Butterfly in a pollinator friendly perennial garden

Attracting Hummingbirds, Bees & Butterflies

Wondering how to attract more pollinators to your garden? We'll show you which perennial plants are best for bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds, and share tips for designing a pollinator-friendly garden. As your garden grows, see which plants are best at attracting pollinators in your area!

6 Tips For Pollinator-Friendly Gardens

The more flowers, the better! (Just in case you needed an excuse for more plants.) Whether you add clover to your lawn or you replace the whole space with perennial plants or wildflowers, more flowers mean more sources of food and habitat for pollinators!
Look for neonicotinoid-free plants, and avoid using pesticides or herbicides in your garden -- as they're harmful to people, pets, and pollinators.
Add a shallow water source that gives pollinators a place to land. For example, try filling a shallow tray or a birdbath with water, and adding sand, stones, and/or pebbles for landing pads. Refresh the water often or add a fountain or spray feature to prevent water from becoming stagnant.
Include a mix of North American native plants for native pollinators, and European native plants for honeybees. We recommend including 70% native plants.
Plant a range of flowers for long-lasting blooms from early spring all the way through fall. Pollinators that awaken from winter hibernation, like Bumblebees, need early season nectar and pollen. Late season blooms help pollinators fuel up for winter hibernation (bees), or for migration to a warmer climate (Monarch Butterflies and Hummingbirds). When shopping with American Meadows, you can use the “Bloom Season” filter to find plants that fill in the flower gaps in your garden.
Don't forget habitat! Twigs, trees, shrubs, and ornamental grasses, and rock features are helpful elements for providing habitat and shelter for pollinators.

Bees visiting Echinacea (Coneflowers). Customer Photo by Prudence Marie Munger.

Best Plants For Bees

Plant single flowers, like Echinacea and Gaillardia, rather than double-headed flowers with loads of petals. Single flowers make it easier for bees to access pollen and nectar.
Short tubular flowers, like Foxgloves, Honeysuckle, also make it easy for bees to find nectar.
Flat flower clusters, like those of Milkweed, Sedum, and Yarrow, give bees easy access to nectar and a nice place to land.

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Hummingbird and Lobelia (Cardinal Flower)

Best Plants For Hummingbirds

Red flowers are most attractive to hummingbirds, as well as bright orange and pink flowers
Planting shrubs and trees will provide habitat and resting spaces for hummingbirds.
Long, tubular flowers, like Lobelia, are ideal for hummingbirds - they can reach their long slender beaks into spaces where bees and other pollinators can't reach.
Hummingbirds look for reliable nectar sources, so planting flowers in large groupings will help attract hummingbirds and keep them coming with a large, long-lasting nectar source.

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A monarch butterfly visiting Milkweed (Asclepias)

Best Plants For Butterflies

When it comes to designing a butterfly garden, there are two types of plants to feature: host plants and nectar plants. Host plants are necessary to provide food and habitat for caterpillars. Nectar plants will attract and feed the adult butterflies!
Host plants include native Ornamental Grasses, Baptisia, and Milkweed. Milkweed is the host plant for the Monarch caterpillar – and the nectar-rich flower clusters attract lots of pollinators, too!
Nectar plants for butterflies include Aster, Black Eyed Susan, Echinacea, Goldenrod, Yarrow and many more.
Learn More: Soar With Your Butterfly Garden, by Charlie Nardozzi

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Attracting Hummingbirds, Bees & Butterflies

6 Tips For Pollinator-Friendly Gardens

Best Plants For Bees

Best Plants For Hummingbirds

Best Plants For Butterflies

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