Pollinators Need Your Garden, And Here is How To Attract Them

If you are a wise gardener, then you already understand the need for attracting pollinators to your garden. Well, actually any garden. Pollination is the process where bees move pollen from one plant to the other so that fertilization can happen.

Pollination takes place in many ways, and annoying insects make it happen which is why they have the name pollinators. Pollinators need your gardens more now than ever. There is a world filled with plants that require pollination.

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In the United States alone, pollinators doing their job contribute to over $40 billion in products each year. The diversity of the plants is overwhelming. Butterflies, bumblebees, spiders, and bees aid in keeping a garden prosperous and healthy just by pollinating plants and most importantly, increasing production.

The good news is, inviting pollinators to your yard and garden is not that hard. With a well-maintained garden, pollinator invites become tremendously simple. Many of these will come on their own due to their natural process.

Insects are plant lovers however for some pollinators; you will need to do a little work to get them on your homestead. In this article, you will learn the different ways in which you can help nature by attracting pollinators to your garden.

Establish the Pollinators a Friendly Habitat

Shelter, water, and food are the main things nearly every living organism need, that includes pollinators. Filling your garden full of these things will aid in attracting pollinators. It does not require a large garden to draw them; pollinators will follow your invitation even if it is a small garden on a little area of your homestead.

Be sure to have pollinator-friendly habitats that offer shelter, water, and food, and they will make it their home.

Shelter for Your Pollinators to Feel Safe

Pollinators have danger all around them; including us humans. Therefore, pollinators seek refuge to protect themselves from danger, predators, and harsh climates. Small areas of unmowed grass and shrubs help pollinators in this regard.

Also, I am sure you have seen areas where various pollinators enjoy building their nest in trees and take cover in shrubs. Butterflies often lay their eggs on dead limbs, on plants and at times, on the ground. Therefore, they easily attract just by adding various plants in and around your garden and well as adding shrubbery.

Food Pollinators Need from Your Garden

Flowers that are rich in nectar and pollen serve as much-needed food for pollinators. Adding a multitude of flowers will help attract many varieties of pollinators, especially bees to your gardens. Nectars is a favorite and the primary source of energy for bees because of the abundance of sugar.

Also, pollen is an excellent source of food for numerous pollinators. Pollen offers a remarkable amount of proteins and fats. However, the problem today is many gardeners hybridize so that they can control color, size and flower diseases in their gardens.

Hybridizing reduces the chances of pollen and nectar production because it makes the plant sterile which will make pollinators stay away from the garden. Therefore, be sure to add good sources of food and reduce hybridizing as much as you can so that you will have pollinators in and around your garden. [1]

Even Pollinators Need Clean Water

To all living organisms, water is a necessity, including pollinators. By always keeping drinkable water close to your garden, you will attract pollinators to the area. Water that is free of impurities, chemicals, and bacteria is what will attract pollinators.

Small ponds around the vicinity of your garden will help serve as a good, healthy clean watering spot. Butterflies and bees love sea-salt mud. All you need to do is add sea salt to the mud, and this will draw them so that they will increase pollination in your gardens.

Planting in a Variety

While there is a multitude of ways, you can invite pollinators; the most effective method is to plant a few strips of colorful, attractive flowers. The reason for this is because most pollinators find colors attractive so planting a variety of livid colors will attract many pollinators. Bees prefer these native plants over exotic ones, such as;

• Willow
• Lilac
• Currant
• Grape
• Oregon
• Grape Snowberry
• Goldenrod

By planting clumps, you will attract plenty of pollinators. Many varieties of clusters grow well, and some grow better individually. So, it is crucial that you pay close attention to this extremely well when you plant new plants.

Another tip is most pollinators enjoy sunlight, such as bees. For this reason, be sure your garden receives a substantial amount of natural sunlight to attract your pollinators. That is vital for your plants to prosper as well.

Ground Nesting is Necessary

On average, there is 70 percent of bees that build their nest in the ground. These include mining bees, sweat bees, and bumblebees. However, they can only be successful at this if the bare soil is undisturbed. To attract these pollinators, leave unearthed soil close to your garden and bare patches away for dirt near your garden.

Put Artificial Nests around for Bugs and Bees

You can create an artificial nest for bees apart from allowing them to build their own nests on the ground. When you have nesting places in and around your garden, the more pollinators you will have attracted in and around your garden.

Bug and bee hotels are great to aid the bees with settling in and around your garden. Creating these “bug hotels” is a simple task. All you must do is find some untreated wood and drill holes into it. Whether you make it aesthetically appealing is up to you. However, the bees will not care one way or the others.

Bee’s will be just fine even if they have the ugliest home on the homestead, just a board with a few holes will do just fine for them. If you would rather not make home make a custom nest, you can buy readymade bee and bug boxes like these to hang around your garden.

Other types, such as this one make perfect homes for pollinators that you can hang away from people but close enough for the bees to pollinate your gardens. There are many designs available that are decorative that will enhance the appearance of your garden area such as these:

Bee House – Bamboo Tube Mason Bee House for Solitary Bees by Cestari Kitchen:

Welliver Outdoors Solitary Bee House

SKOOLIX Garden Mason Bee and Insect Tube House

Insect Palace Bee and Bug Home Insect Hotel

Any of these will be the perfect nest that will provide readymade homes for bees and bugs to have access to the flowers in your garden. However, you need to ensure that you build or buy the right type nest. Bees typically search for a nest that closes in on one side.

When the rough weather begins, pollinators seek shelter, and they look for a nest. The more nest you offer, the better your garden will grow and look amazing. To prevent wet weather from destroying the nest, add a roof made of water resisting materials or place the nest under a tree so the rain will not ruin it.

These nests do not require often replacing, however, for the bee’s sake, put as many as you can around so that the bees have plenty of room to move. They will need this as they buzz around from one to the other when coming back and forth from gathering. That way they will not feel crowded and forced to leave to go to another garden.

Limit Herbicides and Insecticides

Weeds and pests are a gardener’s worst nightmare, and most people use insecticides and herbicides to keep them at bay. However, there’s a drawback to using such products. These sprays contain chemicals that pollinators do not like one bit.

When using sprays such as these, you need to be sure to take extra precautions. For example, weeds that bloom serves as a great diet food for bees and if you spray them that will end a food chain for them.

So, what is the solution? You can mow before applying pesticides. Be sure you mow when the weeds are not blooming. Moreover, be sure to avoid using pesticides on a windy day because the wind will scatter the chemicals.

Not only will this create issues for the pollinators in your garden, but it could also affect the taste and health of your produce.

Go Easy on the Mulching and Landscaping

There is no doubt that adding landscaping elements to your gardens make them eye pleasing. However, it can also contribute to keeping pollinators away from their food as well.  The same rule goes for mulching.

The reason is when you add elements such as mulching; the pollinators will not have full access to the ground when there are restricting elements and loads of mulch cover it. That does not mean you should not use mulch altogether. The perfect solution is to leave a few small areas mulch free for your little pollinators, such as bees to enjoy.

Control the Grubs

Pollinators could spend all day on flowering weeds. However, unless you control them, grubs can take over and take over fast. Clovers, dandelions, and other flowering seeds help attract the pollinators. However, the grubs feed on the turf, and that will destroy them.

Here is where you should use either of these two products Acelepryn or GrubEx to assist with this problem. Neither affects our friendly pollinators, but they will help keep the grubs under control.  If you do choose to use other insecticides, such as Imidacloprid or Thiamethoxam just be sure not to spray it when the weeds are not flowering.

Add Other Resources Than Nectar

Most insects love their nectar. However, there are some, such as butterflies that love other foods as well. It may sound nasty to us, but they love rotten fruit and animal waste as well. Put a ripe banana near your garden, or you can place salty water in a bowl, and both will attract butterflies to your garden area.

It is best to use sea salt rather than table salt if possible to enhance the results.

Plant the Flowers That Attract Bees

If you want pollinators, plant the flowers that will attract them. The flowers you have now might not be attractive to pollinators.  Plant fruit flowers because bees love them and will attract a variety of pollinators, however, so does nectar.

Bees come from a variety of species and plants and they love a variety of different plants. Wild native bees and domesticated bees prefer visiting gardens that have a wide variety of flowers. In fact, flowers that are yellow, white, purple, and blue are their favorite. A few of their favorites are sunflowers, clovers, and Asters.

Vegetable plants such as squash flowers and pumpkin are veggies they love as well. When you are putting ideas together for your garden, be sure to plant many that are native to your region. The more, the better.

You can run into problems if your space is small and limited. However, the excellent thing is most of these do not require much space to prosper. They can even grow in pots as well. [2]

You should note that different type flowers bloom at different times of the year. Be sure to note when each flower blooms so when you go to make your purchase, you can choose them so that throughout the year the pollinators will have food. There will be pollen and nectar all year round and so will your pollinators.

Here is just the tip of the iceberg of the flowers that bees and other the various pollinators appear to love:

• Horsemint: This beauty has a covering of pink and white shades that prospers in the suns presence. If you have a garden that has well-drained soil, your horsemint with for sure attract a mass number of pollinators straight to it. It blooms late in the summer and can even flourish in harsh environments.
• Pale Purple Coneflower:  This is a favorite amongst the pollinator family. It has gorgeous purple and pink combinations of colors which is what attracts bees and the others. When in full bloom, its flower is a huge attraction for many bees.
• Blue Giant Hyssop:  This is a favorite gathering spot for bees to feed from as well as help makes your yard look beautiful. It is a leader of the flowers with an abundance of pollination purposes. The plant is a member of the mint family and is an excellent flower to attract all kinds of bees to your garden.
• Sunflower: Who does not like the sunflower including pollinators and humans? Whenever you see a sunflower, you can bet you will see a bumblebee in the area. In fact, bees search for sunflowers to feed and pollinate. Other than pollinating, the sunflower is for many different purposes such as oils to cook or just to eat the seeds. Sunflowers come in s vast variety of heights, colors, and sizes.
• Black Eyed Susan: Everyone knows this flower well. It is yellow with a black center. They can prosper in drier areas, but the soil must be well drained. The flower has a wealth of pollen and nectar which is why it attracts plenty of pollinators.
• Goldenrods: I think everything that buzzes love this flower. Native bees, bumble bees, bees and even butterflies flock to the goldenrod. With over 100 various types of goldenrods species, they each contribute to attracting several kinds of pollinators due to having a wealth of pollen and nectar.
• Joe Pye Weeds: The colors, red-purple fuzzy flowers help in attracting different pollinators. Other than spreading a beautiful scenery in your garden, these are an excellent source of pollen and nectar.  They grow fantastic is sunny areas and in moist Many bees, including the honey bee and bumblebee, buzz around these flowers lapping up the pollen and the nectar. Moths, flies, and wasps love them as well.
• Common Yarrow: Bees love small daisy flowers, and there are lots of them at the top. Other than just bees, this flower attracts numerous other pollinators. They also are an excellent way to enhance and garden with their orange-yellowish

If attracting pollinators is your goal, then you cannot go wrong with these flowers. Nectar and Pollen are the leaders in what pollinators search for, and each one of these flowers has plenty to go around.

Butterflies Love Milkweed

Butterflies are not only beautiful; they make excellent pollinators. The planting of Milkweed has hit a decline by 90 percent, and that has hit pollination hard. The Monarch Butterfly population is nowhere close to what it was ten years ago.

This decline is partly due to the modern day agricultural practices around the globe. Therefore, planting Milkweed around is a great idea to attract the great pollinators, the butterfly.

The Verdict

All around the globe we need pollinators. Not just here in the U.S. but everywhere. Pollinators play a huge role in the production of vegetables and fruits in gardens. Without the help of each one, the majority of plants would do be able to produce prosperous results.

In the U.S. alone an estimated one-third of plant life rely on pollinators to produce their seeds and fruits. That is the main reason finding ways to encourage the survival of these pollinators in and around your garden is a necessity.

By planting flowers that grow throughout the years so that these insects are attracted year-round so that your yield does not suffer is the first step because Pollinators need your gardens and we need our gardens. It is a solution where everyone benefits.

A critical point to remember is you have no reason to fear pollinators. Bees and bumblebees are not around your yard and flowers to harm you. Welcome them to your gardens and help them help us, humans, because the truth is we need them as much as they need us.