Pollinator Garden
What is pollination?
Pollination is the means by which plants produce seeds. It occurs when pollen grains from a flower’s male parts (anthers) are transported to the female part (stigma) of the same species. Most plants cannot set seed without being pollinated. While wind and water can also move pollen, most plants depend on pollinators to transport pollen.
Plants produce scents and/or nectar to attract pollinators. As pollinators collect nectar from one flower, some of the pollen grains attach to their legs, abdomen, and/or other body parts. When the pollinator moves to the next flower, the pollen grains are likewise transported, some of which are then deposited in that flower.
Who are our pollinators?
Pollinators are more than bees, butterflies and birds. They are all of the animals that move pollen between flowers, including moths, wasps, flies, beetles, and some bats.
What Can you Do for Pollinators?
- Provide a wildflower-rich habitat in a sunny spot
- Use native plants which are often the best sources of nectar and pollen for native pollinators and can serve also as larval host plants
- Choose a variety of colors and shapes to attract a range of pollinators
- Choose plants with bloom times from early spring to late fall
- Plant in clumps rather than singly
- Combine annuals and perennials
- Create habitat for nesting, resting, egg-laying and larval food
- Keep some fallen branches and brush in places in your garden
- Provide small patches of bare ground
- Avoid pesticides and herbicides. Herbicides, while normally not directly lethal to insects, can reduce plant diversity and thus essential pollen and nectar for pollinators.
- Provide a water source. Butterflies often congregate on wet sand or mud to drink water and extract minerals from the damp puddles. Many people are familiar with birdbaths, but remember to give birds, as well as bees and other insects, a landing pad so that they can drink the water from the bath.
Overview
The Pollinator Garden is planted with an assortment of both native and non-native shrubs and perennials. Plants chosen are known to be nectar and pollen sources for diversity of pollinators.
Why are pollinators important?
Pollinators are almost as important as sunlight, soil and water to the reproductive success of more than 75% of the world’s flowering plants. They play a key role in our ecosystem and are an essential link in agriculture. They also provide nutrition in the form of seeds and fruits for many wild animals, both large and small.
Where can you find additional information?
WSU's Creating a Hummingbird Garden
WNPS Chart on Pacific Northwest Plants and the Birds that Use Them
Butterfly Identification in Washington State
OSU Encouraging Beneficial Insects in Your Garden (PNW Pub 550)
XERCES Pollinator Plants: Maritime Northwest Region
Native plant resources for the Pacific Northwest
XERCES Farming for Pollinators
USDA Pollinator Activity Book for Children
North American Pollinator Protection Campaign What is Pollination and What is a Pollinator?
USDA Why is Pollination Important?
USFWS Plant a Pollinator Garden
Pollinator Garden Plant List
| # | Botanical Name | Cultivar | Common name | Tree | Native | Pollinators | Bloom Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Helleborus orientalis | lenten rose | bees, flies, hummingbirds | winter-early spring | |||
| 2 | Narcissus pseudonarcissus | daffodil | * | bees | early spring | ||
| 3 | Anemone nemorosa | wood anemone | bees. hover flies | early spring | |||
| 4 | Nicotiana x. alata | 'Saratoga White' | tobacco plant | hawkmoths | spring-summer | ||
| 5 | Hakonechloa macra | 'Blades of Glory' (Sunflare TM) | Japanese forest grass | wind | spring | ||
| 6 | Polygonatum | Solomon's seal | bees | spring | |||
| 7 | Primula | 'Sweetheart' | pink primrose | bees | spring | ||
| 8 | Primula | 'Corporal Baxter' | double red primrose | bees | spring | ||
| 9 | Tulipa | tulip | hummingbirds, bees, butterflies | spring | |||
| 10 | Camassia leichtlinii | great camas | * | bees, hover flies, beetles | spring-early summer | ||
| 11 | Camassia quamash | common camas | * | bees, hover flies, beetles | spring | ||
| 12 | Aquilegia skinneri | 'Tequila Sunrise' | columbine | hummingbirds, bees, butterflies | spring-early summer | ||
| 13 | Aquilegia vulgaris | common columbine | hummingbirds, butterflies, bees | spring-early summer | |||
| 14 | Heuchera micrantha | 'Palace Purple' | coral bells | hummingbirds, bees | late spring-early summer | ||
| 15 | Crocosmia x curtonus | 'Lucifer' | montbretia | hummingbirds | summer | ||
| 16 | Salvia microphylla | hot lips | hummingbirds, bees, butterflies | summer-fall | |||
| 17 | Potentilla fruiticosa | potentilla | * | bees | late spring-fall | ||
| 18 | Allium spaerocephalon | 'Drumsticks' | drumstick allium | hummingbirds, bees | summer | ||
| 19 | Sedum spathulifolium | Pacific stonecrop, broadleaf stonecrop | * | butterflies, bees | spring-summer | ||
| 20 | Antirrhinum majus | 'Sonnet Mix' | snapdragon | bees | late spring-fall | ||
| 21 | Geranium sanguineum | cranesbill geranium | bees | late spring-fall | |||
| 22 | Meconopsis cambrica | yellow Welsh poppy | bees | late spring-fall | |||
| 23 | Calendula officinalis | calendula, pot marigold | butterflies | spring-fall | |||
| 24 | Lobularia maritima | sweet alyssum | * | bees, butterflies, hummingbirds | spring-late fall | ||
| 25 | Coreopsis rosea | pink coreopsis | bees, butterflies | early summer-fall | |||
| 26 | Echinacea | 'Sundown' | coneflower | butterflies, hummingbirds | early summer-fall | ||
| 27 | Asclepias tuberosa | butterfly weed | butterflies, hummingbirds | early summer-fall | |||
| 28 | Allium giganteum | giant allium | bees, butterflies | summer | |||
| 29 | Penstemon x glaxinoides | 'Garnet' | garnet penstemon | bees, butterflies. hummingbirds | summer | ||
| 30 | Astilbe chinensis | 'Maggie Daley' | Maggie Daley false spirea | bees, butterflies, moths, flies | summer | ||
| 31 | Echinops bannaticus | 'Blue Glow' | blue globe thistle | bees, butterflies, hoverflies | summer | ||
| 32 | Hemerocallis lilioasphodelus | yellow daylily | hummingbirds, bees, butterflies, flies | summer | |||
| 33 | Kniphofia uvaria | yellow-orange torch lily | hummingbirds, beetles | summer | |||
| 34 | Lavendula angustifolia | English lavender | bees, butterflies | summer | |||
| 35 | Sedum album | white stonecrop | bees | summer | |||
| 36 | Sedum kamtschaticum | orange stonecrop | bees | summer | |||
| 37 | Spirea japonica | 'Walbuma' | magic carpet spirea | butterflies | mid-late summer | ||
| 38 | Achillea millefolium | common yarrow | * | beneficial insects | summer-fall | ||
| 39 | Borago officinalis | borage | bees, syrphidflies | summer-fall | |||
| 40 | Fuchsia magellanica var. gracilis | 'Aurea' | golden leaved hardy fuchsia | hummingbirds, bees | summer-fall | ||
| 41 | Rudbeckia fulgida | coneflower | bees, butterflies, beneficial insects | summer-fall | |||
| 42 | Geum hybrid | 'Fireball' | giant avens | butterflies | summer-fall | ||
| 43 | Helianthus annuus | 'Teddy Bear' | sunflower | * | bees, butterflies | summer-fall | |
| 44 | Campenula rotundifolia | harebell | bees | summer-fall | |||
| 45 | Crocosmia x crocosmiiflora | 'George Davidson' | montbretia | hummingbirds, butterfiles | late summer-fall | ||
| 46 | Hylotelephium | 'Autumn Joy', 'Herbstfreude' | autumn joy sedum, stonecrop | butterflies | late summer-fall | ||
| 47 | Solidago rugosa | goldenrod | bees | late summer-fall | |||
| 48 | Schizostylis coccinea | crimson flag lily | bees | late summer-fall | |||
| 49 | Arbutus unedo compacta | dwarf strawberry tree | hummingbirds | fall-winter |