Learn How to Design a Pollinator Garden

Building Pollinator Gardens: Key Takeaways

A thriving pollinator garden relies on the natural instincts of honey bees, hummingbirds, butterflies and other helpful animals. But how do you attract these pollinators to your garden and landscaping — and how should you design your plant layout to maximize the benefit?

Let’s learn how to design a pollinator garden that attracts native pollinators using a smart selection of perennial native plants. You’ll save time, money and effort for years by putting these helpful animals to work for you!

Here’s what we’ll cover in our DIY guide to building your first pollinator garden:

• Pollinator gardens save money! The average pollinator garden saves homeowners and DIY gardeners $100/year on pesticides, fertilizer, and buying new plants.
• Native plants are crucial to attracting wild pollinators. Native grasses, flowers and shrubs offer familiar nesting sites and nectar collecting areas that attract pollinators. Stick to local host plants that grow in your region for optimal results.
• Find the best native pollinator plants for your area. Our native plant guide offers several of the best flowering plant options for your pollinator habitat. Try purple coneflowers in the Midwest, butterfly weed in the Rockies, and sweet alyssum in the Northeast.
• Amplify your garden design success with staggered and succession planting. Staggered planting ensures there are always blooming plants in your garden through the year. Succession planting utilizes annual pollinator plants to fill the void between perennial blooming cycles.

What are pollinators, anyway? You might be surprised how many helpful insects and animals can benefit your garden — learn about them all in our introduction to pollinators.

4 Benefits of Planting a Pollinator Garden

Planting a pollinator garden offers DIY gardeners and home landscaping hobbyists 4 fantastic benefits:

1. You'll work on your garden less. Pollinators work on your garden 24/7 — and they're not all insects and birds! Bats help pollinate your garden at night. Even some lizards and opossums assist in pollen transfer and help your plants bloom.
2. You'll have less garden pests. Native pollinators evolve to prey on pests and invasive species. The more native bees, wasps and ladybugs in your garden, the less pests you'll deal with.
3. Your plants and soil will be healthier. Above-ground pollinators create healthier gardens — your plants will be more resistant to disease and invasive species. Ground-based pollinators like scarabs and soldier beetles help enrich your garden soil by cultivating helpful plants like clover. 
4. You'll save money. As we discussed in our guide to pollinators, these animals help you maintain a budget-friendly garden. A sustainable pollinator garden saves the average homeowner about $900 per decade on fertilizer, pesticides, and replacements for dead and ineffective plants.

Why Do Native Plants Attract Pollinators So Well?

Native plants are the plant species that naturally grow and thrive in your area. They’ve spent thousands of years acclimatizing to your soil, weather and temperature conditions.

‍

They’ve also spent thousands of years evolving side-by-side with native pollinators. The pollinators in your region instinctively seek out the nectar from these plants, making native plants the best option to design your pollinator garden.

These flowers, shrubs and native grasses act as host plants for your local pollinators, providing food, shelter, and nesting sites. 

5 Reasons Pollinators Love Native Plants

The relationship between local pollinators and plants is instinctive both both species — these animals and insects were born to love these native plants.

Here are 5 reasons why native plants are so irresistible to pollinators:

1. Consistent food sources: Native plants offer a reliable food source for pollinators, with have evolved to predict their bloom times and nutritional content.
2. Special evolutionary relationships: Many native pollinators have developed specific adaptations to access the nectar and pollen of familiar plants. Long-tongued bees have evolved to pollinate a flower with a deep corolla of petals.
3. Complete life cycle support: Many native plants support the entire life cycle of pollinators, providing food for both adults (nectar and pollen) and larvae (leaves).  
4. Stronger immune systems: Native plants have adapted to thrive in local conditions. These conditions go beyond weather and climate, to include local pests and diseases. They are healthier as a result, producing more flowers and nectar for pollinators.
5. Habitat diversity: Native pla
6. nts contribute to a diverse ecosystem, providing essential habitats and appealing nesting areas for pollinators and other beneficial insects.  

Coming Soon: We interviewed Professor Guy Fipps of Texas A&M about best practices for watering your lawn and garden for constant flowering plant blooms.

The Best Layout for Your Pollinator Garden Design

Make your pollinator garden layout as accessible as possible for these helpful critters.  Lay out your pollinator garden in three sections — front, middle and back. 

Your rule of thumb is simple: short to tall, front to back.

Use low-growing and ground level plants in the front of your garden. Add mid-height shrubs, vegetables and taller perennials in the middle of your garden. The back of your garden should feature flowering shrubs and trees for shelter, protection and valuable nectar.

Here’s a helpful diagram of what your pollinator garden layout should look like:

‍

Here are a few more best practices for designing your pollinator garden layout. These  guidelines work for every region of the United States.

• 80% perennials, 20% annuals. Perennials offer better long-term value, as native pollinators keep them healthy and reproducing. Purchase some pollinator annuals like marigolds to account for periods of time where perennials are not blooming — keep your pollinators happy, healthy and fed!
• Blooms and fruits are better. If it blooms or bears fruit, that means there’s sweet nectar for pollinators to love. Choose flowering plants, fruits, vegetables and herbs as the foundation for designing your pollinator garden.

Find the Best Native Pollinator Plants Near You

Here’s a guide to some of the best native pollinator plants in your specific region. We'll provide at least one annual flower, two native perennial flowers, and native shrub and tree options for each region of the U.S.

Native Pollinator Plants in the Northeast

Clary sage (annual): This member of the salvia family is known for its sweet-smelling foliage. Clary sage also produces beautiful lavender flowers loved by pollinators.

Milkweed (perennial): Monarch butterflies love milkweed — it's a food source for adult monarchs and a host plant for caterpillars. 

Aster (perennial): Asters are a valuable addition to pollinator gardens. They bloom later than most perennials in the region, attracting pollinators into the fall.

Viburnum (perennial shrub): Viburnum is a VIP in Northeastern pollinator gardens. Its berries are loved by pollinator birds, and it provides huge blooms.

Serviceberry (tree): Serviceberry trees bloom in early spring, and its berries and flowers attract bees, hummingbirds, butterflies and helpful wasps.

Native Pollinator Plants in the Southeast

Indian blanket (annual): These annuals attract butterfly and bee species with brilliant orange-yellow blooms.

Black eyed Susan (annual/perennial): Black-eyed Susans are best used in southern gardens — the warmer climate may allow them to act as perennials.

Tickseed sunflower (perennial): Tickseed sunflowers provide vibrant yellow blooms for impressively long spans of time.

Butterfly weed (perennial shrub): A staple of warm-weather pollinator gardens. Note: butterfly weed may act as an annual in colder climates (North Carolina, Virginia).

Peach (tree): Peach trees are stellar centerpieces for southeastern pollinator garden design. Besides their delicious peaches, their pink flowers are a magnet for native bees. If you can't find a peach tree, southeastern pear trees offer similar success.

Native Pollinator Plants in the Midwest

Zinnia (annual): Zinnias are cheerful flowers with big blooms. They attract bees, butterflies and various hummingbird species.

Nasturtium (annual): An intriguing secondary annual flower for midwestern gardens. These plants produce edible flowers for humans as well.

Purple coneflower (perennial): The state flower of Tennessee is the best overall Midwestern perennial flowering plant to attract pollinators.

Prairie smoke (shrub): This versatile Midwestern shrub attracts bees and birds with beautiful, delicate pink flowers.

Tulip (tree): The tulip tree provides pollen and nectar for native bees, butterflies and insect pollinators.

Native Pollinator Plants in the South

Marigold (annual): Marigolds are great for most pollinator gardens, but they really shine in the south — their exceptional heat tolerance offers lasting blooms.

Cleome (annual): This tall, vibrant annual presents huge blooms for hummingbirds and butterflies.

Bluebonnet (perennial): This Texas wildflower has some of the richest blue blooms you'll find in America. 

Verbena (perennial): Like marigolds, verbena work well almost everywhere in America. But they thrive in Southern climates — different verbena species have different blooming windows. This creates a consistent source of nectar for pollinators.

Lantana (shrub): Lantana has naturalized to the U.S. South over time and is great at attracting its native pollinators. It blooms from late spring to early fall.

Native Pollinator Plants in the Northwestern U.S.

Alyssum (annual): Use alyssum for sweet smelling annual flowers in the Pacific Northwest and northern Rockies.

Castilleja (perennial): Use castilleja as a perennial flower in Pacific Northwest pollinator gardens.

Columbine (perennial): Columbine flowers are mainstays that attracts pollinators in the Rocky Mountains.

Red-flowering currant (shrub): Add a pop of spring color to your pollinator garden with these red hanging blooms.

Huckleberry (shrub): Huckleberry plants are quite hardy in your region and offer berries and blooms for bird, bee and mammal pollinators.

Native Pollinator Plants in the Southwestern U.S.

Portulaca (annual): Portulaca works great in California and Arizona, attracting bees with its red flowers.

Yucca (perennial): Yucca provides valuable nectar and pollen to southwestern pollinators and beautifully withstands arid climates.

Penstemon (perennial): These tubular flowers evolved to work with local hummingbirds and long-tongued bees.

Apache plume (shrub): Barberry is a popular choice in the Southwest, but Apache plume performs just as well. Its beautiful white flowers attract butterflies and bees, and make a statement in your garden.

Mesquite (tree): Mesquite trees offer a rare chance at ample shade for pollinators, where they can collect nectar and distribute pollen from its flowers.

Use Staggered Planting and Succession Planting

Staggered planting and succession planting are professional gardening strategies that DIY gardeners and landscapers can use to amplify the success of their pollinator garden design.

Staggered planting ensures that there are always blooming plants available for pollinators in your garden. Build your garden design with plants that flower and bear fruit at different times of the year.

Succession planting uses strategic planting of annual flowers and plants. These annuals fill in the gaps between perennial blooming cycles. Again, the goal is to ensure you’re always attracting pollinators to your garden with nectar to eat.

When to Plant Annuals in Succession Planting Gardens

As a general rule, plant a few annuals every 3 weeks to ensure continuous blooms. Start this cycle in late spring and continue to early fall — roughly the middle of May to the middle of September.

Here are the 3 best times of year to plant annuals for effective succession gardening:

1. Late Spring: Plant annuals for temperate warm weather, like zinnias and sunflowers.
2. Mid-Summer: Plant heat-tolerant annuals — verbena is a great choice.
3. Early Fall: Plant cool-tolerant annuals, like chrysanthemums and aster.

Conclusion

Learning how to design a pollinator garden begins with its layout:

• Small annual and perennial flowers, ground cover and herbs in the front;
• Mid-sized flowering shrubs and vegetable plants in the middle; and
• Fruit and flowering trees, large shrub and bush perennials in the back.

Choose the best native pollinator plants in your specific region from the list provided above. Then, ensure your local pollinators always have blooms to visit by using staggered planting and succession planting techniques.

You can learn more about DIY gardening best practices through the Master Gardener course. Find out more!

‍