While honey bees are currently the rock stars of the insect world, there are many other species of bees, butterflies, flies, and beetles that also pollinate fruits, vegetables and flowers. You can encourage these other pollinators to visit your garden with some plant and cultural choices.

Choosing Plants for Pollinators

Many of the non-honey bee pollinators are native insects. Their preferred plants are those that are also natives. Native plants can easily be added to existing landscapes, and many highly ornamental garden plants from trees to perennials are North Carolina natives.

Other plants to use are annuals. Because annuals flower so profusely, they offer plenty of pollen and nectar to attract pollinators. Adding annuals to beds and using them in containers will not only benefit native pollinators, it will add color to your garden all season. (A note-there are very few native annuals available.)

Planning a succession of bloom throughout the spring, summer and fall will give pollinators a steady supply of pollen and nectar. Many native pollinators are active earlier in the spring than honey bees, who don’t forage in temperatures below 55F.

Carpenter bee and green sweat bee sharing a sunflower. Both are important pollinators.

Cultural Choices

While you can certainly add pollinator-friendly plants to your existing landscape, creating a more natural “garden”, perhaps to the back or side of your property, lets you do other things to benefit pollinators.

Plant large patches of the same variety rather than “dotting” them through the garden. This lets pollinators forage efficiently.

Leave some areas of soil bare, preferably with a dry, sunny exposure. Many ground dwelling solitary bees will choose such sites for nesting. In other areas, leave fallen stems, twigs and leaves “as is” to attract species that nest under or shelter in detritus.

Don’t use any pesticides in your pollinator area. Even if unwanted plant pests do show up, they are usually kept to a reasonable level in a natural ecosystem. Minimize use of pesticides in other areas of your property as much as possible.

Go easy on controlling weeds also. Many flowering weeds are attractive to pollinators (when weeds are not growing where they are “in the way” we call them wildflowers!)

Provide for Other Needs

Keep a patch of bare soil moist to provide mud for mason bees (mason bees are up to 60 times more efficient pollinators than honey bees, so they are worth keeping around!) Carpenter bees nest in soft wood, so a few logs of fir or pine may encourage them to nest near your garden. You can also put out bee nesting boxes. These can be as simple as a block of wood with holes drilled in it.

Provide a water source. A saucer filled with pebbles, and filled with water to just below the top of the stones is attractive to butterflies and bees.

Once you have your pollinator attracting plants in place, it may take a while (even more than a single season) for your insect friendly oasis to be discovered, particularly if you live in an urban area. But be patient and your efforts will be rewarded!