Are you thinking about growing a pollinator garden? if you’re like me, you’ve more than likely have been daydreaming about having a pollinator garden at your house for some time now. I’ve slowly been adding onto my pollinator garden for the past year now- mainly planting perennials. With owning chickens, it has been a challenge keeping them away from the flowers! So i’ve had to do research on plants chickens won’t eat (hopefully) to keep them away and not waste my money. Side note- chickens will eat anything (insert eye roll)!

Anyways, back to the pollinator garden! The advantage of planting a pollinator garden isn’t limited to pollinators. Pollinators such as bees, butterflies, moths, birds, bats, and even ants are essential to all life – including our food systems! Lets dive in and check out some of my favorite flowers to plant for the pollinators!

  1. Marigolds: Are annual flowers that range from red to orange to yellow. They can great companion plants, and even help deter cabbage moths! Not to mention they’re also super great to plant by your tomatoes. Marigolds are very easy to grow!
  2. Lavender: Probably my favorite of ALL flowers! Lavender is especially loved by the bees. Although, it can be challenging to start from seeds, I recommend getting a cutting from a local nursery.
  3. Cosmos: Another flower that is super easy to grow! Simply scatter seeds on bare soil in springtime, after the danger of frost has passed, or start indoors the weeks prior. Grows well in beds or containers, and survives even the poorest soil conditions. Great for birds, bees, butterflies, and moths.
  4. Agastache: These tall showy, long-lasting spikes full of hundreds of individual blooms are essential in a pollinator garden! Also called “hummingbird mint”, they’re a favorite nectar source for our sweet little bird friends.
  5. Sunflowers: My favorite are the mammoth sunflowers, just because i’m so mesmerized by how HUGE they grow!  Plant in full sun, you can direct sow seeds outside after the last frost. For an early start, seeds can be started indoors the weeks prior to frost.
  6. Zinnia: Zinnias come in dozens of sizes and colors. Best of all, they’re very easy to grow, mature quickly, and bloom heavily over many months. They attract butterflies and bees- a huge favorite for our monarchs!

These are only a few of the beauties to grow! I look forward to expanding on my pollinator garden for the years to come.