How to Plant a Pollinator Garden

Pollinators make your garden more productive & beautiful, so join @meggrowsplants and learn how to set up your very first pollinator garden!

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[italianasc]

Love the comparison between the "hottest restaurant" and a garden that has an equally great 'menu'!! Meg is really relatable!

[LoveyBicki]

Quick note for people interested in monarchs/milkweed…. Make sure you get a milkweed native to your area (there are tons of different milkweed species and if you don’t get native milkweed it can actually be counter productive for helping monarchs)

[lisaf]

I love MEG! She is a great addition to your team. This was very helpful.

[GeorgeLucas]

Meg is the best. She's such a natural at this. She clearly has a thorough knowledge of the inter-specie links in permaculture. True jedi

[stephenlonon]

Hi Native Gardeners! There is an organization called Wild Ones with chapters across the US. They specialize in helping suburban/urban homeowners use region natives for landscaping. They’ll even come to your home and have experts come and talk about how to optimize everything! Super helpful for the beginner!!!

[DefThrone]

What may not be mentioned. For monarchs: If you're in the U.S. Look up what species of milkweed is native in your area. Do NOT get the milkweed they sell in Home Depot or Lowes or most non-native nurseries.

1.) Most are sprayed with pesticides

2.) Most are likely selling Asclepias curassavica (Tropical or Scarlet Milkweed). It is native to Mexico and the Caribbean. It is the plant that Monarchs eat when they migrate way south. It does not die back in winter like native milkweed does, and it is highly invasive, and it can mess up the reproductive cycle of Monarchs and cause OE. It does more harm than good.
There's a lot of misinformation on the web about this, but ask most ecologists and they will tell you the harm it can do for Monarch populations.


When it comes to host plants, plant native. Here in the Southeast, Asclepias incarnata, perennis, and tuberosa are all good choices. If they aren't readily available, wait it out. Get seeds from someone who does have it in their yard. I'm always giving away free milkweed seeds to neighbors and friends.

That's not to say you only have to plant native. In my area, pentas are a fantastic choice for pollinators. Just be sure to source your plants from a reputable nursery that does not use pesticides or fungicides. Milkweed will always be assaulted by aphids, but ladybugs will inevitably move in an wipe them out. They'll come back and the cycle continues.

[dksgardenoasis]

I have a certified pollinator garden. I've been attracting pollinators for years and I can't even tell you the different species that visit my "restaurant". I totally agree about the Tithonia . I see bees, hummingbirds, butterflies all visit the Mexican Sunflower. They also love Monarda or perennial"Bee Balm". I have hummingbird moths visit every year and native bees love bee balm.

[Oktopia]

I live in Norway, zone 4. I have kept Calendula seeds for over 18 years. I adore the pop of color and usefulness this flower brings to my garden. It is a wonderful "restaurant".

[lisakruger]

I'm just North of Atlanta and Anise Hyssop and Zinnias are the pollinators favorites in my garden. I am winter sowing mexican sunflower this year to add to my mix. I have raised monarchs in the past and you are right, it's an incredible experience!

[emkn]

10000% percent agree on tithonia. I’ve never seen so many butterflies. Verbena bonariensis also draws them in, including the smaller skippers.

For hummingbirds, grow every kind of salvia you can, they absolutely love them!

[karenshields]

I use a flower pot saucer with marbles in it and fill with water for bees and butterflies

[EdimentalGardens]

I like to let my lettuces and brassicas bolt. Bees love their flowers

[hobo_fire]

For anyone looking to raise mason bees and leafcutter bees, make sure the reeds come out of the bee house. If they don't, I highly recommend looking into houses where the reeds can be removed and opened for cleaning/harvesting the bees. Crown Bees has resources on why you should do this as well as a ton more info.

[GoldFreya]

Meg, you have my official stamp of approval. This was very informative, relatable, and fun! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

[lineaostri]

I really enjoyed this video. I bought Mexican sunflower seeds 4 years ago and haven't needed to buy any since! They reseed so easily. In the fall, I let my garden go wild so it's transformed into a sea of Mexican sunflowers and native plants until first frost. It's always a beautiful sight to see. Someone mentioned to me that Mexican sunflowers are considered the "comfrey of the South", so when our first frost came, I pulled a bunch of them and put them in a giant bucket and filled it with water. I plan to use the water to fertilize my plants this spring.

[Vicfric]

My favorites are echinacea and chamomile. I’ll have to try that Mexican sunflower, it’s beautiful.

[williammaxwell]

I can so relate to "chaos gardening". Monachs were indemic in NZ where i grew up. Their life cycles are amazing

[SummiBegum]

Love Meg! Super sweet and easy to follow all the info she shares. Awesome video especially w/ Spring around the corner.

[alexharshman]

The weirdest thing, I have catnip (not catmint or whatever that crap is in stores, the stuff you dig up from the fence row) growing in my garden for the cat, and last year when it bloomed, before everything else I ended up hosting baby hummingbirds. Of all the crap I plant from stores, which is basically all hybrid tea roses, the one thing that I plant for my cat benefited hummingbird offspring. Oddly enough on that same corner I have bird feeders (mostly for me but the cat don’t mind 😅) and the mess the birds make I almost always get a random volunteer sunflower, and the yellow goldfinches love it, which is why I put up bird feeders to begin with. It’s a win win win, I get the peace of mind, old chunky kitty’s happy, birds are content, even had a rabbit seek refuge under one of my roses….. which got ate by an owl……. And squirrels plant stuff in the pots on the patio. Best part is, I live in the city. With all the hustle of life, in a city, having squirrels, bunnies, hawks falcons, owls, hummingbirds, the run of mill birds, including the colorful ones, a cat, it’s nice to chill one a Sunday and enjoy the simple things in life.

[GardenUPLandscape]

Excellent, comprehensive instructions on why and how to start a pollinator garden! I love the restaurant analogy. Yes, we all need to plant Milkweed, Asters and Goldenrod! And if you have the space, an Oak tree! ❤🦋❤️