Planting for pollinators at home

[Bowsnbucks]

Who here is planting for pollinators around your home - assuming you don't live right next to your "stomping ground" ??

We live in a suburban "development" in SE Pa. A number of our neighbors (and us) have planted assortments of flowers and flowering trees. Quite a few native flowers have been planted around local properties. The numbers of bees (all kinds, big as well as tiny), assorted butterflies, hawk moths, and hummingbirds is on the increase. We also have 2 flowering crab apple trees in our yard, a Profusion and a Sugar Tyme. The flowers my wife and I planted are mostly perennials - plant once & let them grow. We have several rhododendrons, azaleas, black chokeberry, and flowering Weigela shrubs, too.

Coneflowers (Echinacea)
Black-Eyed Susans
Garden Phlox
Bee Balm
Blanket Flowers (Gaillardia)
Daffodils
Salvia
Astilbe

The neighbors behind us have several butterfly bushes, and they draw LOADS of insects of all kinds. I think we'll be planting some of those too this spring, after seeing the numbers of pollinators the neighbors get on theirs. Some neighbors have small veggy gardens that those pollinating insects go to - so they get the benefit of the "flying circus."

 

[Barndog56]

Lots of flowers go into my garden each year. I try to add a couple of perennials each year, but am adding a dozen this year because I'm starting a large pollinator patch in the orchard.

Delphinium
Lupine
Bee balm
Blanket flower
Liatris
Purple coneflower
Comfrey
Yarrow
Hollyhocks
Sweet William
Butterfly weed
Common milkweed

Annuals I plant every year
Sunflowers
Zinnias
Snapdragons
Strawflowers
Marigolds
Mexican sunflowers
Red spike amaranth
Borage
Nasturtium
Phacelia
Dahlia
Gladiolus

New perennials this year
Calico beardtongue
Foxglove beardtongue
Cardinal flower
Purple prairie clover
Yellow coneflower
Early figwort
Riddell's goldenrod
Anise hyssop
Rattlesnake master
Blue vervain
Mountain mint

Yes, I go overboard on seed buying just like with apple trees...... Lol

 

[fishin coyote]

All good choices above my top 5 out of the previous lists would be.
1 - Bee balm
2 - A. Hysop
3- Cardinal flower(spreads like crazy if you let it go to seed)
4 - The milk weed (I like the swamp/butterfly)
5 - The cone flowers ( I like all varieties)

I will say though the more variety you can plant the better

 

[SD51555]

I put a little bit of effort into it, but there really isnt' much to do. My neck of the woods (at the cabin) is full of wildflowers all year long. All I'd really ever have to do is maintain my food plots, keep the brush down in some areas, and then just not kill what is happening naturally. That being said, there's a lot of good done just with white clover and hairy vetch.

I can't hold a candle to what the natural landscape provides though.

 

[Bowsnbucks]

Lots of flowers go into my garden each year. I try to add a couple of perennials each year, but am adding a dozen this year because I'm starting a large pollinator patch in the orchard.

Delphinium
Lupine
Bee balm
Blanket flower
Liatris
Purple coneflower
Comfrey
Yarrow
Hollyhocks
Sweet William
Butterfly weed
Common milkweed

My wife and I are considering a couple new ones for us that are on your list. Delphinium, Lupine and Yarrow. They look like great additions for pollinators.

I tried for quite some time trying to identify a perennial flower my Mom had at home. She had a clump of it, and it drew bees of all kinds like a pool full of nectar. I finally found out what it was - - Physostegia ( also known as "Obedient plant." ) They're a tall (3 ft. roughly - varying heights), spike-y flower stem with lavender or purple narrow trumpet-shaped flowers. Check 'em out on the web. They came up every year and were FULL of bees.

 

[Bowsnbucks]

3- Cardinal flower(spreads like crazy if you let it go to seed)

Are you growing these in a flower bed at your house - or in a natural area?? Wondering what kind of soil you have them in.

 

[Bowsnbucks]

Annuals I plant every year
Sunflowers
Zinnias
Snapdragons
Strawflowers
Marigolds
Mexican sunflowers
Red spike amaranth
Borage
Nasturtium
Phacelia
Dahlia
Gladiolus

Nice batch of annuals you have there, Barndog!! Wife talked about planting zinnias & sunflowers too.
We plant a bunch of annuals every year too. On our sunny patio, we have pots of various varieties of marigolds, verbena, pentas, calibrachoas, bee balm, & some dwarf black-eyed Susans. My wife takes pics up close of the bees & butterflies that feed on our patio. On a calm day, you can hear all the buzzing. Shady side of house we have impatiens planted in a variety of colors.

 

[Barndog56]

My wife helps with the garden stuff a little more when she knows I'll cut her a couple bouquets of flowers each week.

 

[fishin coyote]

Are you growing these in a flower bed at your house - or in a natural area?? Wondering what kind of soil you have them in.

Both, We started out with it in the beds around the koi pond but it grew out of control so I just pull it out and transplant it to the wet areas around the yard and vegetable garden. The joy of living in the woods is the natural areas are less than 50 yds from the house