Pollinator Garden

In early summer, 2023, a pollinator garden was planted in the “hell strip” of 312 Route 5 – a defunct gas station. The “bed” consisted of poor dirt covered by plastic which was in turn covered with red dyed mulch. It was occupied by weeds and a row of orange daylilies. The property had been in the process of being sold for some time but no progress was being made and with the consent of representatives of Appleseed, Inc the development company in negotiations to buy the property a pollinator garden was planted to support insect life.

The plan.

We were careful to install only plants native to the area. There were some Common Milkweed that had seeded in naturally and we installed 112 separate plants, as listed at right. Efforts were made to plant for a harmonious arrangement.

We made up a placard of the plants and their associated insects and noted whether the plant was a host plant or a food plant or both.

We left the clover and some other things that were good pollinator plants but the bed really looked pretty untidy and unimpressive.We had put in small first year seedlings, the only way all those plants would have been affordable. Part of perennial gardening is the ability to see way, way ahead. I knew the garden wouldn’t look like much until the 3rd or 4th year. Still, I could see that my collaborators were doubtful.

By late summer the cerise yarrow had really exploded, it made a wonderful display. The bee balm and asters had grown very well, ditto the Echinacea (Coneflower) plants although being first year they had not flowered.

Best of all five Monarch caterpillars were seen on the milkweed! Success!

And then the sidewalk went in. I was touched by the care the installers took to avoid wiping out all the plants when they took out the border of the planter.

However we lost all of the catmint and violets and a good share of the echinacea.

In the end however, after speaking to the new owners (for the sale had finalized by then) we decided to dig out the plants, pot them and to “heel them in” to an area in the back yard. Once construction has finished and the earth either replaced or cleaned up (plastic shreds removed) and amended,the potted plants will be replaced in the bed. This work is slated to take place in the spring/summer of 2024.

Plant your own pollinator garden! Even a few plants will make a difference.

Note that many plants sold as pollinator plants don’t always work as intended. For instance many seed mixes contain Swamp Milkweed because it’s better looking, showier, but Monarch caterpillars don’t develop well in the chrysalis unless the caterpillars feed on Common Milkweed. Look for plants that are native to your area.

Common Milkweed
Host plant: Monarch butterfly
Attracts: Bees: Bumblebees,Carpenter bees,Yellow-faced bees,Plasterer bees.Sweat or Halictid bees – these are often bright metallic colors (e.g., iridescent green).Leaf-cutting bees
Butterflies: Eastern tiger swallowtail ,Pipevine swallowtail ,Red Admiral, Great spangled fritillary, Edward’s hairstreak, American copper

New England Aster
Host plant: Saddleback.Pearl Crescent ,Silvery Checkerspot ,Cucullia butterflies Flower Moths
Attracts: bees, butterflies, beetles, and moths

Coneflower (Echinacea)
Host plant: Silvery Checkerspot butterfly
Attracts: Monarch, Swallowtail, Painted lady, and fritillary butterflies

Yarrow
Host plant: Essex Emerald, Lime Speck Pug, Wormwood Pug, Straw Belle and Ruby Tiger Moths.
Attracts: Large Skipper, Small Copper, Wall, Meadow Brown, Small Heath, Large Skipper, Peacock butterflies.

Catmint
Attracts: Bumblebees, solitary bees, honeybees

Red Clover
Attracts: Sachem, Wild Indigo Duskywing, Cabbage White, Painted Lady, Common Checkered-Skipper, Tawny-edge Skipper, Pecks Skipper, Northern Broken Dash butterflies

Bee Balm (Monarda)
Attracts: Bees, hummingbirds, American Lady, Great Spangled Fritillary, Gulf Fritillary, butterflies

Goldenrod
Attracts: solitary wasps, soldier beetles, mining bees, the polyester bees as well as many other specialized native bees, also Monarch, Hairstreaks, and Painted Ladies butterflies

Fairlee Gardeners

Plant your own pollinator garden! Even a few plants will make a difference.

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