In order for a garden to be considered a pollinator garden, it should provide at a minimum the following features: various nectar producing flowers, shelter or shelter providing plants for pollinators, avoiding the use of pesticides, and placing similar flowers close to one another.

Natives are an excellent place to start but correctly selected nonnatives can be just as attractive to pollinators. And be sure to leave a section devoted to weeds or weedy wildflowers....they tend to attract pollinators by the bucket full.

Some sort of water source is also recommended.

- Regarding water- there is a water way behind our property ~ 20 feet from the area I want to plant natives. I also have a concrete basin/bowl/birdbath filled with rocks that I can move into the garden.

- The water way is weedy and overgrown and is only mowed on its banks.

- I have added a few small to medium sized dead branches to a pile nearby (also about 20’ away) ikfor shelter and there is bare ground for bees that nest in the ground.

As for the plants, I’m starting small with an area about 15’x5.5’. I started by purchasing plants that I liked and cosidered using in other areas of the yard, but I decided to make a pollinator garden instead. You’ll notice no milkweed. (No milkweed in a pollinator garden, what?!) Now, I’m worried that I didn’t put enough thought into it. This is the list of plants I ended up with:

1 - grayheaded coneflower,

Ratibida pinnata

1 - prairie dropseed, Sporobolus heterolepis

2 - Wild Bergamot, Monarda fistulosa

3 - Rose Verbena, Glandularia canadensis

2 - Purple poppy mallow, Callirhoe involucrata

4 - Echinacea purpurea ’White Swan’

I grew the echinacea from seed this spring before I knew that the pollinators don’t love some varieties as much, but they’re better than nothing. There are violets in the lawn and the rose verbena is supposed to bloom early, but I probably need to add an aster for fall.

If I have the water and habitat, assuming they’re close enough to the pollinator garden, does the plant selction matter much? What if I have a nectar plant for a certain type of butterfly, but no host plant? Am I over thinking it and underestimating our pollinator friends? (I know the answer to that is probably yes.)

You definitely want to have host plants in addition to your pollinator garden. These can be planted along with the others!

I'd suggest you listen to the Joe Gardener podcast. His guest last week and this week is the Director of Horticulture of the Brooklyn Bridge Park. Seriously my favorite interview thus far as she talks about Ecological Landscaping.

Look at the Xerces society and various local native plant societies for plant suggestions. I'm focusing my plantings on host plants as I have a myriad of nectar plants.

Winter sowing is how I plan to expand my offerings.

Good for you and hope you have a great deal of success.

Thank You for all of the suggestions! Initially, my concern was that I would have a nectar plant for a particular type of butterfly, but no proper host plants. My mom gave me some starts of milkweed, so I know I'll have the monarchs covered:)

I have been watching webinars on youtube from the Xerces Society and a local native plant initiative. I've also been chucking seed bombs into the area behind our property. They contain a mix of native forb seeds from a local native plant nursery. I hope some of them take because the seed bombs contain a lot more diversity than I can fit into the starter bed I made on our property. The nursery also sells a companion mix of graminoids that I should get too.

I tried winter sowing last year too. I learned a lot, so this year should be even more fun. I can't wait until next spring!

I'm also trying to be mindful of providing a proper habitat. I have started a small brush pile nearby, I do have one grass, and I will have a shallow basin filled with rocks and water to provide a drink. I plan on relocating a good sized rock as a place for them to warm in the sun. i'm super excited!