that! There are many more flowering perennials
that attract bees, butterflies, and birds than have
been listed, but these are some that I have had
personal experience working with, and have
seen good results.
As we begin to cover shrubs and trees that
are good attractants for the above mentioned
reasons, I will list different sized shrubs and trees
that provide some good qualities for habitat and
pollination. In shrubbery, there can be a variety
of sizes, as well as attributes. Let us look at a few
shrubs in different sizes, and see what they bring
to the table. To begin the list, I think it would
be only right to mention the butterfly bush, a
deciduous shrub that can vary in size from 2-10
feet, depending on variety. Chaste-tree or Vitex
has very similar attributes to the butterfly bush.
It reaches a height of 15 feet, with plenteous
lavender blooms in summer. Weigela and native
azaleas are great attractants for hummingbirds
with their tubular shaped blooms. Weigela likes
to be planted in a sunny location, but the native
azaleas prefer a more protected, shady spot.
Beautyberry and Winterberry Holly are both
deciduous shrubs that produce beautiful vibrant
berries that remain on the shrub in winter, and
are a hot item for many birds in the coldest
season of the year.
If you do plant one of these two shrub types,
be sure to have a good evergreen shrub nearby,
where the birds can be more protected from
the bitter elements. Good evergreen selections
would be tea olives, camellias, or hollies. Tea
olives are similar to hollies in their small clusters
of insignificant flowers, but with significant
fragrance that is comparable to honeysuckle. Tea
olives differ from hollies, in that they bloom in
the fall, versus the spring bloom of most hollies.
Many hollies provide berries for the birds to
consume, and both of the above plants provide
a wonderful source of nectar for bees. To round
out my shrubbery list, oakleaf hydrangeas,
summersweet, and bluebeard are good choices
for attracting bees and butterflies.
Just like perennials and shrubs, it is nice
to extend seasons of interest in the landscape
by incorporating a diversity of species in
your planting of trees. Some early blooming
varieties include Eastern Redbud, Red Buckeye,
and American Fringetree. Red Buckeye is one
of the first plants in our area to bring in the
hummingbirds, with its bright red flowers.
In May, June, and July, you will find Southern
Magnolia, Serviceberry, Black Gum, Sourwood,
Crape Myrtle, and Loquat in their bloom season,
attracting swarms of wonderful pollinators.
Black Gum and Sourwood are both prized for
their contributions to great tasting honey. Black
Gum (aka tupelo), Serviceberry, and Loquat also
provide a wonderful fruit source for birds during
the season following bloom.
No matter what you decide on planting in
your yard to attract the bees, butterflies and
birds, make sure that you mix different choices
for a good blend, to both feed and house these
HOME GROWN con't. next column HOME GROWN con't. next column
HOME GROWN continued
HOME GROWN continued
Joshua Peede
Landscape Designer & Gardener
ISCO Landscaping • Wilson, NC
SCC Landscape Gardening Graduate
CHECK OUT con't from p. 10
Planting to Attract
Pollinators and Birds in
the Garden
by Joshua Peede
A growing trend in landscapes and gardens
today is to plant with the purpose of attracting
pollinators and birds to your yard. People may
plant with the intent of watching and enjoying
these interesting creatures in the garden, or
possibly to attract pollinators for the purpose
of increasing
yields on their
fruits and
vegetables. The
types of flower
shapes, colors,
and even scents,
all contribute to
the attraction
that brings
in different
creatures. For
example, hummingbirds are drawn to red
flowers with tubular-shaped flowers, so they can
stick their long, slender beaks in, while bumble
bees enjoy a trumpet-shaped flower that they
can fly up inside of and hide. Gold finches
like to come and eat exposed seeds on spent,
dry flower heads like zinnias and sunflowers,
while Monarch butterflies only reproduce on
one plant, the butterfly milkweed (Asclepias
tuberosa). As you can already see, planting a
diverse garden can be so beneficial for hosting
many different species of birds, butterflies and
bees.
Now I want to draw our attention to some
suggestions for flowering perennials that are
good at attracting these beneficial visitors.
When planting flowering perennials, it is always
a good idea to overlap and extend the season
of bloom as much as possible, so you can keep
things interesting for yourself, as well as those
visiting creatures. One of my favorite all around
bee and butterfly attractors is anise-hyssop,
a blue, summer flowering perennial that is in
the mint family. Some of my other favorites
for attracting pollinators are bee-balm, catnip,
lavender, salvias, and foxglove. Jo-pye weed is
a great bee and butterfly magnet as well, along
with blazing star, and the fall blooming asters
and Russian Sage that the bees love. To close
out my list of favorites, I can’t help but mention
some long-season bloomers that bring bees and
butterflies, such as coneflower and black-eyedsusan,
while if seed pods are left after bloom,
they provide a food source for the birds in the fall
and early winter. I have already made mention
of the host plant of the Monarch butterfly, but
to define further, Asclepias tuberosa (commonly
called butterfly milkweed), is the only plant in
the world that can host Monarch larvae. When
the larvae feed on the leaves of this plant,
they ingest a toxin that does not harm them,
but is quite repulsive to most mammals. This
will cause animals who may try to consume a
Monarch to quickly spit it out. How amazing is
wonderful creatures. If you grow vegetables,
then you know that most of your vine ripening
fruit is harvested during the summer months, so
consider planting a group of pollinator-friendly
plants nearby that bloom in that season to give
more incentive for the pollinators to stop by
your garden, and boost your yields. If you put a
little extra thought into your plantings, you will
be surprised at what kind of inviting habitat you
can create! ☐
Hummingbirds
are drawn to
red flowers with
tubular-shaped
flowers...
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