We see an influx of butterflies, bees, and hummingbirds in the spring. Here's how to attract them to your garden this season.
Every spring, we see an influx of pollinators right here at the nursery--hummingbirds, bees, and butterflies that simply can't resist our colorful array of flowers. Many of our customers want to coax these charming creatures over to their backyard gardens, too, so we thought it would be helpful to offer a few pointers for making your yard a preferred destination for pollinators this season.
Add flowering perennials
Pollinators are looking for pollen, right? Well, that means you're going to want flowers. Lots and lots of flowers. But with so many to choose from, it can be difficult to decide what to plant. Different pollinators have their favorites, after all. We recommend coming by to check out our wide assortment of Texas Natives, so you can select a variety of different flower shapes, colors, and sizes to accommodate the varying nectar requirements of different butterfly and hummingbird species. When it comes to pollinators, variety attracts diversity!
When planning your garden, be sure to incorporate plenty of flowering perennials in addition to colorful annuals. Once established, perennials become drought tolerant and bloom year after year. This is important for two reasons. First, it enables the plant to grow and spread, so it can support a greater number of pollinators. Second, it provides a more consistent source of nectar for its preferred pollinators, helping to signal your garden as a return destination from one season to the next.
Provide sun and shelter
Butterflies love the sun, and so to most flowering plants; so you're going to see a concentration of pollinators in areas that have plenty of both. But pollinators also need shelter from wind and predators, not to mention places to rear their young. Small dead trees, wild stands of tall grass, and well-placed shrubbery can all provide an abundance of attractive "hiding places" for them to get away from the elements when they need to. We realize that such things can be a bit unsightly in the middle of a well-manicured yard, but finding ways to creatively incorporate them into the peripheries of your flower gardens may increase the volume and diversity of pollinators you see.
Create puddling spots
Butterflies, in particular, are attracted to shallow puddles of water and muddy patches on the ground. Try creating several of these throughout your garden by recessing shallow dishes or pans such that the edges are at soil level. Fill them with enriched garden soil and add just enough water to make the soil "wet"(with some standing water) in the space of the dish. Add coarse material along the edges--larger twigs, small stones--to provide perching spots, and watch to see what happens. Particularly in the warmer seasons, you may find groups of butterflies hanging about on the ground around these puddling spots, taking up vital nutrients from the soil that the water helps release between rainfalls.
Follow these steps, and your garden will be on its way to becoming a favorite for area pollinators this season. And don't forget that we're here to help! Our crew will be all too happy to assist you in selecting just the right flowers and soil for your garden this spring. Call or stop by today, and we'll take care of you.
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