Morningsun is Pollinator Heaven!
The Bees, Butterflies and Hummingbirds (and don't forget the bats) are here!
Gone are the days of huges expanses of lawn and cedar bushes in the yard, now we celebrate gardens big and small that provide all sizes, colors and textures of flowers and foliage. It may mean retraining your HOA on what makes an attractive yard, and some changes to your irrigation system, but the results will be a garden that is alive, far more interesting, and far more useful both to all the pollinators as well as the human caretakers. I jokingly call myself the ‘gaudy gardener’, because I just can’t stick to a color palette. I will plant almost all the colors together, because I think they all need each other to shine. Needless to say, a ‘white garden’ would be impossible for me to plant. It turns out, being a gaudy gardener can be very positive for pollinators, because colors and fragrance can be important for them to find your garden.
Often when customers come in to a nursery and ask for pollinator plants they aren’t sure exactly what kind of plant they are really looking for to add to their garden space. The first question might be ‘What are you hoping to invite into the garden?’ Of course, often the answer is ‘Oh, everybody - hummingbirds, bees, butterflies, you know'. I do know, and there are plenty of plants that are truly pollinator heaven, but it’s also important to spread out plants so everybody has plenty of places to eat, nest, sleep, rest and drink. Not just for a short period of time, but over the course of the year. My best advice to start people on a successful pollinator garden is to include flowers of many shapes and colors, to plant in multiple locations,to include native plants in your garden plan and to include scented plants and edible plants. And although this might sound self serving, a great idea is to visit your local nurseries several times a month throughout the year to look for different different varieties that will bloom at different times of the year. For example, Echinacea and Rudbeckia is dormant in early spring and not very exciting to look at in a pot, or even unavailable for purchase, but if you shop in June or July you will see it in its flowering glory, hopefully being visited by different species of bees and butterflies. Same with many asters, which are fabulous bee plants but don’t look very exciting in the spring. Yes, it would be less stressful on plants if you planted before bloom, but humans aren’t too different from bees and butterflies. We love the beauty of flowers, they make us happy, and in their way they nourish us.
What colors to plant? Bees, whether they are honeybees or any of the other 19,999 species of bees, do not see the color red, but their visual spectrum includes ultraviolet range which is beyond what humans see. Bees see blues, yellows and whites much more clearly,so be sure to plant in this color range to attract them. Scent may also be important for long distance attraction for bees, as well as being important to assist young bees just learning to forage. Many flowers that have lines, freckles or spots are actually nectar guides to assist bees. Hummingbirds are attracted to color, and will first visit red, orange and pink flowers. Butterflies also are attracted to a wide range of flower colors, especially bright hues.
Planting flowers with flat centers, like Echinacea, sunflowers, Rudbeckia, Solidago, Scabiosa, zinnia, asters, cosmos, yarrow and Monarda are all excellent choices for both bees and butterflies. Open cup flowers like poppies are excellent for bees. Many choices in the mint family, most famously lavender but also thyme, oregano and rosemary, provide huge amounts of nectar for bees. Tubular shaped flowers, like Penstemon and foxglove, can attract many species of bees and hummingbirds. Plants in the Salvia genus are particularly popular for hummingbirds, and many bloom for many months, even into the winter. And I love the Agastache genus, with some flowers like Agastache rupestris well adapted to hummingbirds and others like the traditional anise hyssop better suited to bees and butterflies.
Adult butterflies feed on primarily on liquid nectar, but the larval form of butterflies are leaf eaters. Asclepias, or butterfly weed, is a necessary food for Monarchs, is important to include in any pollinator garden. Herbs like parsley, dill, fennel and cilantro are also very good for larval forms of many butterflies, so be sure to include these plants in your garden. Plant extra so the butterfly larvae have plenty to eat and still leave some for you!
With the many possibilities of plants to include in your garden, I have to comment on some of my favorites to include in your garden.
Butterfly bushes are all around awesome for providing for butterflies, bees and hummingbirds. They come in many sizes and colors, and many are sterile so you don’t need to worry about them reseeding and becoming a noxious weed. Deep pink varieties like ‘Cran Razz’ or deep violet ‘Buzz Midnight’ stay smaller in the garden and will bring everyone for nectar.
Of course there is lavender, and all of the lavenders are great for bees, but Lavandula canariensis is very unusual in that it attracts butterflies and hummingbirds also, and blooms from May until December. It doesn’t have the typical fragrance of lavender but is super low maintenance and a great all round pollinator plant.
I adore Cuphea, but always thought they were too tender to be considered perennial. But many are tough enough to bloom all winter long - my favorites are Cuphea ‘Hummingbird’s Lunch’ and Cuphea ‘Starfire Pink’. Hummingbirds adore them and they look great really all year long. They are great to include in containers, placed somewhere they can be enjoyed by people and hummingbirds alike.
The genus Agastache is superb for pollinators - there are so many that are great attractors for hummingbirds. My favorite is Agastache rupestris, native to the southwest. It blooms with a dusky orange for at least 6 months, into the late fall. Plant it in a well drained location and it will be long lived.
With thousands of plants in the Salvia genus, it is difficult to just focus on one or two. California native sages are early bloomers, terrific for early bee forage and for hummingbirds. Salvia clevelandii ‘Winifred Gilman’ is always stunning in the early spring, with blooms that are particularly attractive to native bees. It is also a bit more forgiving in our clay soils.
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Monarda, or bee balm, is a great plant for bees, butterflies and hummingbirds. The classic Monarda didyma ‘Balmy Rose’ is perfect for smaller gardens, while Monarda fistulosa is a winner if you have more space in the garden - it can easily fill up 4 to 5 feet. The Ca native Monardella villosa is fragrant, with light purple blooms that are tasty for everyone, including people.
For late summer flowers I like the Ca native fuchsia, Epilobium sp. Super drought tolerant, in spring and early summer plants form gray mounds that erupt in cheery shades of coral, orange, red, pink and even white, providing plenty of nectar late in the season.
We grow many colors of Echinacea, but consistently Echinacea purpurea ‘Pow Wow Wildberry’ is the sturdiest, easiest, and best flowering selection. It is a seed grown selection, with big roots for medicinal use and fun flowers for cutting. A bonus is the seed produced in the fall, providing small birds with plenty to forage.
Some of the best bee plants we grow are basils which we allow to bloom. While most basils go to bloom, seed and die quickly, two basils we grow, ‘Wild Magic’ and ‘Magic Mountain’, do not set seed, but have heavy amounts of nectar and are long blooming, providing bees with many months of food
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No matter how big or small your garden space and regardless of where you live, you can have a gorgeous, flower filled garden that will attract pollinators. If you are a vegetable grower or have fruit trees, your beautiful flower garden may help give you more production of veggies and fruit.
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Father’s Day Plant Sale
In honor of Father’s Day, our first plant sale will be the entire week leading up to June 21st, Father’s Day! We will have a huge selection of plants, don’t miss out!
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Summer Classes Continue!
This is the time of year when the stills come out to process lavender, rose geranium and other fragrant herbs. On Saturday, June 20th join us for a full day class to learn how to distill flowers and leaves, and get some hand on experience. On Sunday June 21st we will learn how to use the flower waters produced during distillation, including how to use them for mocktails and cocktails, cleaning products, pet care products, cooking and personal care products. There is just a few openings for the Friday, June 19th herbal soap making class, so don’t wait until the last minute to sign up!
A new class for August to follow up on the successful ‘Growing Cannabis Class’ is the cannabis harvest class on August 15th. Learn from the pros how to prepare, harvest and dry your flowers, and it’s a great chance to get your questions answered! Click here to sign up now!
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Projects at the Nursery this Week
For several years I have been asking why no one on Pleasants Valley is growing a pumpkin patch. So….this year we are experimenting with a small (1 acre) pumpkin patch and flower field. The pumpkins are mostly planted - about 15 varieties, so hopefully something for everyone - and the first round of flowers are planted, with plenty more to plant for September and October harvesting. We plan for the field to be open on weekends in October, with fun events for the kids every weekend. Stay tuned as we firm up plans in the near future - we know there will be a scarecrow contest so we hope some clever folks will join us for this fun event and build some fun scarecrows for everyone to enjoy for the month of October. We are excited for this new endeavor!
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