Pollinator friendly garden--starting from scratch. Help???
August 14, 2020 10:55 AM   Subscribe

Let your pollinator friendly imagination run wild....need suggestions!

Please hit me up with your best, most imaginative, reach-for-the-stars ideas for someone (me) starting a pollinator garden in a LARGE area....perhaps size of tennis court.

Need your ideas and recs for perennials, shrubs, trees native to the southeastern U.S. What has worked for you? What absolutely did not work? What plants to avoid?

What would you buy if you had the funds and space? What other features helped encourage birds, bees, butterflies (and ....bats?)?

Total n00b here so any help would be, well, helpful!
posted by Ginesthoi to Home & Garden (23 answers total) 7 users marked this as a favorite
 
This isn't a specific recommendation for plants, but I've found that my state's University Extension service is an excellent resource for region-specific guidance on native plants. For example, here is the Georgia Extension page for ornamental planting, including recommendations for specific plants.

You may also find that doing a soil test through your state's Extension service would be worth it, given the scale of your time & money investment in this amazing project. It is obviously a lot easier to amend soil (and/or pick plants adapted to your type of soil) before you put roots in the ground. Good luck!
posted by pingzing at 11:16 AM on August 14, 2020 [1 favorite]


You need local plants to support local pollinators, not a worldwide question. Try the Xerces Society as well as Extension.
posted by clew at 11:28 AM on August 14, 2020 [6 favorites]


Where specifically in the Southeast, and how much space are you working with?
posted by saladin at 11:30 AM on August 14, 2020


I'm not in your zone, but I have got a pretty buzzy bed right outside my window at the moment. In general, you'll want a variety of native flowering perennials, with bloom times distributed throughout the season. Often wildflowers are a little more unkempt looking than typical decorative landscaping plants. Personally, I prefer that aesthetic, but it's good to know going in. We've had better success with buying decent-sized plants at a garden center than growing from seed. Those mixes look appealing, but probably require site prep or watering or something else I'm not doing, cause I've never been able to make them work.

Two plants in particular that the bees seem to love are anise hyssop and heptacodium. I've even got a hummingbird coming 'round from time to time.

And, needless to say, no pesticides! We don't use any chemicals, just top dress with fine-textured mulch in the spring and fall, which breaks down and composts in place.
posted by libraryhead at 11:34 AM on August 14, 2020 [1 favorite]


I'm no expert, but I moved into a house (in the south) a few months ago that has beautiful flower beds already planted, and I've noticed one of the bushes, a white Rose of Sharon, has been covered in bees the entire time, morning to night.
posted by roadrunner9 at 11:40 AM on August 14, 2020


If you haven't already, find your state's Native Plant Society facebook page and join up. People LOVE to talk about native plant gardening, and there will be many home gardeners, ecologists, and botanists ready to offer input on habitat establishment techniques, which species work great in this context as well as which to avoid, which plants are easy to grow from seed (cheaper) and which do better as plugs or bare root transplants, etc. Also, a lot of native plant societies host annual native plant sales!

In addition to woodies and wildflowers, I'd recommend incorporating a selection of native grasses and sedges. Although they don't offer nectar, they're a major structural component of a habitat, and they provide a tons of non-nectar resources for insects and wildlife.
posted by Ornate Rocksnail at 11:51 AM on August 14, 2020 [2 favorites]


I'm an edible gardener who attracts pollinators for local pollination so I tend to go with whatever's handy and works, and I can tell you that bees LOVE basil and oregano flowers, which is nice because letting the herbs flower means they reseed themselves. Also, at least in my area, goldfinches love basil flowers too.

A specific thing to research is exactly which milkweed is local to your area - here's an infosheet for Georgia as an example - because it is the ONLY thing Monarch caterpillars can eat and the only thing they lay eggs on. No milkweed = no butterflies, and every region on the Monarch migration path (which can cover several generations, which is why you need caterpillar food along the way) has lost most of its milkweed supply thanks to development.
posted by Lyn Never at 12:07 PM on August 14, 2020 [1 favorite]


Response by poster: Located in southeastern US, the landlocked part, no coast. The area is approximately the size of a single tennis court....60x100 or so.
posted by Ginesthoi at 12:21 PM on August 14, 2020


Native Plant Finder should help you as it will search by zip code location. "Discover native plants, ranked by the number of butterfly and moth species that use them as host plants for their caterpillars."
posted by spamandkimchi at 12:23 PM on August 14, 2020 [1 favorite]


Also, while I was deeply irritated by the first few chapters (way too Eurocentric and white settler colonial perspective for me on environmentalism), Douglas Tallamy's Nature's Best Hope: A New Approach to Conservation has a lot of practical advice.
PLANT KEYSTONE GENERA
Our research at the University of Delaware has shown that a few genera of native plants, or keystone genera, form the backbone of local ecosystems, particularly in terms of producing the food that fuels insects. Landscapes that do not contain one or more species from keystone genera will have failed food webs

PLANT FOR SPECIALIST POLLINATORS
Because so many of our native bee species specialize on particular plant groups when gathering pollen for their larvae, it is essential that we meet their needs in our pollinator gardens. The common generalist honey bees and bumblebee species will use plants needed by specialists as well, so by planting for the specialists, we have planted for all bee species.

CREATE CATERPILLAR PUPATION SITES UNDER YOUR TREES
More than 90 percent of the caterpillars that develop on plants do not pupate on their host plants. Instead, they drop to the ground and pupate within the duff on the ground or within chambers they form underground... Replace the lawn under trees with well-planted beds replete with groundcovers appropriate to your area. Large decorative rocks also provide pupation sites—but, better yet, add a fallen log.
posted by spamandkimchi at 12:28 PM on August 14, 2020 [3 favorites]


At my place in the West, bees love the sages (salvias) while butterflies love the verbena next to it. This website has a list of sages native nearer to your area.

here is a link

Bat boxes are great. Advice I received was to put two of them up back to back so the bats could go from the warmer side to the cooler side as desired.

How about a hummingbird bath?
posted by goodsearch at 12:44 PM on August 14, 2020 [1 favorite]


I'm way out of your area! but I'm often engaged to design invertebrate-friendly landscapes, from tens of metres to farm-scale. To achieve diversity / a range of invertebrates you'll need some variety in your landscape and enough food and habitat to sustain whole lifecycles. It is difficult to have a tidy-to-most-humans garden that works for wildlife.

I sometimes incorporate whole dead trees into garden spaces to provide space for the right insects - some clients accept this - and it works great for many ground-dwelling birds, also a great low-cost way of dealing with trees you don't want.

As a general rule at the start I create a range of micro-habitats aka niches, ranging from contouring the ground (to introduce a range of wetter:drier, coder:hotter / shaded:less-shaded zones) to establishing a pattern of trees to create the same effect, the two together is very effective and interesting.

Also as this is a space you have to live with too I would tend to move into it slowly when it comes to planting as once the area is shrubbed it will change how you experience it - I often plant perennial groundcovers at first and follow with shrubs once I know the site better - for instance where do I want to sit on a hot/cold/wet/windy day.

You say "tennis-court sized" is/was it an actual court?
posted by unearthed at 12:56 PM on August 14, 2020 [2 favorites]


Audubon's site has a native plant finder that lets you choose your area and the kinds of birds and pollinators you'd like to attract, and it will connect you with local suppliers who carry native plants.

Buying plants rather than growing from seed makes things take shape a lot more quickly if you want instant gratification.
posted by gladly at 2:04 PM on August 14, 2020


I had this type of opportunity in my Minnesota yard as well, and due to space and budget I ended up growing a meadow from seed (and planted a couple trees to replace the dead tree that kicked off the whole project). I opted for a meadow seed mix from Prairie Moon Nursery because they had interesting ones that made the plant choices for me, plus they factored in bloom time and short-lived vs. slow to establish perennials. You’ll want to find a seed source or nursery near you - I’ve read that it’s best to source native seeds/plants from within 150 miles of your garden so that the plants and local insects can all thrive. One thing to note is that planting a large space from scratch is a multi-year project. You can cut off a year or two by buying plugs or potted plants, but it’s still going to look like a weedy field the first year.

I scoured the Internet for progress pics about these types of projects and was sad they were so rare and hard to find. So here are some photos from year one, and here’s a photo from the peak of year two (last month). I’m so excited to see how things grow and change over the years.
posted by Maarika at 2:33 PM on August 14, 2020 [1 favorite]


I'll second the suggestion to consider a lot of non-ornamental flowering plants. I was shocked by how much bees love basil that's allowed to flower -- It was amazing to see so many honeybees and bumblebees attracted to a little potted basil plant on a balcony in Brooklyn. And a secondary benefit was the seeds that resulted were a big hit with songbirds.
posted by theory at 2:54 PM on August 14, 2020


Located in southeastern US, the landlocked part, no coast

I guess I meant more like what USDA hardiness zone. I'm in the Southeast too, but on the coast of Northern Florida, so maybe none of these plants could survive where you're at, but the ones in my yard that attract far and away the most bees and butterflies are:

Blanket flower (gallardia)
Coreopsis
Chickasaw plum tree
Passionflower Vine
Seminole Dombeya
Firebush (I'm looking at ours now and there's a hummingbird and a zebra longwing butterfly on it)
Milkweed (monarchs, obvs)

Seconding the recommendation to check out your state's native plant society. Whatever your state's big agricultural college should have great info too; ours is UF and they have some amazing resources. Also if you've got a good native nursery they're the best resource of all. The Seminole Dombeya is far and away our most amazing pollinator, it's constantly covered in bees, and I only found it by chance at a terrific nursery in town; neither of Florida's otherwise excellent native plant websites had mentioned it in any place that I had ever seen.
posted by saladin at 3:31 PM on August 14, 2020


Oh man just reread the thread and saw the mention of Rose of Sharon. Totally forgot about ours, but that's a great suggestion, ours is always full of bees, and it blooms all spring and summer.
posted by saladin at 3:35 PM on August 14, 2020


Several varieties of Asclepias (Milkweeds) would be excellent for the kind of thing you are considering. If you are hoping to attract Monarch butterflies, the Milkweed has been touted as a profound attractant, particularly Asclepias tuberosa. In addition, Milkweeds are hardy and fast-growing, and will attract bees and several species of birds to your area. I certainly agree with the notion of asking your local cooperative extension about native species, as these will flourish more readily in your region.

I know you're in the SE, but if you are looking to attract bats, I know that certain types of Agave will bring them to your property. I am in the SW, but Agaves are adaptable to other climates and would do well in your region. They, too, are hardy and resilient. (Fun fact: bats are pollinators of Agave, which is the source of tequila!)

It depends on what kinds of birds you are hoping to have. If you know any bird species in particular, then MeMail me and we can discuss it further. Many articles over at Birds and Blooms are available that discuss this very thing.

Other people have offered some fabulous suggestions. Best of luck to you, and good for you to help pollinators with this project!
posted by chatelaine at 4:48 PM on August 14, 2020


Pollinator garden guides -- enter your zip code and get your regional guide. For the US, and Canada! That page also allows you to browse all the guides.
posted by filthy light thief at 10:10 PM on August 14, 2020 [1 favorite]


Larry Mellichamp, former director of the UNC Charlotte Botanical Garden, wrote a beautiful primer full of photos on native pla nts of the southeast. Just start looking for plants that you like, then see if you're in the right part of the southeast.

Like others mentioned, go for diversity, both plant diversity (different species, heights, bloom times, bloom colors, perennials and annuals, etc.) and structural diversity. Leave a brush pile for wrens to nest in. Make a pile of stones for lizards to bask on. A barren patch of dirt or sand will be used by ground nesting bees. Get a birdbath or build a small pond.

I have a very low tech pond, made out of an old rectangular pond liner, buried in the grade, with an airstone on an extension cord to keep the water moving. I added terra cotta potted native wetland plants (Lobelia sp. are great for this, as is buttonbush.) to help filter the water, and some rocks. Frogs and tadpoles live in it, and birds drink from it. The rainwater keeps it full, I rarely have to top it off.
posted by Drosera at 8:51 AM on August 15, 2020


Response by poster: To answer @unearthed above.....yes the area was a single tennis court.
posted by Ginesthoi at 9:25 AM on August 15, 2020


Ginesthoi, I asked as I see people spending a lot of money to remove asphalt (a common tennis court surface - maybe your one was this?), when if one is aiming for a wildflower garden asphalt is quite nutritious for plants. The normal approach is to work out where you want deeper earth and to remove asphalt completely from those zones, but for the rest to break it up into chunks and mix in with some new soil, and then plant into.

All depends on the aesthetic and budget.
posted by unearthed at 12:30 AM on August 16, 2020


Response by poster: As always, metafilter knowledge is both wide and deep. Thank you all for your kindness in taking time to share your wisdom.
posted by Ginesthoi at 4:16 PM on August 30, 2020


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