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Pollinators: What's the buzz?
Show your support with an I Love Pollinators Bumper sticker!
Pollinators: What's the buzz?
Pollinators are responsible for 1 out of 3 bites of food we eat! Pollinators- butterflies, bees, and moths-also help repopulate plants and add diversity to the environment, making an ecosystem more resilient. Unfortunately, pollinators are in decline. Gardeners are crucial to helping reverse this trend. The simple action of sowing seeds is powerful. It can create habitats that protect and feed pollinators, strengthening their population.
4 P's of Pollinator-Friendly Gardening
Plant flowers: Provide food for pollinators by sowing flowers, especially native varieties.
Plant diversity: Plant a diversity of bloom times, colors, and heights. By staggering bloom times, you provide a reason for pollinators to call your garden home throughout the growing season. Some pollinators are very small and need very small, open flowers in order to access the pollen or nectar. Sow a diversity of flower shapes and sizes, usually simpler (vs. double petal) varieties of flowers work for more species.
Provide water: In your water feature, create small islands with stones where pollinators can land, and climb in and out.
Pass on pesticides: Look for organic ways to block pests, disrupt their life cycle, and invite their predators. Integrated Pest Management (IMP) techniques utilize simpler solutions, such as using a fabric row cover to block pests. Sowing varieties like alyssum or allowing dill to flower, both attract beneficial and predatory insects.
Help Monarch Butterflies
In particular, Monarch butterfly populations have dropped by 90% in recent years. Researchers believe the decline is due to several key factors: milkweed plants are more scarce (a crucial food source for monarch caterpillars), habitat loss including nectar plants for adults, and pesticide use. Monarch butterflies travel an average of 3,000 miles during their annual migration-that takes a lot of energy!
You can increase their habitats by sowing diverse plants that flower specifically during migration. Be sure to include milkweed. Milkweed is the only food plant for monarch caterpillars. Adding native flowering plants will generally provide the highest quality nectar and will the easiest for you to care grow. . Perennials can take a year to flower, unless started indoors very early (10 to 12 weeks before your average last spring frost) and 3 to 5 years to achieve their full size, so integrating some annuals into the mix will provide nectar in the meantime. Deadheading (removing spent blooms) can extend the flowering period of many plants.
Which milkweed is best for my region?
Botanical Interests offers four milkweed varieties: Butterfly Milkweed, Irresistable Blend, Showy, and Common. Check the maps below to find which variety is native to your region.
Flower Mix Precious Pollinators Seeds (LG)
Protect our precious pollinators by providing food and nectar with this vibrant mix of yellows, reds, and blues.
Item #7027
$ 4.49
Flower Mix Songbird Delight Seeds (LG)
Attract a flurry of feathered friends to your garden! This mix supplies a feast for fascinating songbirds.
Item #7017
$ 3.99
Flower Mix Southern Hills and Plains Seeds (LG)
From the heart of Texas to the windswept plains of Oklahoma, native wildflowers paint a spectacle of color. NATIVE.
Item #7024
$ 4.99
Flower Mix Water-Wise Mix Seeds (LG)
A collection of adaptable, drought tolerant, hardy, beautiful varieties for the water-wise gardener.
Item #7002
$ 4.99
Four O'Clock Marvel Of Peru HEIRLOOM Seeds
Lightly fragrant flowers open after 4 PM for late afternoon charm. A lure for butterflies and hummingbirds.
Item #1019
$ 1.79
Gaillardia Goblin Seeds
Masses of fiery blooms blanket the garden all summer. Drought tolerant. Attracts butterflies!
Item #1127
$ 1.89
Gaillardia Mesa Yellow Seeds
A new, yellow beauty to blanket the garden with summer sunshine!
Item #1274
$ 3.49
Gourd Hard-Shelled Corsican HEIRLOOM Seeds
140 days. Use to make serving bowls, jewelry boxes, and many other beautifully decorated containers.
Item #1257
$ 2.99
Grass Little Bluestem Seeds
Drifts of silver-blue leaves turn cinnamon red with golden tones in fall. Outstanding in borders. NATIVE.
Item #1812
$ 2.69
Heliotrope Dwarf Marine Seeds
Smell cherry pie? Large clusters of small, violet-blue flowers, have a sweet perfume reminiscent of cherries & vanilla.
Item #1290
$ 2.69
Hollyhock Indian Spring HEIRLOOM Seeds
Regal, tall spires of old-fashioned single blossoms. Long bloom period. Stunning in cut flower arrangements.
Item #1022
$ 1.89
Hollyhock Outhouse Organic Seeds
This cottage garden charmer is a stunning backdrop in the flowerbed, and makes an edible garnish! Long bloom period.
Item #2048
New! $ 2.39
Hollyhock the Watchman HEIRLOOM Seeds
Towers of edible, dark blossoms are a wicked addition to the back of the flower border, or a cottage garden.
Item #1225
$ 1.89
$ 18.50
Hyssop Lavender Hyssop Seeds
Charming anise-scented herb and beautiful ornamental for the back of the border. Wonderful for hot and iced teas. NATIVE
Item #1226
$ 1.79
Hyssop True Hyssop Organic HEIRLOOM Seeds
Plants explode in mid- and late summer with vibrant purple flowers and the hum of bees.
Item #2029
$ 1.89
I Love Pollinators
Protect pollinators with Botanical Interests and Pollinator Partnership!
Item #4007
$ 1.00
Iceplant Livingstone Daisy Sparkle Blend HEIRLOOM seeds
Brilliantly colored, daisy-like flowers atop succulent foliage sparkle like colorful stars in the sunshine.
Item #1309
$ 1.79
Larkspur Galilee Blend Organic Seeds
A vibrant trouble-free forest of tall, slender flowers in a rainbow of colors atop a mist of foliage.
Item #2036
$ 1.99
Larkspur Shades of Blue Seeds
Irresistibly beautiful, tall, elegant spires attract butterflies & bees. Ideal for cut and dried arrangements.
Item #1063
