The aesthetic appeal of a garden is no longer sufficient. It must also be visually appealing. The local ecosystem’s food chains are more successfully maintained the more we accept insects. In particular, we help our own food supply when we care for pollinators.
Get rid of the pesticides first. Put your faith in nature to regulate pests. Then add the features that make gardens beautiful: a succession of nectar- and pollen-rich blooms from the last to the first frost, as well as plants that serve as hosts for caterpillars of moths and butterflies.
Most pollinators are not particularly choosy. Some pollinators, like honeybees, only work with one species at a time, which makes them effective pollinators of food crops. Others eat from the buffet’s entire selection. Even though many pollinator species are armed with stingers, when they’re out feeding in the garden, they’re friendly associates willing to cooperate with you and each other.
Spring is simple. Everything that grows is essentially fair game. Beekeepers highly respect dandelions as the first dependable food supply following a long winter. Make room for them in your grass. The same is true for clover, which was only recognized as a weed after being unintentionally targeted by weed killers.
All kinds of bees, wasps, moths, and butterflies are drawn to the following things:
- Ajuga (Ajuga and cvs., Zones 39)
- Catmint (Nepeta and cvs., Zones 38)
- Hyssop anise (Agastache foeniculum, Zones 411)
- Lavender (Lavandula and cvs., Zones 410)
- Mountain thyme (Pycnanthemum and cvs., Zones 48)
- Calamint (Calamintha nepeta subsp. nepeta, Zones 49)
- Plants of the Lamiaceae (mint family) are effective pollinator magnets.
These plants have tubular flower spires that bloom all summer, attracting hummingbirds and bumblebees alike:
- Honey balm (Monarda and cvs., Zones 49)
- Agastache, such as Mexican giant hyssop (Agastache and cvs., Zones 411) (Agastache mexicana, Zones 710)
- Salvia species, including blue anise sage (Salvia and cvs., Zones 511). (Salvia guaranitica, Zones 710).
There is a secret weapon that hydrangeas (Hydrangea spp. and cvs., Zones 49) use. They only provide pollen and nectar from considerably smaller viable florets, yet they attract pollinators with enormous, showy flowers. Some mophead cultivars, like “Nikko Blue,” are just for appearance. Because lacecaps (H. macrophylla normalis, Zones 59) feature a platform of pollen-rich fertile blooms surrounded by prettier sterile sepals, bees and butterflies will appreciate your choice. Also take into account local species like oakleaf hydrangea (H. quercifolia, Zones 59) and smooth hydrangea (H. arborescens, Zones 39), both of which have attractive pompoms and panicles of fertile and infertile florets.
In the aster or composite family, fertility may also be given up for the extra-showy appearance of extra petals. Bees and butterflies can get nectar and pollen from the single-flowered purple coneflower (Echinacea purpurea, Zones 39), as well as cultivars like “Virgin” and “Green Envy.” Additionally, throughout the fall and winter, their seed heads draw goldfinches.
Include caterpillar host plants in your garden layout to make it truly hospitable to butterflies. The only plant that monarch caterpillars eat is milkweed (Asclepias spp. and cvs., Zones 39). Any garden arrangement is made brighter by the two-foot-tall, beautiful orange blossoms of the butterfly weed (A. tuberosa, Zones 49). While ‘Ice Ballet’ blooms white, Swamp Milkweed (A. incarnata, Zones 39) is higher at 3 to 4 feet and bubblegum pink. Both species are hardy perennials that self-sow native to the area. For fritillary butterflies, the violet family (Viola spp. and cvs., Zones 39), the spice bush (Lindera benzoin, Zones 49), and native grasses provide additional hosts (for skipper butterflies).
Don’t simply believe me; entire books have been written about this (my favorite is Attracting Native Pollinators by the Xerces Society). Make your garden your teacher. Your garden will be more inviting to pollinators and hence more beautiful.
Author and gardener Kristin Green lives in Bristol, Rhode Island, and is the creator of Plantiful: Start Small, Grow Big with 150 Plants that Spread, Self-sow, and Overwinter.
Receive our most recent advice, training, and tutorial videos in your inbox.
Are butterflies and bees attracted to hydrangeas?
When it comes to pollinator plants, hydrangeas are not often the first thing that come to mind. However, lacecap types like Little Quick Fire, which conspicuously exhibit their fertile florets that are rich in nectar and pollen, do a great job of generating buzz. Little Quick Fire is also a panicle hydrangea, which requires little maintenance and thrives in both hot and cold areas. Even though mophead kinds—those that produce the large, full, fluffy flower heads—are typically regarded as more showy, choosing lacecap variants guarantees that you’re also improving the aesthetics of your landscape.
How many bees are drawn to hydrangeas?
I recently got the chance to assess a university campus for bee-friendly landscape plants. Large trees and sprawling lawns made up the majority of the campus, creating a plush and welcoming blanket of greenery that encircled tall buildings and trees like draped velvet. I’m delighted to report that it provided a quiet retreat for students and many families using or passing through the campus with young children.
The campus had so many trees that they formed an almost closed canopy, giving the impression that the trees had given permission for structures to be placed amid them for our benefit.
On the university grounds, a variety of trees including oaks, American elms, ash, mimosas, catalpas, mulberries, willows, golden chain trees, lindens, flowering crab apples, hawthorns, cedar, fir, pine, horse chestnuts, honey locusts, and eastern redbuds flourished in harmony and profusion. Many of the huge shrubs and trees were pollinator-friendly.
Willows were the first bee-friendly trees to blossom in the spring, and they were soon followed by hawthorn, horse chestnut, red buds (both eastern and western), and flowering crab apples.
Up to the end of July, golden chain tree, honey locust, linden, catalpa, mimosa, and linden all produced continuous tree bloom.
As long as there are other pollinator-friendly plants blooming before and after them, each tree holds a significant amount of floral resources during bloom time and is beneficial to pollinators; bees require sustained floral resources during the growing season.
Conifers, ash, elm, and other wind-pollinated trees are generally unwelcoming to bees.
On campus, hydrangeas were widely planted, so it was fascinating to see which ones were good for pollinators and which weren’t. Although we don’t typically think of plants as being friendly to bees, some are actually quite alluring to bees while others are not.
There was a fairly lengthy planting of lacecap hydrangeas on the east side of a sizable structure. The more popular mop-head hydrangea macrophylla hortensis is unsuitable for bees since its flowers are all sterile and, while attractive to humans, provide neither pollen nor nectar for bees.
Although hydrangeas’ fruitful blossoms are little, unimportant, and not particularly eye-catching, bees are very drawn to them. A large core cluster of fertile flowers is surrounded by stunning sterile flowers on lacecap hydrangeas.
They combine grace and delicacy with flowers that are friendly to pollinators, giving you the best of both worlds. These beautiful flowers are available in a variety of hues, including white, blue, and purple.
Hydrangea aspera, sometimes known as rough-leaf hydrangea, is a too rarely planted lacecap variety. Zone 9 locations with maritime influences, enough water, and annual composting are best suited for its use. This lovely big shrub, which grows to a height of 8 feet and flowers in the late summer, needs filtered shade.
A ring of light purple sterile blooms surrounds the bright purple, extremely fragrant fertile flowers. Both we and the bees adore its blossoms.
The appeal of the various hydrangea paniculata varieties to bees varies. The elongated, white flower heads typically contain a mixture of viable and sterile blooms.
Some varieties have non-scented, primarily sterile flowers whereas others have highly fragrant, bee-friendly blossoms. All are garish.
It is better to visit a nursery and distinguish between plants with a lot of bees visiting them and others that are not aromatic. The plants can range in size from three feet to roughly six or eight feet. Numerous cultivars exist.
Native to the eastern United States, hydrangea arborescens is frequently planted along the coast or in regions that receive a lot of coastal impact. ‘Annabelle’ is a popular cultivar.
It features very enormous umbels of white flowers that resemble mopheads, but each blossom is somewhat smaller than the mophead varieties, giving the flowering plant a softer and more elegant appearance.
The leaves are a brighter shade of green, much smaller, and less waxy. Large flower heads and weak stems can cause flowers to occasionally topple down.
While cultivars like “Haas Halo” have lacecap blooms made up of both fertile and sterile flowers and are exceedingly spectacular and bee-friendly, this cultivar only has sterile flowers. H. arborescens has exclusively viable blooms in its wild form. The scent of hydrangeas can help determine whether they are bee-friendly.
What kinds of bugs are drawn to hydrangeas?
When they appear in the height of summer, these huge insects are impossible to ignore. These munch through the foliage of many other plants in your garden, including hydrangeas, and have lustrous green and brown leaves. Swarms of beetles have been known to destroy entire plants in a matter of days if you do not get rid of these right away. Although the plant is rarely killed by this, it looks very ugly for the remainder of the year.
Do hydrangeas draw in animals?
Its leaves don’t seem pleasant to insects, so there isn’t much value there, and most importantly, the blooms seem so ugly to insects. It isn’t dense enough or prickly to provide birds with a place to shelter. It’s really easy to understand why. The enormous flower globes that you notice on so many hydrangeas are completely sterile.
Hummingbirds enjoy hydrangeas, right?
We like seeing hummingbirds both at home in Texas and while on the road around the nation.
We also like to garden for hummingbirds and plan our yard so that different species of hummingbirds can find food and a place to live.
Hummingbird Shelter
Although food and water may seem like obvious needs, hummingbirds also need shelter and protection.
In addition to offering protection, trees’ thick foliage serves as a source of insects and the protein they deliver. Large shrubs and trees offer a spot to rest in between meals at the feeder or flowers.
The Hummingbird Central garden, which offers food and essential shelter to hummingbirds, is a portion of which is shown below.
Hummingbird Food in Nature
The hummingbird feeds on flower nectar (red is their preferred color), tiny insects like aphids and spiders, and occasionally even pollen and sap.
Hummingbirds consume numerous little meals throughout the day, including up to twelve times their body weight in nectar and tiny invertebrates.
Hummingbirds help pollinate a variety of plant types in exchange for nectar and tiny insects from the plants. Even when not feeding, hummingbirds aggressively and tenaciously guard a feeder.
Water Features
The majority of wild birds love having a bird bath to use for drinking water or bathing. A “cold swim in the pool” is something hummingbirds like to do on warm mornings or scorching afternoons.
They appreciate shallow, moving water, such as a small waterfall or gently flowing water. The market offers a wide variety of water features in terms of brands, models, and sizes.
Some outdoor enthusiasts transform a basic birdbath into one with motion and song by using a little solar-powered pump. Zero wires! Move it around your yard if it’s flexible.
Hummingbirds frequently like flowers that are red in color and tubular in shape, so we include many plants with these characteristics.
In order to provide hummingbirds with the nectar and food they require to survive, we grow flowers, bushes, and trees. Our landscape contains a variety of natural habitats. It is located in a rural area and has hundreds of acres of forest backing it, as well as surrounding fields and pastures.
During the fall migration through Texas toward the south, we frequently had more than 40 Ruby-Throated hummingbirds on our feeders at once. On occasion, we are also fortunate to have a large number of colorful Baltimore Orioles visiting our feeders!
Butterfly Bush
We now have a variety of butterfly bushes planted, and they are all favorites of hummingbirds and butterflies alike.
Buddleia davidii, or butterfly bush, has long, 4-5 inch flower spikes that resemble and smell like miniature lilacs and typically blooms from mid-July until frost.
Butterflies are drawn to buddleia blossoms by their honey-scented fragrance, and once they arrive, they discover the flowers to be incredibly nectar-rich.
We make use of dwarf and full-size types in white, purple, and reddish hues. In a mild climate, full-size species may reach heights and diameters of up to 6 feet in just one season.
Make sure the soil where they are planted has good drainage, and avoid the need to overwater them.
The fact that butterfly bushes never shed their dead blossoms is their main flaw. Periodically, we remove the dead blooms, and in places where there is a lack of room, we also prune the bushes. In milder climates, they will typically spout and develop from their base the next spring. They are frequently frost proof until approximately 25 degrees; below that, they will freeze to the ground.
Lantana
We have over 45 plants flourishing right now, with several varieties of lantana, including yellow, white, red, and orange, demonstrating how much we adore this plant.
In a large portion of the South, lantanas are perennial plants that demand well-drained soil and will bloom in either full sun or light shade. Native to the semi-desert, they thrive best when neither overfed nor overwatered.
In many parts of the South, they can last the winter, and even in places where the ground freezes almost to the surface, they quickly grow in the early spring.
Other Favorites of Hummingbirds
Along with Lantana and Butterfly Bush, our landscape also frequently has Zinnias, Pentas, Milkweed, Salvia, Batface Cuphea, Hot Lips, Fire Bush, Nasturtiums, and other annual and perennial plants that are hummingbird-friendly.
We also plant gladiolas, geraniums, hydrangeas, impatiens, verbena, and roses, which, though they might not be hummingbird favorites, offer additional color to the landscape. Hummingbirds adore color, and they all give vibrant hues!
Numerous Azaleas, Pansies, Impatiens, Knockout Roses, Creeping Phlox, Daffodils, Hydrangeas, Portulaca, and Gladiolas are other landing and feeding locations that vary by season.
A Final Ingredient: The Hummingbird Feeder
The correct flowers must be planted in order to create an environment that will draw hummingbirds.
But you also need a hummingbird feeder, which is a crucial attractant! Hummingbirds begin to share feeders as the Texas migration peaks here in late August and early September, a behavior unheard of during the summer when protecting a feeder is the norm.