Our last blog explored 30 native and pollinator-friendly plants for your pollinator garden. I've included the guidelines to get you started.
1. Choose your ideal location
At least 6 hours of sunlight
Easy access for watering
Visible from preferred window
2. Choose native and pollinator-friendly plants
Pollinator-friendly plants provide food and breeding opportunities for pollinators.
Most culinary herbs are not native, but some, such as parsley, cilantro, and dill, feed bees and butterflies while serving as the larval host plant for swallowtail caterpillars.
Pollinator gardens are caterpillar-safe zones. Only birds have hunting rights!
3. Stagger your plant selections by color, bloom time, and height
To ensure a season-long productive pollinator garden, stagger bloom times between early, mid, and late-season colors.
Preplan your color groupings. My approach is to group by complementary colors: Purple with yellow, orange with blue, green with red.
Group your plants from the front (shortest) to the back (tallest) to optimize sunlight hours.
The fun part of building a pollinator garden is choosing your plants. There are thousands of native and pollinator-friendly options available; below are some more of my favorites.
Stump garden on my property. A creative solution for rotting stumps!
Contents- enjoy the entire blog or click the hyperlink to find a section on a specific plant.
Borage
Habitat Value- Pollinator Friendly
Colors- Small blue flowers
Source: Start borage by seed. It is also self-sowing; one packet of seeds lasts a lifetime!
Type: Annual, self-sowing. Grows 2 to 3 feet high.
Bloom Time- Midseason. Stays in bloom through fall.
Notes- Borage is a culinary herb. Use Its blue flowers to decorate cookies, add color to salads, or as cut flowers. Borage is a popular plant with native bees and honeybees as a pollinator plant. Be aware that deer will browse on borage.
(stock photo)
(stock photo)
Calendula
Habitat Value- Pollinator Friendly
Colors- Oranges, yellows
Source: Start calendula by seed.
Type: Annual; collect seeds in the fall for the following season.
Bloom Time- Early summer, stays in bloom through fall.
Notes- Calendula is also called "pot marigold," it is a valuable companion plant in the vegetable garden, attracting pollinators and beneficial predators such as lacewing (voracious aphid eaters). But, be warned; deer will browse on calendula.
Coreopsis
Habitat Value- Native and Pollinator Friendly
Colors- Assorted
Source: Start by seed.
Type; Annual, deer resistant
Bloom Time- midsummer/fall
Notes- Coreopsis is a favorite nectar source for native bees/butterflies. It is also the larval host plant of the silvery checkerspot butterfly.
Coreopsis reaches a height of eighteen inches. Therefore, take care to plant accordingly in your garden design.
(Stock photos)
Cosmos
Habitat Value- Native and Pollinator Friendly
Colors- Assorted
Source: Start cosmos by seed. Aggressive self-sowing plant
Type; Annual, deer resistant
Bloom Time- Late summer/fall. Among the last flowers available before frost.
Notes- Cosmos reaches a height of three to six feet. Take care to plant accordingly in your garden design.
Holy Basil/Sacred Basil
Habitat Value- Pollinator Friendly
Colors- Pink
Source: Start holy basil from seed—aggressive self-sowing plant.
Type; Annual, deer resistant
Bloom Time- Midsummer/fall. Among the last flowers available before frost.
Notes-Holy Basil is among the most productive plants in your pollinator garden.
It thrives in the garden or a container garden. It is a preferred nectar source for bees and butterflies, and goldfinches feed on the late summer/fall seeds.
Holy basil also makes a nutritious, delicious tea (Tulsi).
Top: A summer azure enjoying nectar from a holy basil bloom.
Joe Pye
Habitat Value- Native and Pollinator Friendly
Colors- White, pink
Source: Nursery or garden shop
Type; Perrenial, deer resistant
Bloom Time- Midsummer/fall
Notes-Joe Pye is a keystone native pollinator plant. It attracts butterflies, moths, and bees and is the larval host plant to several moths. Joe Pye can grow up to 10 feet, so plan accordingly in your garden design.
Top: A (dark form) tiger swallowtail on Joe Pye
Middle: A banded hairstreak on Joe Pye
Bottom: Joe Pye (Stock photo)
Lemon Balm
Habitat Value- Pollinator Friendly
Colors- Lush green lemon-scented foliage with small white flowers
Source: Nursery or garden shop will self sow aggressively.
Type; Perennial, deer resistant
Bloom Time- Midsummer/fall
Notes-Lemon balm is an ideal companion plant for vegetables that require pollination. Plant lemon balm near squash or melon plants to attract pollinators to your vegetable garden.
Marigold
Habitat Value- Native, Pollinator Friendly
Colors- Assorted, yellow, orange
Source: Start from seed, collect seed in fall for next season
Type; Annual, deer resistant
Bloom Time- Midsummer/fall
Notes-Marigold serves several essential functions in your pollinator or vegetable garden. For example, marigolds are excellent border plants, attracting beneficial pollinators and predators. In addition, studies have shown marigolds repel garden pests such as harmful nematodes.
When planning your garden design, be mindful that marigolds come in various shapes, sizes, and colors, Consider your marigold variety's traits in your garden design.
Middle: a skipper feeding on a marigold.
Bottom: Collect marigold seeds in the fall. Each "deadhead" yields dozens of seeds for next year's garden.
Nasturtium
Habitat Value- Pollinator Friendly
Colors- Assorted, yellow, orange, red
Source: Seed, collect seeds in fall for next season.
Type; Annual, deer resistant
Bloom Time- Midsummer/fall
Notes-Nasturtium's bright flowers and unique foliage attract bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds. It is also a valuable "trap crop" in vegetable gardens luring aphids and other destructive pests away from your garden plants.
Nasturtium is an edible flower (tastes like radish), adding color and flavor to salads.
Obedience Plant
Habitat Value- Native, Pollinator Friendly
Colors- Light pink
Source: Garden shops, seed
Type; Perennial, deer resistant
Bloom Time- Late summer/fall.
Notes-The obedience plant is a late-season bee/butterfly/hummingbird favorite. As a member of the mint family, if left unchecked, obedience plants can spread quickly. The obedience plant can grow up to 4 feet tall, so plan accordingly in your garden design.
Phlox
Habitat Value- Native, Pollinator Friendly
Colors- Assorted
Source: Garden shops
Type; Perennial
Bloom Time- Midsummer to fall.
Notes-Phlox is a colorful North American native that attracts bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds. Depending on the variety, Phlox can grow up to 3 feet.
Middle: A spicebush swallowtail on Phlox
Bottom: A tiger swallowtail on Phlox
Sedum
Habitat Value- Pollinator Friendly
Colors- White, red, yellow, pink
Source: Garden shops, also easily propagated by cuttings.
Type; Perennial, deer resistant
Bloom Time- Late summer/fall.
Notes-The variety pictured here is called "Autumn Joy." The value of this sedum variety in a pollinator garden is its colorful late-blooming flowers. Pollinator plants that bloom in late summer and throughout the fall are a critical nectar source for migrating butterflies.
Top: Common buckeye on Autumn Joy sedum
Bottom: Painted Lady on Autumn Joy sedum
Verbena
Habitat Value- Pollinator Friendly
Colors- Purple
Source: Garden shops, seed, aggressive self-sowing
Type; Perennial, deer resistant
Bloom Time- Late summer/fall.
Notes- Verbena bonariensis is a late-season bee/butterfly favorite. This slender stemmed perennial is a late-season nectar source for all native bees and butterflies. This verbena variety will add height to your pollinator garden, growing up to four feet.
Top: A skipper joins a painted lady on verbena
Middle: a fiery skipper on verbena
Bottom: A clouded sulfur on verbena
I plan to add Comfrey and Borage to my yard next season. Below are two interesting articles about the value of these plants from the Harvesting History newsletter. I left the links intact if you would like to subscribe.
All photographs, unless otherwise noted, were taken on our one-acre property in eastern PA.
Photographs by SuperNaturalist.net
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