Create a Pollinator Garden With These Easy Steps

Today, pollinator populations are on the decline, and home gardens are becoming increasingly important for pollinator survival. That’s why we put together this easy guide to help you with plant selection, gardening tips, and other essentials you’ll need to create your own pollinator garden!

Steps to Create a Pollinator Garden

Pollinator gardens are simple to grow and relatively easy to maintain; however, most pollinator gardens include a few key elements. If you have a small garden space, you may not be able to fit all of these elements in, but the more you include, the more benefits your garden will have for pollinators. Use the tips below to help you design a pollinator habitat that’s perfect for your garden space.

Grow The Right Plant Species

If you want to attract pollinators, the best thing you can do is to grow pollinator-friendly plants. Often, native plants purchased at local nurseries are the best choices for pollinators. Still, you can also find pollinator seed mixes that contain an assortment of wildflower seeds that are ideal for attracting bees, butterflies, and other wildlife.

Additionally, because pollinators are drawn to different flower types, consider growing an assortment of flowers in different shapes, sizes, and colors to suit the specific needs of different pollinators.

Plant in Groups

Growing plants in clusters of at least 3 to 5 plants will give your garden a more natural look, but it’s also helpful for pollinators. This is because it’s much easier for pollinators to forage from plants in a group since they won’t need to fly as far when feeding.

Add a Water Source

Like other animals, pollinators need food and water to survive, which is why it’s always a good idea to include a water feature in your pollinator garden.

Water features can be as simple as a bird bath, or you can make a “bee pool” by adding a few marbles to a terracotta saucer or pie dish and then pouring in some water. Because they’re shallow, bee pools are very easy for pollinators to drink from, and if bees happen to fall into the water, they can easily crawl out.

Try a Bee Hotel or Bird Box

Beyond food and water, it’s also important to consider where pollinators will sleep when they visit your garden. While most people are familiar with honey bees (Apis mellifera) which live in hives, the majority of native bees are actually solitary, ground-dwelling species.

Bee hotels are specially designed for solitary, native bees, and they can be purchased at local garden centers, or you can make your own out of natural materials, like hollow reeds and wood scraps.

If you want to attract even more wildlife to your garden, try installing a few bird boxes, which will give songbirds a cozy place to rest and raise their young.

Let Your Garden Get A Bit “Wild”

In addition to bee hotels and bird boxes, including natural shelter in your pollinator garden is vital if you have space. Pine trees, shrubs, and tall grasses can all serve as a refuge for pollinators.

For shelter that requires even less maintenance, pile up some brush or stack wood in a corner of your yard or leave some plant debris in your garden beds over the winter. This will give pollinators a bit of protection from the winter winds, and it’s also less work for you!

Plants That Attract Pollinators

Aster Plant

Additional Plants That Attract Pollinators

• Black-eyed Susan
• Milkweed
• Yarrow
• Butterfly bush
• Cardinal flower
• Bloodroot
• Turtleheads
• Joe Pye weed
• Eastern red columbine
• Bee balm
• Goldenrod
• Asters
• Purple coneflower

Pollinator Garden FAQs

How big should a pollinator garden be? While larger pollinator gardens can support more pollinators and wildlife, you can still do a lot to help pollinators with just a small space or urban garden.

Even a single window box or planter on your porch or patio can provide a safe place for pollinators to shelter while foraging in neighborhoods and cities.

So, don’t let size be a limiting factor – if you have a bit of space, you can grow a pollinator habitat!

How to maintain a pollinator garden? Compared to turf grass lawns, pollinator gardens often need less care, water, and fertilizer, but they still require some maintenance. You may need to divide perennial plants every few years to keep them from getting overcrowded, and many flowers will produce more blooms when they’re deadheaded.

That said, if you can leave some plant debris in your garden over winter, it will also provide shelter for solitary bees and other pollinators.

Why are pollinator gardens important?Pollinator populations have been declining largely due to habitat loss and fragmentation. Because urban environments have limited plants, they can be incredibly difficult for pollinators to navigate, and hungry bees may tire out before they reach the next food source.

Planting pollinator gardens increases the amount of food and shelter that pollinators have access to, combats habitat fragmentation, and provides safe refuge from pesticides too.

Conclusion

From the food we eat to the flowers we enjoy in our gardens, there’s so much that we owe to the help of pollinators. But with pollinator populations declining, it’s essential to do what we can to support bees, fireflies, and other important pollinators. And keeping a pollinator habitat is one of the best ways to protect these incredible species.

While you can sow a large native plant garden, you can still do a lot to help pollinators by just growing a few different plants in a planter on your back porch or balcony. Every little bit helps, and you may inspire a friend or neighbor to start gardening for pollinator s too!

Happy Gardening-

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