Pleasing those Pollinators!

A garden can be a butterfly banquet, providing you offer a colorful array of nectar-and-pollen rich host plants for butterflies to feast upon. Butterflies (and other beneficial pollinators) provide a vital function in the garden, pollinating flowers and vegetables as they flutter among the plants.

This afternoon our backyard garden had a variety of winged visitors… hummingbirds, yellow swallowtails, and bumblebees. Each visitor was drawn to the Monarda blooms, which provide nectar and pollen for all. My favorite cultivar of Monarda is ‘Raspberry Wine’ (hardy to Zone 4) with its vivid magenta flowers that invite pollinators during the hottest weeks of summer. Monarda, also known as bee balm, stands nearly four feet tall and grows aggressively so requires some space in the garden. (It has square stems which can be an indication the plant will spread. The ‘Raspberry Wine’ cultivar thrives in a sunny location and is also resistant to powdery mildew.)


Besides butterflies, bumblebees hover over the Monarda blossoms, gathering nectar and pollen granules continuously. I watched a yellow swallowtail for several minutes, gathering nectar from various flowers; she wasn’t deterred by the bumblebees. These bees have velvety bodies which are ideal for collecting pollen and moving it from blossom to blossom. If you watch closely, sometimes bumblebees use a vibrating technique to loosen pollen granules, allowing them to collect more pollen.
Each gardener can assist our bees, hummingbirds and pollinators by planting pollen-rich plants, as well as host plants for female butterflies to deposit eggs. Ideally, a succession of blooms throughout the growing season will keep these desirable pollinators coming back to YOUR space. (One of my horticulture instructors taught us to include flowering perennials within the borders of the veggie garden. This keeps pollinators coming back to your garden. Thanks for the great tip, Ms. Laurie Weiss!) Here are a few pollinator attracting plants: coneflower, milkweed, geranium, liatris, hyssop, lavender and… monarda!

M. Lynn Schmid,
Certified Master Gardener A.A.S. Landscape/Horticulture/Arboriculture