• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Lonely Pines Farm

Washington Grown

  • Home
  • Flowers
    • DIY Floral Buckets
    • Wholesale Flowers
  • Garlic
    • Growing Info
    • Seed Garlic
    • Culinary Garlic
    • Wholesale Garlic
  • Community
    • Get Involved
    • Farmers Market
    • Thank You Patrons
  • Blog
    • Gardening
    • Foraging
    • Preserving Food
    • Raising Poultry
    • Recipes
    • Baked Goods
  • Our Story
  • Contact Us

How to Plan a Pollinator-Friendly Garden

March 13, 2020 by Laura Leave a Comment

207 shares
  • Share
  • Tweet
You may not realize this, but pollinators - like bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds - play a huge part in the success of your garden. So when you're choosing your plants & designing your layout, make sure you also plan for pollinators.
You may not realize this, but pollinators play a huge part in the success of your garden. So when you're choosing your plants & designing your layout, make sure you also plan for pollinators.

You may not realize this, but pollinators – like bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds – play a huge role in the success of your garden. So when you’re choosing your plants & designing your layout, make sure you also plan for pollinators.

Lonely Pines Farm may earn a commission for purchases made after clicking links on this page.

When people envision of pollinators, I think the first thing that comes to mind is bees. And while they are a large part of the equation, butterflies and hummingbirds also help pollinate plants. Not to mention their fuzzy little legs & bodies, which can help spread seeds for germination!

According to the USDA, about 35 percent of the world’s food crops depend on pollinators to reproduce. On top of that, three-fourths of the world’s flowering plants need pollinators too!

You may not realize this, but pollinators play a huge part in the success of your garden. So when you're choosing your plants & designing your layout, make sure you also plan for pollinators.
Roughly one third of a hummingbirds diet consists of insects

Those numbers are high! And I have to say that as a homestead gardener, it seems like almost everything we grow needs a pollinators touch.

Planning for Pollinators in Your Garden

You may not realize this, but pollinators - like bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds - play a huge role in the success of your garden. So when you're choosing your plants & designing your layout, make sure you also plan for pollinators.

Plant Flowers

Hands down, if there’s only one thing you do from this list, make it this! Planting flowers is so important!

If only I could go back in time and tell myself that. I’ll admit, it’s hard to resist the urge to fill every single inch of the garden with fruits & vegetables. At first glance, flowers can feel like a waste of space. But if those bees don’t come in, then your tomatoes won’t get pollinated, and everybody loses.

You may not realize this, but pollinators play a huge part in the success of your garden. So when you're choosing your plants & designing your layout, make sure you also plan for pollinators.
Bees of all types love Cosmos flowers

We’re trying to make a conscious effort this year to incorporate more flowers into our landscaping. Especially considering the fact that we want to start beekeeping in the next few years. So this article is as much for me as it is for you…

Here are some of the best plants you can choose to attract various pollinators. Be sure to check the growing requirements for your specific area.

  • Cosmos
  • Bee Balm
  • Fuschia
  • Sunflowers
  • Crocus

Read more about the best flowers for beginner gardeners here.

Plant Flowering Herbs & Shrubs

Some shrubs & herbs exist primarily to feed pollinators, so they’re another great addition to your garden. A good herb example is Borage – a tall herb with star-shaped flowers in a striking shade of blue. It’s an absolute bee magnet!

You may not realize this, but pollinators play a huge part in the success of your garden. So when you're choosing your plants & designing your layout, make sure you also plan for pollinators.
Bees go crazy for borage flowers

The flowers are edible & they taste like cucumber. You can make floral ice cubes for summer cocktails or sugar them for a dazzling dessert decoration. And while that’s a neat novelty, we honestly only grow it for the bees.

You may not realize this, but pollinators play a huge part in the success of your garden. So when you're choosing your plants & designing your layout, make sure you also plan for pollinators.
Basil going to flower

Another option is to let any old herb go to flower. It doesn’t have to be an herb specifically designed for pollinators. Bees go crazy for basil flowers. So when I’m pinching them off, I just leave a few flowers for the bees.

You may not realize this, but pollinators play a huge part in the success of your garden. So when you're choosing your plants & designing your layout, make sure you also plan for pollinators.
Milkweed attracts both butterflies and bees.

A good flowering shrub is the Butterfly Bush, also known as Milkweed. It’s built right into the name! Did you know that this plant is the only place that Monarchs will lay their eggs? So if you want a swarm of butterflies in your garden, give this plant a try! It also drives the bees crazy.

Provide Water

Everyone knows about birdbaths, but have you ever thought about a bee bath? Bees need water to regulate their temperature in the hive. But big puddles from rainfall can be a problem due to surface tension. The bees essentially get trapped to the surface of the water and drown.

You may not realize this, but pollinators play a huge part in the success of your garden. So when you're choosing your plants & designing your layout, make sure you also plan for pollinators.

Bees bath are more shallow, typically filled with large rocks and less water. This allows the bees to access the water and drink from the safety of a perch. Bonus – if you only fill half the container with rocks, the other half can double as a shallow hummingbird bath.

Interestingly, butterflies have different water needs. You can easily make a butterfly puddler that will attract them while also providing drinking water. Simply bury a pie tin in your garden, fill it with their favorite colored sand, and add a few tall rocks where they can land. Refresh water as necessary.

Provide Shelter

You don’t have to go as far as keeping a full beehive in your yard – unless that’s something you want to do. Pollinators just need a place to hunker down in storms and cold weather.

You may not realize this, but pollinators play a huge part in the success of your garden. So when you're choosing your plants & designing your layout, make sure you also plan for pollinators.

Supporting mason bees is a great first step. Though they may not be the most efficient bee in the world, they are still excellent pollinators. You can buy a pre-made mason bee house or try it as a DIY project. I know it’s on my list!

You may not realize this, but pollinators play a huge part in the success of your garden. So when you're choosing your plants & designing your layout, make sure you also plan for pollinators.

For the benefit of all backyard wildlife, don’t go overboard on the trimming and pruning. Over the years, we’ve found multiple bird nests around our homemade raised garden beds. They were nestled in the overgrown grass that we couldn’t reach with the mower. Though hummingbirds have the tiniest nests in the world – they’re the size of a quarter – they still need somewhere to call home. So let a corner of your yard grow wild & the animals will thank you!

You can read about how to raise and release monarch butterflies here.

Go Natural

The last thing you want to do is attract all these pollinators to your yard, only to harm them with chemicals. That includes poisons for pest – like rats – plant sprays, and fertilizers. If you’re going to build a pollinator-friendly habitat, you need to go as natural as possible.

Pay attention to labels on products and rely on “certified organic” as a last resort.

Research permaculture gardening tactics, where you work with nature, instead of against it.

You may not realize this, but pollinators play a huge part in the success of your garden. So when you're choosing your plants & designing your layout, make sure you also plan for pollinators.
Ladybugs & Asian Beetles are great for natural pest control

Use physical, mechanical, or organic pest control methods – like using eggshells as a natural slug deterrent.

Set up your own composting system. Compost is the perfect natural fertilizer. You can start composting today for about $3 or you can build a quick compost bin out of pallets.

In closing, I hope you enjoyed this article because I truly loved writing it! And I will admit, I also learned a few things along the way. Being stewards for wildlife is so rewarding. You can taste it in the harvest, hear it in the bird’s song, and see it in the flight of the butterflies.

How else do you attract pollinators to your garden? Send us an email or leave a comment below! You can also let us know on our Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram or Twitter pages.

Please share this article to spread the pollinator love!

Did you enjoy this article? Want to hear more? Stay in touch! Sign up below to receive bi-weekly updates on new posts from Lonely Pines Farm.

Pin it for later…

You may not realize this, but pollinators play a huge part in the success of your garden. So when you're choosing your plants & designing your layout, make sure you also plan for pollinators.

Article Inspired by Bee & Basil

207 shares
  • Share
  • Tweet

Filed Under: All Posts, Grow Tagged With: Garden Planning, Gardening Guide, Pollinators, Year-Round Gardening

Previous Post: « Make Your Own Breadcrumbs
Next Post: It’s a Good Time to Think About Self-Sufficiency »

Reader Interactions

You May Also Enjoy:

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




Primary Sidebar

About the Farmers

Hi, we’re Laura & Jerry! Our small farm is located just outside of Quilcene, Washington - offering retail & wholesale flowers & garlic on the Olympic Peninsula. Reach out today for more info or stop by our booth at the Chimacum Farmers Market. And don't forget to browse the blog for tons of great gardening & homestead tips! Read More…

Follow Us!

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Sign Up For The Newsletter

– Featured Articles –

Sour Cream & Onion Cucumber Chips

How to Harvest, Cure, and Store Potatoes

The Best Slow Cooker Chili Recipe

More...

- Most Shared Articles -

Foraging & Uses for Purple Dead Nettle

9 Best Vegetables for Your Fall Garden

How to Make Dandelion Jelly

– Recent Articles –

  • Fermented Honey Garlic Recipe, Proven Benefits, and Uses
  • How to Preserve Corn
  • How Much Does it Cost to Raise Chickens?

Don’t Miss Another Video!

Follow Us For More Tips!

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Pinterest
  • Instagram
  • YouTube

– Explore –

  • Home
  • Grow
  • Forage
  • Raise
  • Preserve
  • Cook
  • Bake
  • Shop
  • Our Story
Privacy & Cookies: This site uses cookies. By continuing to use this website, you agree to their use.
To find out more, including how to control cookies, see here: Cookie Policy

Footer

GARLIC

  • Growing Information
  • Seed Garlic
  • Culinary Garlic
  • Wholesale Garlic

FLOWERS

  • DIY Floral Buckets
  • Wholesale Flowers

CONNECT WITH US

  • Instagram
  • Facebook
  • TikTok
  • YouTube
  • Twitter
  • Pinterest
  • Patreon

COMPANY

  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Get Involved
  • Certified Wildlife Habitat

Copyright © 2023 · Midnight theme by A Modern Homestead

Copyright © 2023 · Midnight Theme on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in

207 shares
 

Loading Comments...
 

    Privacy Policy