listening
- Using iNaturalist to identify lawn weeds: Rob shares his techniques for identifying your No-Mow nectar sources, and resources to determine whether they’re native or not.
- No-Mow March episode of Coast to Canopy: UF/IFAS Horticulture Extension agent Mark Tancig and Donna Legare of Native Nurseries share tips for managing No-Mow and rewilded yard spaces.
- Mining Bees: Rob wrote this post about mining bees in the No-Mow area next to WFSU. These bees will start emerging from the ground in north Florida yards over the next few weeks (late February/ early March).
- Longhorn bee nests in Innovation Park: Rob is always surprised at how an office park can be a habitat. Last fall, he found a congregation of ground-nesting longhorn bees near the FSU/ FAMU Engineering School. Like mining bees, they are solitary nesters, even though we see may them in large numbers, and they are not aggressive to humans.
Innovation Park in Tallahassee. As of February 20, 2026, the satellite image used by Google Maps has not yet been updated to show the new FSU Women’s Lacrosse complex adjacent to WFSU, built on the former site of Alumni Village.
Our No-Mow Zones
Despite being relatively near to each other, each of these spots has unique ecological offerings to explore! FSU groundkeepers have agreed to leave them untouched until April or May unless complaints are called in about the growth.
Zone 1: WFSU
Located just north of the WFSU studios, this is our smallest designated No-Mow area.
Zone 2: A (currently) dried out retention pond
*A note from Rob: North Florida is in the midst of a prolonged drought, which is forecasted to continue into the coming months. The storyline in this zone is how the vegetation would change if the pond received and held water.
Zone 3: A large field on the western boundary of Innovation Park
Out on the other side of Innovation Park is our final and largest area, which includes a pond encircled by a rich ring of existing plant growth.
You don’t need to be an expert to botanize your No-Mow yard
As an FSU Information Communication Technology student, I’m entering this project from the perspective of those mostly uninitiated in the ways of the natural sciences. I’ve been paired with Rob through FSU Sustainable Campus’s fellows program to tackle this project in the hopes of engaging my curiosity about the natural world while drawing on my digital media background.
So, if you’re like me and don’t have much naturalist experience, there are still ways to quench your curiosities about what’s popping up in your yard during the No-Mow period. In collecting photos of these first few weeds, I’ve taken note of some of the more prominent species in Innovation Park, like the Lyreleaf Sage, which sports a highly identifiable set of purple-y green leaves and a tall central stalk.
However, as the breadth of species I’ve encountered has expanded to become more diverse, I’ve been heavily aided in identifying plant and animal species by the app iNaturalist.
Using iNaturalist as a tool to identify weeds
iNaturalist makes identification accessible by relying on biologists within their userbase to verify others’ observations through photo and geographic data. If I encounter an unfamiliar weed in zone 1, I can compare it to a list of species that commonly grow within a half mile in the app that have been observed by other users. In my case, this also helps to catalog my documentation of these plants by tracking where/when I saw them and their size. While it shouldn’t be your only source of verification, iNaturalist is a good place to start in your identification process.
I most of all find iNaturalist to be an excellent way to feel in touch with your local community. Whether you are at home, work, or school, it is encouraging to know there are others engaged in shared inquiry about the world around you.
I’m looking forward to seeing all the growth to come in the next few months and to share it with all of you!
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