PLANTING FOR POLLINATORS

Plants I have personally observed the most pollinator use of in our gardens, listed with common name, latin name, where to see at Heritage, and my notes. - Iris Clearwater, Senior Gardener

NATIVE PERENNIALS FOR FULL SUN

Coneflower - Echinacea purpurea - McInnes garden - the straight pink species is hardiest and best for pollinators, great for butterflies, bees & birds!

Butterflyweed, Asclepias tuberosa - Parking garden slopes & Windmill garden - orange flowers - Monarch host, nectar for butterflies, bees & other pollinators.

Swamp Milkweed, Asclepias incarnata - Parking garden slopes & Windmill garden - pink flowers - Monarch host, nectar for butterflies, bees & other pollinators.

Wild Beebalm, Monarda fistulosa - McInnes, Hydrangea test garden in July, hummingbirds, butterflies nectar, host plant for sphinx moths!

Beebalm ‘Gardenview Scarlet’, Monarda didyma - one of best plants to attract hummingbirds

Agastaches - long blooming nectar source for many sizes of bees & also butterflies - recommend cultivars as they don’t self-seed as prolifically, and offer different height, foliage, and flower color options, ex. ‘Blue Fortune’.

Joe Pye weed 'Litte Joe' - Parking Garden - excellent for butterflies and bees!

Phlox paniculata 'Jeanna' - gorgeous pink flowers scientifically tested to have the most nectar for butterflies! - Enchanted garden in front of gift shop.

Common Boneset, Eupatorium perfoliatum - McInnes - native, Tall plant with white thread like flowers, great for native bees - will spread slowly by underground roots.

Cardinal flower, Lobelia cardinalis - Windmill Garden - hummingbirds!

Blazing star or Gayfeather, Liatris spp - Parking Garden - many species, all are fantastic for attracting butterflies & many kinds of bees

Mountain mints, Pycnanthemum spp. - Fringe tree by admin - any native mountain mint is one of the best providers for native small tongued bees! They often spread, so allow for that where you plant. Tolerate shade & many soil conditions.

Asters - Especially native to New England - ex. New England Aster ‘Purple Dome’, excellent for all pollinators late in the season when they need nectar sources the most! Stems can be used by overwintering native bees & their young.

Goldenrods - Use non-aggressive native varieties like Gray Goldenrod, Solidago nemoralis or Licorice-leaved, Solidago odora. excellent for all pollinators late in the season when they need nectar sources the most! Stems can be used by overwintering native bees & their young.

Ironweeds, Veronia spp. - (click on link) Awesome late season provider for butterflies and bees, many cultivars, Native to midwest. Ex. dwarf Veronia ‘Iron Butterfly’ or ‘Summer Swan Song’, or taller V. missurica for structural pizzazz in your garden.

Trumpet honeysuckle, Lonicera sempervirens - beautiful native vine with orange-red flowers, attracts hummingbirds and host to the hummingbird clearwing moth! cultivar ‘Major Wheeler’.

NON-NATIVE PERENNIALS FOR FULL SUN

Lungwort, Pulmonaria officinalis - excellent resource for early bees

Virginia bluebells - bees love these in early spring

Coreopsis spp. - small tongued bees seem to love to nectar on these

Hydrangea serrata varieties - bees of various sizes really love the small lacy flowers

Spirea spp. - smaller flowers that many sizes of bees seem to enjoy

Anemone 'September Charm' - Enchanted Garden in front of gift shop - excellent bumblebee pollen source

Sedum ‘Autumn Joy’ - Enchanted Garden, Windmill Garden, middle bed near windmill - late season provider for both bees and butterflies.

NON-NATIVE ANNUALS FOR FULL SUN

Zinnias - Benary Giant Zinnias have good mildew resistance and rebloom well. McInnes garden. Used by all sorts of bees & butterflies, hummingbirds will visit the red ones, and birds will eat the seeds.

Tall Verbena, Verbena bonariensis - butterflies, bees, and Hummingbird clearwing moths love this plant. May self-seed abundantly

Mexican Sunflower, Tithonia rotundifolia - McInnes - tall plant big orange flowers with yellow centers - great for butterflies, bees and birds!

Lucifer Crocosmia - Windmill Garden - corms to plant as bulbs for hummingbirds

NATIVE PERENNIALS FOR SHADE

Coral Bells and Foam flower, Heuchera spp. & Tiarella spp. - Windmill shade garden for Heucheras, Tirellas beside cafe. Early spring blooms for small tongued bees.

Spotted Cranesbill, Geranium maculatum

Red Columbine - Aquilegia canadensis - native, early pollinators and hummingbirds, self-seeds

Bugbane/black cohosh - Actea racemosa - native, gorgeous tall spires of white flowers

Ostrich fern, Matteuchia struthiopteris - native, edible fiddleheads, host plant for native moths

Oakleaf hydrangea, Hydrangea quercifolia - Beautiful addition to any shade garden, plant where it will stay as doesn’t like to be moved, water well until established, then will need little care afterwards.

Broad leaved Mountain mint, Pycnanthemum muticum - does well in shade as well as sun. Plant where you can let is spread. One of the best for native bees, & use dry leaves for amazing teas !!!

NON-NATIVE PERENNIALS FOR SHADE

Astilbes - bees love them, especially the violet hues

NATIVE GRASSES - host to skipper butterflies and used by overwintering bees

Little bluestem, Schizachyrium scoparium - native, have many cultivars, ex. The Blues

Switch grass, Panicum virgatum - native, many cultivars, ex. Cheyenne Sky, Shenandoah

Prairie dropseed, Sporobolus heterolepis - native to midwest, nice shape

SEDGES (click on link)

Pennsylvania sedge, Carex pennsylvanica - native, good grass substitute

Plantain-leaved sedge, Carex plantaginea - native, interesting to interplant, tolerates shade

GROUNDCOVERS

Barren strawberry, Waldsteinia fragarioides - native spring flowering alternative to pachysandra

Strawberry - Fragaria virginiana - native, good alternative to grass

Yarrow - Achillea millefolium - native, good lawn alternative, can be mowed

NATIVE SHRUBS

Sweet Pepperbush, Clethra alnifolia - Across from labyrinth - excellent for hedges, lovely foliage & fragrant white flowers in early August.

Native Roses - Virginia Rose, Carolina Rose & Smooth Rose - excellent sources of important pollen to help native bees breed successfully. We don't have any at Heritage that I know of.

Northern Spicebush - Lindera benzoin - McInnes garden has some young ones - host plant for Spicebush Swallowtail butterflies, yellow spring flowers, red berries and fall color.

Serviceberry, Amelanchier spp. - nectar and pollen, and berries for birds

Buttonbush, Cephalanthus occidentalis - excellent nectar source, ‘Sugar Shack’ is a compact cultivar with red fruit

Winterberry Holly, Ilex verticillata - gorgeous persistent red berries in winter, many cultivars, need at least one male for females to produce berries.

NATIVE TREES - are one of the most important sources, especially for early spring pollinators

Cherry Trees - provide for the most number of species!

Oak Trees - next highest provider!

Tulip Trees - fast growing, strong, gorgeous trees & host plant for exquisite Easter Tiger Swallowtail butterflies

Sassafrass Trees - beautiful trees and host plant for exquisite Spicebush Swallowtail butterflies

Sweetbay Magnolias - host plant for E. Tiger Swallowtail butterflies, nectar for early pollinators

Maple trees - nectar for early bees

Willow trees - nectar & pollen for early native bees

Holly trees, Ilex opaca (females need at least one male to produce fruit) - nectar for pollinators and berries for migrating songbirds, buy the native (I. opaca) not the european (I. aquifolium).