Planting for Pollinators
Plant a diversity of shrubs or flowers that bloom over three seasons while lightening up on insecticides.
by Dan Richardson, UCD
Among gardeners, farmers and other earthy folk, there is a growing appreciation for pollinators – those busy bugs that, while going about their business, dust flowers with pollen carried hither and yon. In the process, pollinators provide humans much beauty, sustain nearly every kind of bird, and commence to growing one out of every three bites of our food.
Not bad for a bunch of bugs.
And with this growing appreciation often comes the question, how do I grow a garden, or a yard, or a meadow, whatever, that sustains pollinators?
Dear fellow gardeners, let us consider this notion as our response: Grow flowering plants, a diversity of them with a goodly proportion of native species, and not spray or sprinkle them with poisons. Stand back. Appreciate. Repeat.
If gardeners would skip the pesticides aisle at the local big box store, or even just lay off the systemics – those insecticides so effective because they turn roses or other plants into, essentially, poison food for little critters good, bad and indifferent – they would go a long way toward supporting the pollinators and beneficial insects that support us. Some go so far as to say that beneficial insects make the world go ‘round, in that they not only pollinate plants we rely on but also form the base of the food chain for many, many other creatures, including most birds.
“It is increasingly clear,” writes biologist and author Douglas Tallamy, in Bringing Nature Home: How You Can Sustain Wildlife with Native Plants (Timber Press, 2009), “that much of our wildlife will not be able to survive unless food, shelter and nest sites can be found in suburban habitats.”
Suburban habitats equal backyards; parks; vacant lots.
Okay, yes, but how? How does one turn a yard into life-sustaining habitat?
The basic idea is this: Grow a diversity of flowering plants that bloom over three seasons – that is, include summer- and fall-blooming species. Some people suggest a “rule of three,” for pollinator-friendly yards: Grow at least three each of three plants, each of three seasons (spring, summer, fall). There are specific plants that host specific beneficial insects, for example, the milkweed (Asclepias spp.) that sustain the monarch butterfly. But as a general approach, having a diversity of flowering plants all during the growing season is the idea.
The best plants for this endeavor are native species – because local pollinators and other living things are adapted to local plants. As Tallamy notes, for example, the Douglas-fir tree, so ubiquitous in the Northwest, provides nourishment for some 400 species here, but only about four species in England, where it is planted as a landscaping specimen. Same thing goes for, say, English laurel that gets planted here: It’s essentially green plastic, so far as most of our local pollinators and birds are concerned.
There are some non-native plants that tend to be useful to a broad spectrum of bees, butterflies and such, and these are garden herbs – the lavenders, rosemaries, dill, fennel, etc.
One sure-fire way to grow pollinator-friendly habitat in a yard, or anywhere, is to consider using native shrubs. A large number of lovely flowering native shrubs grow in the Columbia Gorge; they tend to be hardy and easy to grow under a variety of conditions; they live a long time; tend to respond well to pruning and resist deer browse; and, after a few years of growth, put out dozens or even hundreds of blossoms. And shrubs are versatile in the landscape. They can be featured in a manicured front yard with a bit of pruning, or grown as a hedge for privacy, or simply along a fence line or some other wild edge or corner. Pollinators don’t care if the place is manicured or messy (“rambunctious” might be a kindlier term), they just need flowers with their pollen and nectar, some place to make a nest or burrow unmolested – some food and shelter, in other words, and a decided lack of insecticide.
A life-supporting landscape doesn’t have to be messy. Native plant are readily massed, pruned or given space as a specimen. The variations and applications and aesthetics are endless. That said, the more natives, the more plant diversity in an area, the more habitat that area becomes. Think of a backyard, say, as a bit of managed habitat. It’s habitat for people (a garden? A play area?), but also, to some degree, for birds and beneficial insects and such. To increase the habitat, increase the diversity and the native species. Not necessarily the messiness or wildness, though that’s okay, too. To increase the habitat value more, plant different layers of natives: low-growing plants, mid-canopy plants (shrubs, small trees), and over-story (trees).
To super-charge a yard as habitat, in addition to a diversity of plants, a diversity of structural layers and refuge from bug sprays, add water. A birdbath, say.
Every yard or property has its own microclimates and its own history; every person has her own goals for the property. No plant is “bad,” but that it might be troublesome for people, too aggressive perhaps, or not provide food or shelter for our wild native pollinators. But there are some “good” plants that help make our yards places of refuge for the living world around us – and planting a few native species in one corner, or leaving a bed of garden herbs to bolt, is a way to participate in that.
And you do not have to cut down a favorite ornamental or dig up the lawn (though those aren’t terrible ideas). Consider reducing lawnscape, maybe thinking of it, as some landscape architects suggest, less as wall-to-wall carpeting for a yard, and more of an area rug, or a grassy pathway.
Start small. This is a process, as with all living things and living communities. Take some time this winter to read a little, think and imagine how to incorporate some plants into your property and meet your goals for that property. Then plant a few things. Watch. See what grows well, or struggles. Next year, maybe some more.
Over time, the result can be an oasis of life for pollinators and other beneficial insects and birds, and also a more resilient yard. A diverse yard with different flowering things will host more life, will be closer to an ecosystem, where bugs and birds keep things somewhat in check. Yes, that will mean a few more leaves with holes, occasionally. But the point is not to grow leaves or the just-so rosebush, but to grow life – roses optional.
Writes Tallamy, the proponent of backyard biodiversity, “It is now within the power of individual gardeners to do something that we all dream of doing: To make a difference. In this case, the ‘difference’ will be to the future of [birds, butterflies and bees], to the native plants and animals of North America and the ecosystems that sustain them.”
INSPIRATION
* There are many, many articles and YouTube videos by and about supporters of backyard biodiversity. One of the most fruitful are the webinar that have been presented by the Xerces Society and are available on its YouTube channel. (Hint: Search for Xerces’ presentation “Attracting Pollinators to Your Backyard.” Or, click over to here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZCVeLrt-g7E )
* This past April, Smithsonian magazine ran an article on Tallamy that lays out his thinking in summary form, followed by his proposed “8 Steps to Rewild America.” (https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/meet-ecologist-who-wants-unleash-wild-backyard-180974372/)
* A great web site to peruse is http://www.realgardensgrownatives.com/, which has blog posts and lovely photos by Eileen Stark, author of Real Gardens Grow Natives. See below.
* Columbia Land Trust and the Audubon Society in the Portland Metro area have a backyard habitat program. While that’s not offered in the Gorge*, check out the BYH web site for how that program works and ideas to put to use in your own property: https://backyardhabitats.org/
(*There’s no backyard habitat program for residents of the Columbia Gorge … yet. UCD is exploring the idea locally. Interested? Email: dan@ucdwa.org to get onto an interest list.)
* Humble Roots is a Mosier-based native plant nursery specializing in ethically propagating species from around the Columbia Gorge. Top-notch local information on what to plant and where. https://www.humblerootsnursery.com/
* Reading for knowledge and inspiration: three worthy books:
Real Gardens Grow Natives: Design, Plant, and Enjoy a Healthy Northwest Garden, Eileen Stark, Skipstone 2014
Gardening With Native Plants of the Pacific Northwest, Arthur Kruckeberg and Linda Chalker-Scott, University of Washington Press (Third Edition, 2019)
The Living Landscape: Designing for Beauty and Biodiversity in the Home Garden, Rick Darke and Douglas Tallamy, Timber Press 2014