This week, June 22-28, is Pollinator Week, but it’s always a good time to celebrate them. The public is eager to support birds, bees, and butterflies in their landscapes, so landscape professionals should be familiar with how to promote pollinator health in landscapes to serve consumer interest.

As interest continues to grow in gardening to support pollinator health, it can be helpful to have a list of recommended plants for homeowners who want to attract butterflies and bees to their yards. There is no shortage of resources to help you develop your own list of preferred plants.

On Monday, June 22, the president signed a proclamation suspending entry of all foreign workers through the end of the year. The proclamation includes H-2B workers, though there is an exemption for those H-2B workers directly employed in the food supply chain. This action will have an impact it on Colorado landscape companies that continue to struggle to fill available jobs.

While the pandemic shut down the economy and affected unemployment, many homeowners moved forward with renovation plans, including landscape and outdoor living upgrades. A Houzz survey of nearly 1,000 homeowners in late April found that shelter-in-place orders moved people to take a closer look at their home and landscape and consider more improvement projects.

It’s hot out there, and landscape professionals are as busy as ever, often working hard in record-breaking temperatures. That poses a risk for heat illness, so it’s important to train your crews in proper heat safety measures. Incorporate heat safety into your safety talks and be sure that workers know how to recognize heat illness and how to respond.