Plants for the pollinators

Be it birds, bees or butterflies, all creatures big and small need a place to call home. And in an environment that is constantly affected by people, what better way to welcome some of our winged friends than with a pollinator garden? 

“All pollinators need two main things from their habitat: somewhere to nest and flowers that provide nectar and pollen,” said Brooke McMinn, plant adventures program specialist at the Birmingham Botanical Gardens. 

Broken down, pollinators are animals that move pollen between plants, which allows for the formation of seeds and fruits, she said, and Alabama’s native pollinators include bats, bees, beetles, birds, butterflies, flies and moths. With a pollinator garden, the local pollinators are given an area that consists mainly of flowers that can provide them with nectar and pollen.

While many people would consider most of our local pollinators to be pests, they have an important role in the environment.

“They give us food,” McMinn said. “In the United States, one-third of all agricultural output depends on pollinators, but human activity such as urbanization can lead to fragmentation or destruction of native habitats that host pollinators.”

In recent years, as the human population has been growing, the native flora population has been shrinking. Construction and urbanization of areas have greatly diminished or even removed flowers in certain areas, which pushes the pollinators out as well, and while non-native ornamental flowers may be pretty, they have little to no benefit to pollinators, McMinn said.

“Fragmentation [of habitats] happens when the natural flora of certain areas has been drastically reduced, removed or replaced with plants that don’t come from here,” McMinn said. “Promoting the planting of pollinator habitats can help stave off or even reverse habitat fragmentation, allowing for greater pollinator activity.”

Within each pollinator garden occurs the “pollinator syndromes,” which McMinn describes as the characteristics of certain flowers that appeal to different pollinators. Depending on the traits, gardeners can predict which pollinators will be attracted to the area or different flowers within the area.

“Sometimes, it’s the color [that attracts the pollinators]. Or the amount of nectar in the blooms,” said Kris Blevons from the Oak Street Garden Shop. Blevons takes care of the pollinator garden that sit across the street from the garden shop, called the Better Late than Never Garden. 

Other contributing factors can include flower odor, flower structure and location and type of pollen. Bees in particular are attracted to bright white, yellow or blue flowers with a mild scent, McMinn said, and hummingbirds prefer flowers high in nectar.

“Like salvias,” Blevons said.

While it is the flowers that will be typically seen and used by pollinators in the garden, Blevons said soil is also important. 

“If you’re going to be trying to plant something, it all starts with your soil,” she said. “You really want to work on your soil.”

Since all of the plants in the garden will be getting nutrients and water from the soil, it needs to have a high quality and be viable for plant growth.

“The main thing is to add to that soil,” Blevons said. “Add soil conditioner, shredded leaves in the fall. You want to always be adding organic material to your soil.”

She said instead of bagging all of the leaves during the fall, shred them with a lawnmower and mix them in the garden plot. Mountain Brook gardeners also can visit Public Works to pick up compost for the soil. McMinn added gardeners need to consider the amount of sunlight the plot gets. 

“It’s easiest in a sunny spot,” Blevons said, mentioning the Better Late than Never Garden is in direct sunlight all summer, which contributes to its success. She also said the plants like to grow through warmer weather, and as long as they are well watered, the best month to plant is June. 

When ready to plant, gardeners should focus on the native plants.

“These plants will be better adapted to your soil type, climate, precipitation and local pollinators,” McMinn said. To attract the pollinators, plant the flowers in clumps or large patches.

“When planting, it’s always best to use bright colors and swaths of color,” Blevons added, especially for butterflies, which are near-sighted. “Instead of dots [of flowers], do all one color.”

Typical Alabama pollinator garden flowers include sunflowers, salvias, gomphrena and perennials, such as asters and butterfly weed, Blevons said, but if the goal is a simple garden, zinnias and sunflowers would do just fine. Gardeners should also include host plants for caterpillars, such as parsley, dill or fennel, and a small dish of water for the pollinators. 

Even if gardeners notice pests or spots on leaves, Blevons and McMinn said gardeners should avoid pesticides. Through integrated pest management, or IPM, gardeners monitor watering, manually pull weeds, remove invasive plants and place physical barriers to keep pests out. If insecticides are used, McMinn said they can kill the pollinators and enter the soil, which will negatively affect the plants. 

“When you’re trying to be pollinator friendly, you have to be very cognizant of how you’re trying to use chemicals,” Blevons said. “If someone is trying to be friendly to the environment, you have to be friendly to the environment.”

While designing a pollinator garden may seem overwhelming and a lot of work, both McMinn and Blevons agreed the garden can be as elaborate or as simple as the caretaker wants it to be.

“A pollinator garden can be something as simple as a few plants in pots or as complicated as a large, formally designed space,” said McMinn. 

“It’s really fun,” Blevons said. “After a while, it just kind of takes on a life of its own.”

To learn more about pollinators and pollinator gardens, visit your local garden shop. To find out how to pick up compost from Public Works, visit the Public Works page at mtnbrook.org.