POLLINATORS PALACE

I am in the process of planning a pollinator’s garden. I want it to be a palace for all of the pollinators. I think it will be a nice addition to the farm. As I am researching flowers to plant Echinacea seems to be one of the favorites. It just so happens a vast variety of the plants that we grow in the greenhouses is great for pollinator gardens. We have a new type of Echinacea that we are growing this year. It is the Green Twister. It is irresistible to butterflies, long-blooming, ultra-colorful, and carefree. The petals are held nearly straight out from the bloom, instead of bent back like many other Coneflowers, giving Green Twister more color on every giant bloom. And there are simply so many blooms. They begin in midsummer and continue into fall! Carefree in any sunny spot, these drought-tolerant plants reach 3½ feet tall, tolerating light shade though best in the blazing heat. Bearing literally hundreds of blooms over its many months of color, Green Twister is a garden workhorse, yet looks so effortless and lush in the sunny bed or border! Echinacea blooms the first year and for many years thereafter, lasting through the worst heat and dry weather summer has to offer. The flowers are also superb in the vase that is if you can tear them away from the butterflies! A natural treasure, I got the information for Green Twister from the Park Seed Website. It is one of the many vendors we purchase seeds from. They are located in SC.
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We have many types of plants that can be used for a pollinators garden once I started researching it. Here are just a few - Echinacea, Mountain Mint, Nasturtiums, Lavender, Verbena, Zinnias, Bee Balm, Squash Plants, Oregano, Sage and Cilantro. Some of these plants are just as useful for you as they are for the bees so why would you not plant them.

I want to add a few of these nice bee houses to the palace. They are Nature's Way Better Gardens Bee House and you can find them at Lowes. They come in teal and lavender I believe. They naturally help improve the health of the plants in your yard. Hollow Bamboo tubes and pre-drilled wood blocks have differing diameter openings, allowing this house to be used by a wider variety of solitary pollinators. Check them out on Lowes.com.

I am just in the process of starting to plan so I will let you know how it comes together. Just some thoughts for your own garden. Happy Friday to everyone and Happy Gardening!