Pollinator Plants

A pollinator garden works best when something is in flower from the first warm days of spring through hard frost. Native bees emerge on different schedules — some are active for only a few weeks — so a garden that blooms heavily in July and goes quiet in September feeds far fewer species than its flower count suggests. The plants below are the strongest nectar and pollen sources in this collection. When choosing among them, check the bloom months on each plant's page and aim for overlap across the whole season rather than the largest number of flowers at once. Planting in groups of three or more of the same species also matters: it makes a patch worth a bee's time to work, and shortens the distance it has to travel between visits.