There is no better time to become more aware of eco-friendly benefits of indigenous plants and pollinators, as right now. No matter the age or generation of gardeners many have become more aware and of the needs of their garden ecosystems.
The common misconception is that we need big outdoor spaces, large gardens and manicured and tidy gardens to support pollinators. This is not true, even if you only have a small patio garden, pots or even just a balcony planter you can make a change for the future generations by promoting pollinators.” According to K. Rourke, Executive director of Pollinator Partnership “if you can get the right plants for those types of pots or boxes, you can still support pollinators in a great way. Pollinators can fly up and down and far and wide, so they really will seek out the plants that they have identified as a good source of food for pollen and nectar, so they will get there.”
To do your part look towards planting native plants that will in turn promote native pollinators.
Insects (bees, wasps, moths, butterflies, flies, beetles) are the most common pollinators, but as many as 1,500 species of vertebrates such as birds and mammals serve as pollinators, including hummingbirds, perching birds, flying foxes, fruit bats, possums, lemurs and even a lizard (gecko)
These pollinators nest in different areas of the garden or close by fields. They will also nest in dry logs, fallen leaves and sticks. Some pollinators even live in the ground, like solitary bees.
The fear of being stung by a bee is one reason we misunderstand these pollinators, most of them do not sting. Bee’s sting because they get caught on your clothing or is threatened and in defence they sting, most pollinator bees do not sting to sting. Pollinator bees should not be feared but celebrated because they provide beautiful flowers, which improves our ecosystem, most are edible, and more than a third of our food produce is due to pollinator bees.
Do your part in promoting pollinators and improving your ecosystem environment. Create a beautiful space with these top tips that are perfect for any garden of any size.
Keep your pollinators happy all year!
Plan your garden to include flowers that bloom at different times of the year. This will ensure pollinator activity all year round. This will also give you a beautiful garden all year round.
Greenside Nursery’s Top 10 plants to plant in you to promote pollinators.
- Lavender
- Salvia
- Butterfly Bush
- Daisies
- Snapdragon
- Dahlia
- Cape Honeysuckle
- Gazania
- Vygies
- Cosmos
During the winter food and water is scares you may want to add a few extra things to your garden.
Add a bird feeder or two with fruits and high protein bird food, this a great way to attract different pollinators and feed them.
Water baths are great to, but many bees lose their lives trying to drink from deep water sources add a few pebbles or marbles to the water bowl to help them.
You can add grated fruit to a plate with water as an extra source of food for the smaller pollinators.
Add a bug hotel, I know this is a worrying concept since most gardeners do not like pests in their gardens, but a bug hotel houses small critter and solitary bees. This is a must for every garden, and it is a great way to get creative.
Make a change by promoting pollinators with your new ecosystem. Greenside Nursery is in the front line of doing all we can to help improve our ecosystem and helping create hope for the future generations.