Bringing wildlife into your garden will bring you higher pollination rates, more food, less pest pressure and the joy that comes from watching an ecosystem thrive. The best part about it is that the ways to bring wildlife in are all tied together, kind of like nature itself. This is a great reminder that we and our yards are part of nature and not separate from it!
There are lots of specifics to follow, but it really comes down to diversity, and making all the things you want to live in your garden feel welcome. This is my take on companion planting in general as well. You can listen in on a companion planting conversation of mine on the Grow It Minnesota! podcast.
We started by deciding to not use synthetic chemicals in our garden. This is a first step that is truly the most important! Then we added a bird feeder and a bird bath and luckily had some beautiful mature trees on our property. Since then, we’ve added more wildlife features as we could, from more native plants they feed from, more watering spots and more cover, creating a little wildlife sanctuary. We actually went ahead and made it official with the National Wildlife Federation as a Certified Wildlife Habitat .
The best perennials to add around (or
in) your Vegetable Garden
Adding a few pollinator perennials to your vegetable garden border can really get your garden buzzing. There are so many reasons these flowers made this list. But lush, easily accessible nectar and pollen sources paired with beauty and easy growth were baseline qualifiers.
A Mix of Annuals + Perennials
These plants bring in pollinators, they add beauty to the garden, and all plants listed here are Minnesota native (unless you ask the DNR then Yarrow is still in the ‘undecided’ category), unless notes so they are quite literally at home in your garden. But really, pollinators are looking to get nectar and anything you plant will help them, there are just a few that do really well here in the Midwest that I want to share.
At this point
in the season we can see where our gardens have some holes. We likely know
where we want to fill in or add another layer of color or texture. This is a
great time to add perennials to your mix!
Milkweeds-
Asclepias syriaca
These plants hold a special place in any pollinator-lovers heart because of their direct symbiotic relationship with Minnesota’s struggling State Insect, the Monarch butterfly! I love the common milkweeds shape and form in my garden, which may explain why I let it compete with my potatoes, and the flowers are spectacular! Weed is part of the name 😉 But, with the milkweed comes the monarchs.
Multiple stages (called Instars) of caterpillars and one chrysalis!
Both hunting for eggs and caterpillars and watching them grow in the garden and bringing them inside to raise is part of our routine. Swamp Milkweed is more often suggested for garden use as it is slightly less invasive and the monarchs love them just as much. Our plants just showed up once I started digging our garden beds- so I figure they’re supposed to be there! Here’s an earlier post all about Raising Monarchs with my kids.
Meadow Blazing Star – Liatris
Ligulistylis
My Meadow Blazing Star creates this magical draw for ALL the butterflies and bumbles in August, but the Monarchs hold rein here! My boys patiently wait for the monarchs to gather so they can walk underneath them and just “BEE” with them. So, you’d have to
“It blooms primarily in August, just when the Monarchs are
preparing for their long migration south; a synchronization that has evolved
over hundreds of years, and a good example of how native plants and pollinators
are deeply dependent on one another.” – From the Prairie Moon Nursery website.
Blue Giant Hyssop- Agastache Foeniculum
Can you spot the happy Bee in flight?
Agastache was such a revelation to me. I’d heard of Anise Hyssop, giant Blue Hyssop, Lavender hyssop, but never seen it ‘doing its thing’ until a walk through a friend’s garden and WOW! This pollinator MAGNET is at home in the perennial border, the herb and veggie garden and the prairie. She’s a true multi-tasker, attracting Bees, Butterflies and Hummingbirds (I’ve had hummingbird moths visit ours as well!) with its long bracts of flowers. Its leaves make a delicious licorice tea that soothes throats- if yo can bare to take away blooms from the insects… A very hardy Minnesota Native its even boasts deer resistance!
Agastache spikes standing out in the pollinator garden
I seeded mine and the plants were off and running first year, I’ve been getting tall flowy stalks of blooms since the second year. The free flowing form and solid later summer nectar make this a natural addition.
Bee Balm – Wild Bergamot – Monarda Fistulosa
With a name like Bee Balm it has to be good 😉 Well, all the pollinators certainly agree this is one of their favorites. I have a large swath of native bee balm next the path leading to my vegetable garden and I dubbed it the pollinator runway (see photo below). All kinds of pollinators are drawn to these beauties- including the hawk moth!
Pollinaotr Runway
These plants will take over an area, so be ready to pull out the babies that will pop up from underground runners- I rarely throw any plants away though, usually just tucking them into a spot a little further away or back, adding to my pollinator radius. They have a shorter bloom time than the hybridized varieties of monarda- but some of the hybrids don’t have viable nectar sources for pollinators, which kind of defeats the purpose, right! I’ve got a list of verified pollinator friendly stores towards the end of this story.
Yarrow- Achillea Millefolium
MN Native and
besides bringing in the bees, it also accumulates nutrients, great for growing
under fruit trees. It also has those special umbel shaped flowers which attract
so many beneficial aphid eating insects (lacewings to parasitoid wasps). You
can also use it as a tea and compress for inflammation. The flowers come in an
array of colors, the most common being white, ranging to bright yellows to
pinks. Blooms June to September.
Comfrey- Symphytum *Non Native*
This may be lesser known perennial but is making a fast and furious come-back do
to its wide-spread use in permaculture gardens. The sweet little umbels of
blue, then purple then fading to white bell-shaped flowers emerge from a large (mine
is over 4 feet tall and three feet wide) plant that attracts bees by the
hoards. The leaves contain a chemical (
) that jump starts composting when added to the compost heap that are
most potent if clipped before the blooms open. It is an easy plant to tend that
grows almost anywhere, with little disease and no pest issues. It is also used
as an anti-inflamatory. Comfrey is toxic if ingested, so even though I have
used it onmyself I can’t recommend it here. 😉
non-native from Europe and asia
What I’m adding this Summer
Smooth Blue / Sky Blue Aster – Symphyotrichum / oolentangiense
Native to dry fields and open woods these aster take over in
the late summer, blooming August through October. I’m adding these to extend my pollinator
season a little further. I got a variety that’s close to this froma frien’d raing garen gone crazy, but I’ll grab
a few of the Sky Blues this summer.
Who’s Missing?
Where’s the Coneflower (echinacea)?? Well, while I do see tons of pollinators on mine, I think of these as more of a bird flower- as the finches go nuts for the seeds every fall. They are a beautiful multi-tasking plant too.
Where’s the Butterfly Weed (Asclepias tuberosa)? This is also a great perennial pollinator plant, and honestly I just had to draw the line somewhere 😉
Where’s the False Indigo (Baptisia)? This is not often mentioned as a pollinator plant, but with this LARGE plant and all it’s blooms it brings in the bumbles like mad.
Perennial Pollinator Plants WITHOUT Neonicotinoids
Here’s a short list of my favorite places to buy local, chemical free plants for pollinators
There have been tomes written about
pollinators and helping plant habitat. My favorite valuable pollinator sites
are the Xerxes Society and our local Pollinator Friendly Alliance.
If you’re interested in digging deeper into your native
flowers check out our local chapter of Wild Ones native garden club.
As I was collecting
my thoughts on these plants, I kept noticing that many of the perennials that
the pollinators are also loved by humans. I get such a kick thinking about
flowers + bees + humans all evolving together to be mutually beneficial on this
beautiful earth! Let’s see if we can’t be as beneficial as our pollinators someday.
Pollinaotr field in August
What’s your Favorite?
Everyone has their own list of favorites flowers… our tastes grow from of a generous friend giving you a plant, memories of grandma’s garden, or maybe you were inspired by a photo on Instagram or in a magazine… I’d love to know, what are your favorites and why? Are you adding any flowers to your vegetable patch this season?
It doesn’t take rocket science to understand why we love flowers. I mean just look at these beauties! They are Nature’s purest form of eye candy!
I have an hour long class that dives deeper into Companion Planting available HERE.
Flower Power
As I’ve grown up (well, a little anyways) and understand more of the science behind why flowers naturally create a more balanced garden, I’ve fallen head over heels all over again. They are essential for organic vegetable gardening. Plus my gardens are more colorful, fruitful and ALIVE because of these growing works of art. I mean who wouldn’t want to get a chance to work with beautiful nature to grow more and bigger veggies!
Swallowtail on a Zinnia
While planning and plotting a fresh new
local garden (I’m loving my design + consult sessions!) I kept hearing myself going
on and on about the importance of saving space for flowers in the garden. Turns
out I’m pretty jazzed about the power of pollinators and beneficial insects in
the vegetable garden. So, I figured if it was that important to gush about one
on one, it was probably worth a deeper dive here 😊
All About the Annuals
I talk more about using flowers in companion planting and garden planning in the blog post Garden Dreams to Garden Goals. But honestly, just bringing in the nectar sources from any of these flowers will make your garden hum – literally! The flowers listed here can all be started by seed. I tend to direct sow them into the garden soil (follow soil temperature guidelines on seed packet) because I run out of room under my grow lights. But you can start any of the plants listed indoors to get an early bloom- aka nectar source going. And, please- take all these ideas with a pinch of salt (or garden lime- who has the tequila), because what works for one garden(er) won’t necessarily work for another. And therein lies the ephemeral magic of gardening!
This flower IS sunshine reflected. I’d grow this plant for its bright blooms alone, but the powerful medicinal properties make it (dare I say) my favorite beneficial garden flower. Calendula was one of the first flowers I grew for its herbal properties. It has taught me so much, so of course it holds a special place in my big old flower loving heart. Calendula also attracts the good guys such as ladybugs, lacewings and hoverflies that help control aphids, thrips and other destructive pests. Easy to start from seed, I have direct sown in mid-May and gotten bumper crops of petals late in the season. If you want earlier harvests start seeds indoors, though I’ve heard they are a bit tricky to transplant. I grow a swath of these among my rhubarb in the veggie patch and in another sunny corner of the yard to ensure I have enough of the powerful petals to make some of my soothing calendula salve. They seem to be deer and rabbit safe. They do tend to reseed, so plant where you’re OK with them continuing to pop up.
Cosmos
In front of my veggie garden gate
Variety: Sonata Mix
These are true show stoppers and can easily take over a LARGE portion of the garden. They run tall, 5-6 feet, and a packet of seeds can cover a good 4 square feet. That being said, I’ll always have some of these beauties in my gardens, because- well, just look at them! The color and simple yet full petal design combined with being drought tolerant makes them a keeper! They also play their part in happy garden insect play- attracting the bright green/metallic long-legged fly, (shown on white Cosmos) hover flies, bees, parasitic wasps, butterflies and even bird. The chickadees and hummingbirds frequented mine last Summer. Those beneficial bugs and birds nibble the pests (aphids, squash beetles etc) that prefer to eat my veggies.
Marigold
From the YMCA Community Gardens, growing WB Seed Library Marigolds
I’ll admit there was a time I thought I was too cool for the old school marigold. But when you plant true varieties (not the puffed up hybrids please!) they attract all the right insects and are so easy to collect seeds from, you’ll never want for color again! My favorites just might be from the White Bear Lake Seed Library (read more about the WBL Seed Library HERE). I planted these in both my home garden and the YMCA Community Gardens last Summer and they were marvelous! The kids especially loved their vibrant colors and collecting all those seeds (there’s a reason everyone had them in their gardens for centuries). Technically they produce a substance called alpha-terthienyl, a chemical that suppresses nasty nematodes and cabbage worms. Some botanists think the smell conceals other vegetable odors too, keeping more bugs further away from your precious crops! Marigolds keep my tomatoes, peppers and eggplants happy by keeping away some bad bugs!
Zinnia
Variety Pictured: Magellan Mix from Jung Seed
Zinnias deter cucumber beetles and tomato worms. They attract predatory wasps and hover flies, which eat insects that would otherwise destroy garden plants. Zinnias attract hummingbirds, which eat whiteflies before those flies can damage tomatoes, cucumbers and potatoes. They manage to do all that while bringing a striking color pop to the garden border. The colors look like you amped up the ‘color saturation’ filter every time. They *can form tidy little rows of color blasts- depending on the variety you chose. Heights range from 12 inches to 5 feet, and every color under the sun. Which also means there will be a zinnia you’ll fall for 😉 And they keep blooming into the fall here in Minnesota. A pollinator favorite, these zingers brighten the veggie patch with their own colors and their colorful visitors.
Sweet Alyssum
Variety: Carpet of Snow
Full disclosure, I’ve meant to plant this for years, but somehow last year was the first time it made it into my gardens. Tucked in along the rows of potatoes. They were pretty much teeny tiny powerhouses of pure plant magic. And as I started writing this, I realize that I once again forgot to order them… Good thing Gardens always give you another season 😉
Garden Growth
Cosmos just outside the garden gate
The concept that I can work with nature, using plant’s natural chemical reactions has captured my imagination and keeps me exploring! The practice of using trap crops (plants that draw insects to them rather than nearby vegetable plants) and companion planting (using certain plants to mutually benefit each other’s growth) is fascinating. I practice the basics both in how I plant my veggies and which flowers I plant where. But I never get too hung up on specifics, I figure it has to look good to me as much as the bugs 😉
My boys releasing a monarch we raised onto one of the zinnia borders.
As I mentioned earlier, there are as many ways to garden as there are gardens. And soil is a living breathing, changing medium to work with, different even a few feet over let alone in a different town or state. But we can sway things in our favor- and make our gardens more colorful lively places at the same time by bringing in a mix of proven flower power.
Buzzy corner of the garden! flowering herbs, zinnias, and chamomile (on ground below the pots) created a pollinator hot spot!
I’m continuing to learn new and better combinations, varieties and uses for these multi-tasking beauties.
For an easy way to ID some of the common insect visitors, check out the very visual Good Bug/Bad Bug book. Written by Jessica Walliser, I will attest that kids and adults alike enjoy being identifying bugs using this book! She also has a great podcast episode with Garden Expert, Joe Lamp’l on The Joe Gardener Show. So cool to get a glimpse of just how much is going on in our gardens!!
Mix of Zinnias in July
Everyone has their own list of favorites flowers. Maybe developed because of a friend giving you a plant, memories of grandma’s garden, or even an Instagram photo… so tell me, what are your favorites and why??? Are you adding any flowers to your vegetable patch this season?
I’m working on a perennial pollinator guide next, so many flowers to chose from!
I know that sounds dramatic, but saving seeds is a big part of why humans hunkered down into communities and began our long march towards civilization (we’ve still got on our marching boots though, right!?). Variations of those seeds still sustain us today.
Until a few generations ago, most people planted what they had saved from the last harvest. With a few additions now and then from neighbors or travelers.
But for me and many home gardeners, saving seeds had fallen off our radars. It is making a bit of a comeback and I am encouraging as many people as I can to jump on this bandwagon with me!
To start saving seeds please remember: Not all seeds are suited for saving!
There’s a simple trick to buying the right seeds so you can save + grow again.
Grow Heirloom varieties, or open pollinated varieties. Hybrid seeds will not produce the same vegetable that you took the seed from.
Garden Planning, my Favorite!
I love getting those seeds catalogs and will have larger than anticipated bills at a few seed companies once I finalize my orders, but I am proud to be able to skip over a few seed sections because I’ve saved my own seed stock from what I grew last year.
Saving seed is intuitive- if we stop to see the plants we nurture as part of Mother Nature. Everything has a cycle, and the whole reason tomatoes exists is to grow more tomatoes so they make it easy for us. Or as Michael Pollan suggests in a few books, like The Botany of Desireand TED talks, “the plants have us working for them”. Continue reading
Raising monarchs was one of the highlights of my kids’ summer- and the last butterfly emerged from her chrysalis right before the back to school rush, so it felt like we got to mark that last thing off our bucket list just in time.
There is something magical about watching life transform before your eyes, and that magic gets magnified when you share the experience with children and their innocent, impressionable eyes… These memories are here to stay!
Like most of how my life happens, we were in the right place at the right time and stumbled upon a chance to adopt and raise these butterflies.
The passions that bind this blog together: gardening, cooking, local farmers and food shelves all rely on one thing to exist:
Pollinators!
We need those busy bees, butterflies, wasps, ants, moths etc..
Now they need us.
**GIVEAWAY** …has ended, thanks for all who participated 🙂
WIN 4 Passes to the Polli*Nation Festival Sept 10 Live Music* Food Trucks* Craft Beers*Bee Science*Art Contest Ends Tuesday Sept 5 at 7pm
Like us on Facebook to enter: www.facebook.com/forksinthedirt/
Unless you’ve been hiding under a garden paver, you know that bees are in trouble. Honeybees in particular have received lots of coverage in the news- topics like Colony Collapse Disorder, Varroa Mites destroying hives, and pesticide kills after a windy day. Honey Bees get most of the news coverage because they are the easiest of the pollinators to observe, being raised in a controlled area rather than being so spread out like the other wild and native pollinators. But there are signs that ALL the pollinators are in trouble. Continue reading
