Remember to plant something for pollinators
It’s likely that you have, by now, heard about the plight of the pollinators. What started out as concern for the disappearance of honeybees has become a concern for all pollinators.
I became more aware of the absence of plants for pollinators recently when my son moved into a new neighborhood in Beavercreek. This suburban landscape has very few plants for pollinators.
As I drive around the Miami Valley, I am always aware of the landscape. As I drove through this housing development, I couldn’t help but notice the lack of flowers and plants for pollinators.
All of the houses had their standard tree and foundation landscape. Some added additional plants and gardens.
There were so many more who just had the standard landscape. Unfortunately, this presents a challenge for pollinators. There is no “corridor” of plants.
This corridor allows pollinators the opportunity to thrive and increase populations. When suburban housing areas are developed, they sometimes destroy meadows and plant life that were there, providing support to pollinators.
Adding flower beds and other pollinator plants to the landscape in these areas helps the populations to rebuild. And it really doesn’t take a lot of plants, just a few in each landscape.
Even if you don’t consider yourself a gardener, it’s easy to plant coneflowers, rudbeckia, hosta, sedum, hydrangea, and any of the other plants that serve our pollinators. Find easy plants to grow and put a few of these in your landscape.
Some recommend that you plant only native plants. I don’t believe that you must “only” use native plants. I mean think about it, if you are a native plant purist, you wouldn’t be able to have tomatoes! What a loss!
I believe in a mix of plants — some native and some introduced cultivars. Many of these cultivars also attract pollinators.
If you aren’t sure what to plant, look around. When you are on the walk around the neighborhood, take a closer look at the plants around you to see if they have pollinators.
And keep in mind, pollinators are not just honeybees. They are also flies, wasps, beetles, and many others.
On my daily walks around my yard, I have found a few plants that are incredibly attractive to pollinators. This past week, I was astonished at how many pollinators were on my blooming garlic chives. Holy cow — the blooms were alive!
Other favorites in my landscape include Verbena bonariensis, all my salvias, catmint and sedum.
The bottom line is that it isn’t hard to help the pollinators and you don’t have to create a giant garden for them.
Just a few plants here and there, scattered throughout the neighborhood will help.