Pots for Pollinators! That reads like a poster. It really should be on t-shirts too. Soon garden centers will be filling up with all sorts of amazing annual flowers. I had a chance to go on a Nursery Tour at Gertens and I can assure you they’ve got it growing on!
Whether you have a landscape to plant in or just enough room for a few containers, you can help out our pollinators.
While most flowering plants will attract pollinators such as bees, butterflies, moths and more, the specific plants I mention in this ‘Scoop are identified as favorites of pollinators. Guara, the bright pink flower pictured above, is also attractive to hummingbirds. The University of Minnesota Extension lists the following annuals:
· Zinnia
· Heliotrope
· Lavender verbena
· Ageratum
· Nicotiana – it does contain trace amounts of nicotine, but not enough to be toxic
· Moss rose
· Melampodium 'Showstar' aka Butter daisy
· Sunflowers – the Gold Finches love these too
There are certainly more, including:
· Alyssum
· Petunias
· Lantana
· Osteospermum aka African Daisy
· Pansies
· Salvia
· Rudbeckia (there are annual and perennial versions)
· Calendula
· Cosmos
· Dragon Wing Begonias (hummingbirds are really attracted to these)
Here’s a look at some of Gerten Grown annuals. There will be much more as spring season approaches!
If there’s something to keep you in Minnesota, it’s the opportunity to truly appreciate each season. We get the full gamut and that means we get the opportunity to change out our planters 4 times a year! Wahoo! There are some annuals you can leave from summer through fall, including a wide variety of ornamental grasses, varieties of coleus, dahlias, lantana, elephant ears, cannas and more. Many of these are the Thriller (of the planter formula: Thriller, Spiller and Filler) that’s typically planted in the middle or back of your planter.
Writing this reminds me of when mom and I would go shopping every Mother’s Day to pick out her flowers for the whiskey barrels that sat in the decorative rock surrounding home! While my mom has since passed away, I love seeing this strong tradition among families (whatever form they take) continue to bring beauty and nature into their outdoor living spaces.
Potting up for Pollinators,
The Garden Scoop
