Pollinator Garden Essentials

Tips for a Successful Pollinator Garden

• Go Native: Native plants are best adapted to your local pollinators.
• Layer & Clump: Use a variety of heights and plant in groups for better visibility.  Vary flower shapes as different pollinators prefer different flower types, like tubular for hummingbirds and flat tops for butterflies.
• Year-Round Blooms: Select plants that flower brilliantly in different seasons (spring, summer, fall).  Combine early, mid, and late season bloomers.  Include host plants, such as Milkweed for Monarchs and False Indigo for Skipper Butterflies.
•  Create a Friendly Habitat:  Provide water sources and avoid broad-spectrum insecticides that harm beneficial insect

Top plant picks offer continuous vibrant blooms and diverse shapes, with best choices to include Milkweed (Asclepias), Coneflower (Echinacea), Bee Balm (Monarda), Lavender (Lavandula), Aster, Goldenrod (Solidago), Black-Eyed Susan (Rudbeckia) Sunflowers (Helianthus), Cardinal Flower (Lobelia), Salvia, Hibiscus, Lantana, Ixora, Pentas, Blue Daze (Evolvulus), Gerber Daisy, Anise Hyssop (Agastache) and Plumbago. 

A kitchen garden can also double as a pollinator habitat.  Many of our favorite herbs like Basil, Cilantro, Mint, Rosemary, Fennel, Oregano, and Thyme make excellent nectar sources for bees, butterflies, hummingbirds, and other beneficial insects throughout the seasons. Focusing on native varieties and ensuring a mix for early, mid, and late-season nectar is key for a thriving pollinator garden.  Plant twice as much as you need and allow some plants to flower and go to seed.  Yes, it will look a bit untidy but the trade-off is some very happy pollinators!

Plants that naturally attract pollinators:

·      For Bees & Butterflies:  

o   Milkweed (Asclepias): Essential host for Monarch caterpillars.

o   Coneflower (Echinacea): Daisy-like flowers attract many pollinators.

o   Bee Balm (Monarda): Loved by bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds.

o   Anise Hyssop (Agastache): Great summer blooms for bees.

o   Goldenrod (Solidago): Late-season nectar goldmine.

o   Lavender (Lavandula): Fragrant, purple spikes for bees.

o   Sunflowers (Helianthus): Feed honeybees and attract other pollinators.

o   Zinnias & Lantana Easy annuals for continuous color.

·       For Hummingbirds:

o   Bee Balm (Monarda).

o   Agastache (Hummingbird Mint).

o   Trumpet Honeysuckle (Lonicera).

·       Herbs (Flowers & Seeds):

o   Basil, Cilantro, Dill, Oregano, Thyme, Sage, Nasturium: Let plants flower to attract beneficial insects and pollinators.

Tips for Continuous Blooms

·       Sunlight: Most of these plants need full sun for best flowering.

·       Water: Consistent watering, especially in containers, encourages more blooms.  Soil should be evenly moist, not boggy or dry.

·       Fertilization: Use a phosphorus-rich fertilizer to promote flowering.

·       Deadheading: Removing spent blooms (deadheading) encourages new growth and flowers.

Your Resident Pollinators

While honey bees get most of the pollinator buzz, solitary bees can do lot of the work in the garden too, and some chase away problem pests.  Leafcutter bees, carpenter bees, and orchard mason bees are solitary bees that are not aggressive and typically do not bother humans.  Wasps may also visit the garden.  While often wary of the sting, these flying pollinators are far more likely to lend a hand than sting.  

Because flying requires huge amounts of energy, pollinators conserve it when they can.  Plants that produce flower clusters offer energy saving nutrition.  Bees and moths are especially interested in these blooms.

Hungry caterpillars thrive on host plants like Milkweed, happily chewing on the leaves.  If the sight of untidy plants with uneven leaf edges is bothersome, simply consider planting these varieties at the back of the garden rather than as a focal point.

A yard rich with bugs, seeds, and fruits will naturally attract birds.  A healthy population of insects along with native plants is a sure way to encourage a vibrant bird friendly landscape.

To support their high speed activity, hummingbirds use their tongues to consume large amounts of nectar from brightly colored tubular flowers in vivid colors of red, orange and pink.  Use native plants like Fire Bush, Lonicera, Hibiscus, Cardinal Flower, Red Buckeye and Scarlet Sage.