Building Better 
Yards
A fundraiser for NENA with Twin Cities Seed Company

Tuff turf is a mixture of tall fescue, Kentucky bluegrass, and perennial ryegrass designed to provide residents with an aesthetically pristine lawn that can withstand sun, shade, and heavy foot traffic while using dramatically less water through the year. While traditional bluegrass lawns want to be watered several times per week, research trials from the University of Minnesota have found that tall fescues can go over 50 days without receiving water while maintaining pristine aesthetics. The tuff turf mix is a good fit for lawns that receive full to partial sun through the day.

If you are looking for the most sustainable, low-input turfgrass option, fine fescues are the perfect fit! Fine fescues have great drought tolerance (less watering), a low nitrogen requirement (little/no fertilizer needed), and a slow rate of growth for DRAMATICALLY reduced mowing. Most folks mow their fine fescue lawns 2-4 times a year, with some individuals foregoing mowing altogether! Do note that fine fescue lawns struggle with heavy foot traffic, so if your yard has people or pets that trample through the lawn, the fine fescues might not be your best fit! Eco seed low grow fine fescue does great in both sunny and shady lawns.

The bee lawn seed mixture is a combination of fine fescue turfgrass and low growing pollinator-friendly flowers designed to provide residents with a sustainable greenspace that can withstand light to moderate foot traffic, while providing high-quality food for our at-risk pollinators. The bee lawn mix was developed by researchers at the University of Minnesota. More than 65 bee species have been observed on bee lawns in Minnesota alone, and almost 90% of those species are native. Bee lawns are easy to manage - they are drought tolerant, don’t need fertilizer, and only need to be mowed 2-4x per year.

The Native Bee and Butterfly Mix is a wildflower mixture for a native plant garden. This mix is made up of 21 species of native wildflowers selected specifically to provide food and habitat for our at-risk native pollinators. The diversity of species in this mix have been chosen for their staggered bloom times throughout the growing season as well as their resilient ability to withstand the extremes of the Midwestern climates. One pound of this mix will cover approximately 2500 square feet. Under normal conditions, the species in this mix may reach a height of 8 to 42 inches.