Three talks on gardening for pollinators
Planting The Year-Round Pollinator Garden
Plant to feed bees and other pollinators throughout the growing season, an overview
Native Plants for Pollinators
An in-depth look at best plants for pollinators in the northeast, focusing on 17 genera or species.
Designing with Plenty for Pollinators
How to design wildlife friendly pollinator habitats disguised as gorgeous gardens, with inspiring examples and maintenance strategies
There is a growing awareness that pollinators are important, and that they’re in trouble. We know that pollinators need flowers and that they are responsible for much of the food we eat, but we’re maybe a little vague on the details. Pollinators, particularly insect pollinators, do need flowers – lots of flowers, and the right kinds of flowers – so diversity and quantity are big factors. But let’s back up a bit. Why are there flowers in the first place? And for that matter, why are there fruits and berries? Surely they didn’t evolve just for human pleasure and sustenance. There’s more to it, and it’s a fascinating story of interrelationships.
Some pollinators are better at the job than others, just as some flowers are more valuable food sources. Bees and other insects are key – they give a snapshot of the health of the entire ecosystem. Like all living things, they need good habitat – nesting places, resting places, hibernation sites, mating opportunities, food and water, in a non-toxic environment.
This is not a bee i.d. presentation, its about best plants and practices. Gardeners are uniquely able to support the entire life cycle of beneficial insects and other pollinators. Good plant choices and land care, coupled with simple awareness of the living world buzzing all around us make all the difference. After all, we’re not just cultivating flowers, we’re cultivating habitat.
Contact Karen to book one of these talks
Resources
- The Xerces Guide to Attracting Native Pollinators
- Bees: An Identification and Native Plant Forage Guide by Heather Holm
- The Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station
Native Plants for Pollinators handout
Planting the Year-Round Pollinator Garden handout
Designing with Plenty for Pollinators handout
Herbs
- Lavender
- Thyme
- Chives
- Oregano
- Borage
- Dill
- Basil
Perennials, Biennials and Annuals
- Salvia
- Penstemons
- Alliums
- Patrinia
- Catmints – Calamintha and Nepeta species
- Sedums
- Yarrow (Achillea)
- California poppies
- Cleome
- Alyssum
- Spring-blooming trees – ornamental cherries, crabapples
- Early spring bulbs
- Late-blooming dendranthemums
Native Plants
- Black-eyed Susans (Rudbeckia species)
- Agastache species
- Physostegia virginiana
- (Mountain mint) Pycnanthemum species
- Liatris
- Eryngium yuccifolium
- Phlox species, esp. P. paniculata ‘Jeana’
- Milkweeds
- Zizia
- Cimicifuga/Actaea
- Clethera
- Maple trees
- Packera aurea
- Eupatorium/Conoclinum/Eutrochium
- Bottlebrush buckeye (Aesculus parviflora)
- Hollies (Ilex species –male and female)
- Amelanchier
Best of the Best
- Long season, plentiful bloom, support generalist and specialist species
- (Kim Stoner, CAES research)
- Willows
- Blueberries
- Monarda
- Sunflowers
- Goldenrods
- Asters
