Attracting pollinators to the garden

As I’ve mentioned before, I’m all about attracting pollinators to my garden. No matter what it takes, I want those guys here!

All joking aside, we all need to do what we can for pollinators. Several factors are having an adverse impact upon them. “Colony collapse disorder” affects honeybees, also the decline of habitat for pollinators. And certainly the use of pesticides is detrimental. We human are making it difficult for them to do what they do best. And that is pollinating our flowers and facilitating our food production of vegetables and fruits. Simply put, no pollinators = no food. Yikes!

But here’s something positive:

As I was walking through my garden a little while ago, I noticed something. There are a couple of plants that are absolute hubs of activity when it comes to pollinators. One is a Campanula cultivar (‘Pritchard’s Variety’) and the other is Helianthus ‘Lemon Queen’ (see photo at top), commonly known as perennial sunflower. Take a look at this short video showing the activity around the Campanula:

Isn’t that amazing?! There are several different types of pollinators on and around the flowers. That is awesome.

(If you want to see a close-up of that Campanula, click on the photo to the left! It’s fabulous. The plants came from Northland Rosarium, in case you’re wondering.)

That got me to wondering about the different types of plants I grow. Which ones really draw in the pollinators? Perhaps I planted some of them for that very purpose. But many plants came home with me from the nursery because they have that “wow” factor. Maybe it was due to their flowers or some other interesting attribute.

After wandering through my garden once again, with a paper in hand — I’ve made a list for you. It includes the annuals, perennials and shrubs that are particularly great at attracting pollinators. I’m sure I’ve missed something along the way but this gives you a starting point:

Annuals:
Calendula
Cosmos
Helianthus annuus (Sunflower)
Zinnia

Perennials:
Achillea (Yarrow)
Agastache (Hummingbird Mint)
Campanula (Clustered Bellflower)
Campanula ‘Pritchard’s Variety’
Echinacea (Coneflower)
Hemerocallis (Daylily)
Helianthus (Perennial Sunflower)
Helenium (Sneezeweed)
Knautia (Crimson Scabious)
Lavandula (Lavender ‘Munstead’, ‘Grosso’)
Leucanthemum x superbum (Shasta Daisy)
Lysimachia clethroides (Gooseneck Loosestrife)
Monarda (Bee Balm)
Penstemon
Phlox
Rudbeckia fulgida (Black-eyed Susan)
Rudbeckia hirta (Gloriosa Daisy)
Salvia (‘May Night’)
Sedums (‘Autumn Joy’, ‘Matrona’, ‘Angelina’)
Veronica

Shrubs:
Amelanchier (Serviceberry)*
Cornus sericea (Red-twig Dogwood)*
Holodiscus discolor (Oceanspray)*
Philadelphus (Mock Orange)*
Physocarpus opulifolius (Ninebark)*
Ribes (Golden and Black Currants)*
Symphirocarpos alba (Snowberry)*
Viburnum trilobum (American Cranberry Bush)*

*= native plants

I would love to hear what you’re growing in your garden, especially the plants that are pollinator magnets! Just drop me a note at Susan@susansinthegarden.com.