Flowers
Beautiful blooms
The following plants are a great addition to your pollinator garden.
Items with a (n) indicate they are native plants to our area.
- Red Columbine (n)
- Swamp Milkweed (n)
- Butterfly Weed (n)
- Daisy Fleabanes (n)
- Black Eyed Susan
- Bee Balm
- Wild Bergamot (n)
- White Trillium (n)
- Pale Purple Coneflower
- Aster – Heath,Purplestem, New England (n)
- Foalflower (n)
- Prairie Smoke (n)
- Wild Lupine (n)
Trees & Shrubs
Stable friends
- Black Chokeberry (n)
- Alternate Leaf Dogwood (n)
- Black Cherry (n)
- Staghorn Sumac (n)
- Pin Cherry (n)
- Red Current (n)
- Red Raspberry (n)
- Basswood (n)
- Cranberry (n)
- Black Willow (n)
- Common Elderberry (n)
- Sand Cherry (n)
- Red-Osier Dogwood (n)
Herbs
Edible delights
- Thyme
- Parsley
- Basil
- Sage
- Dill
- Rosemary
- Mint
- Lavender
- Chamomile
- Savory
- Lemon balm
Crops
Fruits and Vegetables
- Tomato
- Squash
- Eggplant
- Pumpkins
- Blueberry
- Cherry
- Apple
Choosing your plants
The case for native plants
Not all plants are created equal. Many common garden perennials, most of which are non-native and/or cultivars (produced by selective breeding) attract virtually no pollinators. These include tulips, daffodils, most roses, and forsythia. It is therefore best to plant native species, which are usually well-adapted to the local environment and provide a sense of place. In fact, some bee species will only harvest pollen and/or nectar from a handful of native plants and are even named after these flowers. A good example is the squash bee. Unlike most non-natives, many native species also serve as larval host plants where butterflies and moths will lay their eggs. Monarch butterflies, for example, will only lay their eggs on milkweeds. That being said, many non-natives do produce copious amounts of nectar and pollen (e.g., butterfly bush, Mexican sunflower) and will attract large numbers of less specialized pollinators. It is therefore advisable to include at least a few non-natives in your garden.
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