For many, maintaining a yard means lots of work keeping everything perfectly trimmed and neatly in its place.
But if you'd like to see some birds and bees visiting your plants, organic gardening expert Katherine Frey suggests letting things get a little wild.
"Gardens should mimic natural systems," said Frey, addressing a meeting of Ukiah's Peregrine Audubon Society last week at the Civic Center, explaining that "native plants are best, but our bees will feed on exotic plants."
And just because a bee will like a plant doesn't mean you won't, Frey said.
"The same flowers that make us happy make the bees happy," she said, showing pictures of delta sunflowers, an "amazingly tough" native plant that creates lots of medium-sized flowers that attract both bees and birds.
Goldenrod and California Lilac are also good choices for adding color and life to your yard. And Frey said if that is what you want, more is definitely better than less.
"Think abundance, not minimalism," she said, explaining that your goal should be to have 12 months of blooms and 20 different plants blooming at once.
Attracting pollinators -- which include butterflies and hummingbirds as well -- is not only important if you have tomatoes or other plants that need them, but Frey said simply providing them something to feed on is important.
"Birds and bees worldwide are suffering from population decline," she said, adding that the pollination they provide is "crucial to over a third of our plants worldwide."
Good flowers for hummingbirds include monkey flowers and trumpet vines, she said, adding that other simple steps can make your yard a haven for all types of birds.
"A multi-layered environment is best for birds," she said, explaining that trees and shrubs provide shade, protection from predators and high places for nesting.
Using pesticides will kill the worms, caterpillars and other "pests" that birds use to feed their young, she said, and lawns provide little-to-no habitat.
"Lawns only support lawn mowers," she said.
For adding diversity to vineyards, Frey suggested growing cover crops like crimson clover or alyssum between the rows of grapes.
"They add soil diversity and development, as well as protection and food for beneficial insects," she said, adding that plants like meadowfoam not only attract bees, but offer soil protection and create a blanket of white flowers.
"The natural and agricultural systems can co-exist beautifully," she said.
A good place to find plants, Frey said, is the Mendocino College nursery, which is holding its fall plant sale next weekend, beginning Oct. 4.
"But they're not just open during the plant sale," she said.
Justine Frederiksen can be reached at firstname.lastname@example.org, on Twitter @JustFrederiksen or at 468-3521.