Build a pollinator patch around the site

A seed packet is not a restoration plan

The European Environment Agency identifies extensive semi-natural grasslands as important sources of nectar and pollen throughout the season. These habitats are threatened by both intensification and abandonment, so the right answer is rarely either 'mow everything' or 'leave everything alone'.

Before sowing, spend a season learning the site. Record the plants already present, shade, soil moisture, mowing dates, bare ground, nearby hedges, and other flowering areas. A new patch should complement healthy existing vegetation rather than erase it.

Choose plants for the place

• Prefer native species of regional provenance. Ask the supplier for the full species list and where the seed was collected.
• Avoid a mix that gives only common names or promises colour without naming the plants. You cannot assess suitability or monitor a mix you cannot identify.
• Use a small trial area first. Compare it with an untreated patch and record what germinates, what flowers, and what disappears.
• Do not assume that a successful result in another climate will transfer directly to Bulgaria. Soil, rainfall, heat, land history, and seed origin all change the result.

One useful study, with clear limits

A 2023 open-access study tested a native seed mix in 14 small plots along pedestrian trails in southern Portugal. The plots were sown in autumn 2018 and monitored during the following two springs. The sown plots gained plant species, diversity, evenness, and vegetation cover. The selected mix established without supplementary watering or fertiliser and was mown once in late spring.

That is useful evidence, but it is not a Bulgarian recipe. The researchers worked under Mediterranean conditions and warned that seed mixes need to match the target place. Their result supports a careful trial with native material and monitoring, not a blanket recommendation to sow every lawn.

Treat mowing as part of the habitat

The EEA recommends avoiding early cutting of grasslands and keeping some habitat features uncut. It also notes that semi-natural grasslands often depend on low-intensity mowing or grazing, while stopping management entirely can allow the habitat to disappear.

There is no single mowing date that works everywhere. Agree the timing with the land manager after checking flowering, nesting, access, and fire-safety needs. If an early cut is unavoidable, keep a connected refuge where possible and record exactly what was cut and when.

Monitor without overselling the result

The EU Pollinator Monitoring Scheme is being designed around standardised methods and species-level information. Its core approach includes transects for wild bees, hoverflies, and butterflies, plus light traps for moths. A community log should not pretend to be the same survey.

• Walk the same short route on repeat dates and photograph the same fixed points.
• Record flowering plant species when identification is reliable, or mark the observation as uncertain.
• Count flowers or flowering patches in a simple fixed area rather than relying on an impression that the site looks busier.
• Log mowing, watering, pesticide use nearby, drought, heavy rain, and other events that could explain a change.
• Keep a dated place pin on Garbamons so later observations stay attached to the same patch.

The honest definition of success

After two growing seasons, a good result might be a more diverse plant record, flowers available on more dates, an agreed mowing plan, and a patch that remains connected to other habitat. Flower counts alone do not prove that pollinator populations have recovered.

The point is to make a small site legible. Once people can see what grows there, when it is cut, and what changes from year to year, they can improve the management instead of starting over with another seed packet.

Sources

• European Environment Agency, Protecting and restoring Europe's wild pollinators and their habitats

  Evidence briefing on grasslands, native plants, mowing, habitat connectivity, and pollinator-friendly management. (LINK_ONLY)

• Joint Research Centre, Refined proposal for an EU Pollinator Monitoring Scheme

  Technical source for standardised monitoring of wild bees, hoverflies, butterflies, and moths. (LINK_ONLY)

• Fernandes et al., Sowing wildflower meadows in Mediterranean peri-urban green areas

  CC BY original field study in southern Portugal. Results are site- and climate-specific. (OPEN_REUSE)

• European Commission, Pollinators

  Current EU pollinator policy and EU Pollinator Monitoring Scheme context. (LINK_ONLY)