Are you a monarch lover? Adore hummingbirds? Do you want to #savethebees? There’s a good reason we celebrate pollinators with National Pollinator Month in June: without them, we’d be sunk. Of the 1,400 crop plants grown around the world, almost 80 percent require pollinators.
While monarchs seem to get the most PR (plant milkweed!), all pollinators appreciate help from gardeners. Why not add some pollinator favorites to your landscape this month? Even apartment dwellers or small space gardeners can benefit pollinators by planting a container garden filled with plants that pollinators love.
Native plants make excellent choices for a pollinator garden. But don’t worry if you don’t know which plants are native in your area—there are plenty of flowering plants that pollinators adore. When planting for pollinators, give these a try:
- Aster
- Sedum
- Coneflowers
- Sunflowers
- Lavender
- Yarrow
- Salvia
- Goldenrod
- Bee Balm
- Penstemon
- Joe Pye Weed
- Milkweed
- Anise Hyssop
Along with adding pollinator-friendly plants to your garden, consider including a water source—a shallow dish filled with water. Add pebbles or marbles to give bees a place to land for a drink. Bug hotels also make a great garden addition, whether you make your own or find one to buy at your local Master Nursery® Garden Center.
But the most important way to benefit our pollinator pals is to avoid pesticides. Encourage beneficial insects to feast on aphids. Learn to recognize ladybug larva and other beneficial insects, and let nature go to work for a healthy, productive garden.
Take a trip to your favorite Master Nursery® Garden Center to find perfect pollinator plants for your garden. If you have questions about which plants attract pollinators, you’ll find great help from the experts there. (Some newer cultivars, like pollenless sunflowers intended for the floral industry, might not offer the best benefits for pollinators.) Make sure to pick up Master Nursery® Bumper Crop® Soil Builder [Eastern & Midwestern Regions | Western Region] and Master Nursery® Bumper Crop® Starter Food to give your plants a great start.
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