Beneath the Blooms: A Foulkeways Grounds Team Blog: Support Your Local Pollinators

June is For Celebrating!

There is lots to celebrate this month. Yesterday was Juneteenth, today is the Summer Solstice, this week is pollinator week and this whole month is pollinator and pride month! It's a great month to celebrate and for this week and month I'll be highlighting pollinators!

A sweat bee on coreopsis

Why Pollinators are Important

Pollinators run the world. We have them to thank for our morning coffee and the jam on our toast. A whopping 80% of food crops grown for consumption depend on pollinators! Think apples, peaches, blueberries and one of my favorite things ever - chocolate. It's estimated that around 1 in every 3 bites of food we consume is made possible because of animal pollinators. In our natural ecosystems, 75% of plants are animal pollinated. Why do we need pollination? Pollination is the transfer of pollen from one flower to the other which will result in the production of fruit or seed. Pollination helps support and increase biodiversity and ensure plant communities survive. Plants that depend on pollination to produce seed face decline in populations and fertility without the support of pollinators. As I said, pollinators are truly running the world.

Pollinators also just bring joy. I love seeing the first Monarch of the season or a little bee butt sticking out of a flower. I can count on them to brighten my day and by planting flowers I hope to do the same for their brief but important life.

How can we Support Pollinators?

Plant Something!

I won't go on a long tirade against lawns (but they just stink). A few reasons why lawns aren't good for the environment is lack of biodiversity, need to use chemicals, need for lots of water, and absolutely zero support for pollinators and wildlife. Having some lawn isn't the end of the world but with new developments popping up all over, trees and plants are taken out and replaced with lawns. The plants that are put in are typically not native plants or anything to support biodiversity. We can do our parts by having a garden that benefits not just us but animals as well. Even a small garden can help, heck even having pots of beneficial plants is playing a role to improve our planet.

An example below is an educational pollinator garden I took from a sterile wasteland to a vibrant and diverse habitat. This little pocket of a garden on a 4 acre organic farm serves to educate the public and support wildlife. We also tried to do our part on the farm by planting rows of perennials that served to support the environment rather than just humans.

A sterile environment is good for nobody

Renovations in progress

Lots of work done!

A sign ties it all together

A pollinator oasis

Natives Pack a Punch

Pollinators and plants have relationships that evolved over time. Some evolved together so much they are now in very exclusive relationships - the loyalty is admirable for sure! Monarchs and milkweed is a great example of this type of exclusive relationship. The monarch caterpillar exclusively feeds on milkweed and needs it in order to feed and develop into a butterfly. Native plants are also adapted to our area and typically fairly easy to maintain and grow. Habitat loss is a great threat to native plants and wildlife and being able to ensure the survival of these species means we must continue to plant them!

A woolcarder bee in a Penstemon flower.

A monarch caterpillar on milkweed

The chrysalis (pupa of a butterfly) of a monarch

An orange-legged furrow bee on Pycnanthemum (Mountain mint)

Be a Good Host

Natives are even more important to plant when it comes to supporting the early life of an insect. If you're thinking about ways to support wildlife learning more about host plants is a great start. A host plant supports an animal by providing either food or habitat. These plants in turn support the entire ecosystem by ensuring the insect will grow into adulthood and providing food (caterpillars) to other animals such as birds. Plants that are hosts do not just include perennials but trees, shrubs, vines and grasses as well! Did you know Oaks play an extremely important role in our ecosystem by hosting over 500 species of butterfly and moth caterpillars and providing food and shelter to wildlife? Native grasses also serve as host plants to several species of butterfly, are great habitats for bumble bees and provide food to songbirds. Milkweed as mentioned above is a classic host plant example but some other interesting hosts plants include Lindera benzoin (Spicebush) and Sassafras albidum, which host the Spicebush Swallowtail and Aristolochia (Pipevine) which hosts the Pipevine swallowtail.

Spicebush swallowtail caterpillar found by a Sassafras

One of my favorite native beetles - the dogbane beetle - which feeds on Apocynum cannabinum (dogbane)

Pipevine swallowtails munching on Aristolochia

The polyphemus moth caterpillar on a Prunus sp.

Think about the Tough Months

Early Spring, Late Summer and Fall are often difficult times for pollinators when it comes to food. It's important to plant a garden with varying bloom times especially when food becomes more scarce. Think about Fall when many of our Spring and Summer perennials are gone. Asters, Goldenrod, and Ironweed are a few examples of Fall blooming natives.

Spring ephemerals are even more important to grow and protect when you think about how early they can provide food. Late Summer is tough on all of us - pollinators included! Plants like Joe Pye Weed, Blazing Star, Cardinal flower and Sunflowers bloom Late Summer into Autumn providing food at a tough time.

Symphyotrichum oblongifolium (Aromatic aster) is a great fall blooming native for pollinators

Eutrochium purpureum (Joe Pye Weed) covered in Skippers! This native blooms later in the season and is a pollinator magnet!

Color, Color and more Color!

Plant several different species in clumps to provide a diverse amount of food. And don't skimp on the color! Flowers evolved to have bright colors for a reason - to get pollinated! Purple, Violet and Blue are some favorite colors to bees. Red and Pink are hummingbird favorites. And for butterflies - who have the ability to see more colors than humans - Orange, Red, Yellow, Pink and Purple really get them going. Planting diverse types of plants - different heights, colors, and flower types - will attract and support a variety of pollinators in your garden.

I went heavy on color at the Community Center - the more color, the more pollinators!

Liatris attracts bumble bees at the entrance sign

Milkweed for the monarchs and the tiniest of bees (can you spot her?)

Fill the Voids...with Annuals

Annuals sometimes have a bad rep for being wasteful or having little impact on the environment. But many annual flowers, herbs and vegetables are also sources of food for pollinators. Including annuals in your garden adds variety and even more food. For example, squash have flowers that need to be pollinated to fruit and who better to do that than our native Squash bee? Squash bees are solitary bees that pollinate the Cucurbitaceae family - squash, cucumber, gourds and zucchini.

Many members of Apiaceae family that are common in our gardens such as Dill, Fennel, Carrots, and Parsley are larval hosts to Black Swallowtail Caterpillars. These plants will flower as well providing food for the adult butterflies and other pollinators. Don't be afraid to fill in with some annuals as they can really aid in feeding pollinators!