Planting For Pollinators
With the decline of our pollinator populations (honey bees and Monarch butterflies have seen a rapid decline in just the last couple years!), many gardeners are wondering what they can do to help. Luckily, attracting bees, hummingbirds, and butterflies to your garden can be easy to do.
The simplest step to creating a yard that supports pollinators is growing the plants they find most attractive. Plant perennials , such as Lavender , Penstemon , Echinacea , and Salvia . Pollinators love both annual and perennial wildflowers as well. For example, it is known that Monarch butterflies will only lay their eggs on Milkweed . You can also plant spring-blooming bulbs , as they provide our pollinators some of the earliest food sources each spring.
When gardening for pollinators, it is important to create a natural habitat for them once they have been attracted to your garden. This may mean designing your landscape to provide shelter, food, and water. A birdbath can provide water, and woody shrubs and trees can help provide shelter. A variety of plants with different bloom times can assure pollinators will have access to food sources all season long. An easy way to attract pollinators and help create a habitat for them is to plant our Pollinator Paradise Pre-Planned Garden , which comes with eight colorful perennials, a planting guide, and a planting diagram.
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