Attracting Pollinators to Your Garden

Creating a pollinator garden for a variety of species-butterflies, bees & hummingbirds- through diversity of plantings and garden techniques to attract them to your garden.
4 steps

1. Plant nectar and pollen rich flowers
2. Go Organic- Say no to pesticides and chemical fertilizers (at least limit the use) Use caution, even “natural” insecticides can harm them- BT larvicide.
3. Provide Shelter- Hedge row, trees, hollow trees. Artificial nesting boxes, bat house.
4. Provide Food & Water

Butterflies are a welcomed addition to the garden for their beauty and the work they do pollinating flowers.  Attracting butterflies involves two plants- those for all life stages= adults  to feed and lay eggs, food plants for larvae and places to form chrysalides.
What will attract Butterflies?

• Plant type and color is important. Adults are attracted to flat topped flowers or clusters and have short flower tubes. Most are full sun plants that bloom from mid -morning to mid- afternoon colors- red, yellow, orange, pink and purple. Plant continuous bloom, variety of plants (annuals, perrrennials, trees, grasses.
• Provide water sources.
• Sunning areas- flat rocks or stones in the sun
• Provide areas for “puddling” they concregate in wet sand or mud puddles. Plsce s shallow with coarse sand insert in habitat area. Keep sand moist.
• Which plants? Native flowering plants

Plants for larvae: Borage, Dill, Fennel, Grasses, Hollyhocks, Lupine, Milkweed, Nettle, Thistle
Adult Butterflies: Agatashe, Mexican Sunflowers, Verbena, Zinnias, Butterfly Bush, clover, verbena, quenne annes lace, daisy, hollyhock, goldenrod, dogwood, passionflower, mallow, hibiscus, snapdragon, coneflowers, sunflowers, joe-pye weed, viburnum, burdock, vetch, blueberry, walnut, sedum, privet, phlox, sage, daylily, delphinium, dianthus, globe thistle, liatris, oregano, Oregon grape, yarrow, marigold
Feeding Adults: love oranges, grapefruit, cantelope, strawberries, peaches, nectarines, especially bananas freeze first. some love a brew of rotting fruit, molasses, beer and brown sugar
Native Butterflies:  http://www.thebutterflysite.com/washington-butterflies.shtml
 
How long butterflies live depends on many things and varies greatly. It depends on the size of the butterfly, the species of the butterfly, where it lives, and what time of year it became an adult.  For example, if the butterfly is of the smaller version it will probably not live as long, but if it is a larger butterfly, it will live longer.  Now of course the size of the butterfly is not going to be the only factor of how long a butterfly will live, but does attribute to it.  

Attracting Bees: Allium, Aster, Basil, Monarda, Rudbeckia, Sedums, Goldenrod, Butterfly bush, Chives, Purple coneflower, Joe-pye weed, lavender, sunflowers, roses, catnip & catnip, carnesbills, salvia, Butterflyweed, heliotrope, blanket flower gaillardia, cosmos mullien, rosemary, poppy wallflower
Mason Bees, Bumble Bees, Native Bees, Honey Bees
 
Hummingbirds
Attracting Plants: Ajuga, abelia, bee balm, begonia, bleeding heart, butterfly weed, canna, cardinal flower, coral bells, Current, dahlia, delphinium, pinks, foxglove, fuschia, geranium, gladiolous, hollyhocks, impatiens, iris, lantana, liatris, Lilacs, lily, lupine, nasturtiums, Nicotiana, Oregon Grape, penstemon, petunia, phlox, sage, salvis, scabiosa, sage, sweet William, Verbena, Willow, Yucca, zinnia
-Provide a variety of heights of plants so they can nest or provide nest boxes, nesting material
-Provide feeders and water
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Native Hummingbirds: https://www.beautyofbirds.com/hummingbirdswashingtonstate.html

 For additional information, attend our class on June 30, 2018 with Cyndi Stuart! 
An ebook is also available written by one of our employees- Kerri Bailey. It is available on www.magcloud.com