Attract Good Bugs to the Garden! The best plants for pollinators & beneficials

In this video I share my top 10 favorite, easy-to-grow annual plants to attract good bugs to the vegetable garden-- both pollinators and beneficial predatory insects.

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00:00 Intro
03:10 TOP 10 ANNUAL PLANTS FOR POLLINATORS & BENEFICIAL INSECTS
12:09 3 Bonus plants for good bugs
14:43 Lesser known beneficial predatory insects

[CharleneMGrant]

You are not only an excellent gardener, but you are also an excellent educator. Great job!

[bdwon]

"My Garden of a Thousand Bees" is a must-see documentary that was broadcast on PBS back in 2021.

[Javaman]

It's been a while since I commented on anything. When I saw this video I had to watch it. While I take a different view of things I think this video will encourage people to move in a good direction.
Almost everything I planted this year was native perennials to host native insects. Like you I had said in the past, if I can't eat it I am not growing it. BUT I have food.
When I learned this from Doug, I decided that the drastic decline in birds was something that I needed to do my part to address. This is, in part what I learned...
"According to Doug Tallamy, a professor of entomology and wildlife ecology, a single pair of breeding chickadees must find 6, 000 to 9, 000 caterpillars to rear one clutch of young."
AND I learned that many of our native bugs need specific native plants to hatch and feed their young on. Non natives will not work for that.
SO... I planted natives.

[samanthahoos]

❤ Catnip, fever few, St. John’s Wort, Sage, mints, and other herbs are my go to pollinator garden plants because I can dry them for tea, seasonings and they’re perennial! 😊

[nancynesytofreske]

Thanks for another great video, Jenna. Heather Holm (biologist and pollinator conservationist) has written several excellent books on our native bees, wasps and more. Another excellent book is "Attracting Native Pollinators" by The Xerces Society. We should try our best to plant native plants (Mountain Mint and so many more) which are the preferred nectar and pollen sources for our beneficials.

[Aphidman]

My garden now has about the same ratio of flowers and edible crops as yours, and you were the main inspiration! Glad to hear you mention big-eyed bugs! Not many people know about them.

[lizziebilbrey]

Jenna, I watch all of your videos, but this one is top notch. I really enjoy enjoyed putting focus on the bugs.

[GrowCookPreserveWithKellyDawn]

I DID enjoy today's video! Thanks, Jenna. I love having local Ohio advice and inspiration!

[michaelgoff]

Fantastic video on an under appreciated topic. I highly suggest Ohio Prarie Nursery for us Ohioans!

[craigdreisbach]

Wonderful video Jenna. A few observations. Although I grew up in Michigan, I have been in Vermont 40 years. Whenever I say sweat bee to New Englanders I get puzzled looks. I knew them in Michigan but haven't encountered them here. I became a beekeeper 5 years ago to help in the pollination in the vegetable garden and my orchards. What is curious for me is that all my apple, pear, plum trees seem only to be pollinated by bumble bees. My honey bees seem to ignore the fruit trees. I take no honey from the hives as I want my hives to thrive. My favorite wasp is the ichneumon wasp with a very long piercing tail. I hope you have seen one. As you said...white yarrow over ran one of my garden beds. iI finally got rid of it and I'm going to try red yarrow as I've heard its less invasive and its prettier. I'm a sucker for red flowers Thanks for including photos of the beneficial and bad bugs. Kind Regards. Craig

[Sunnylane]

I love all the flowers you mentioned! I let a couple of my carrots go to seed as well as a couple lettuce plants. The amount of beneficial insects it attracted was astounding. Thanks for your videos! I’ve learned so much from your videos that I incorporate into my Ohio garden!

[bobclark]

I planted zinnias in our asparagus raised bed. The colorful zinnias give an excellent splash of color to the green ferns.

[ABlueDahlia]

Thanks! Ordered a bunch of them. :D Will be excited to see them growing/flowering.

[davidaleshire]

Love the video, Jenna. I’ll have to try a few of the flowers you mentioned for next year. The garden is pretty dense this year, but I see quite a variety of bees and wasps all over my sunflowers. Tons of lady beetle larvae around the garden, and lacewings playing peek-a-boo in the peppers and tomatoes. Papa er wasps seem to enjoy hanging around my kale. Though they aren’t insects, I have bluebirds living in my garden. Always got a bug in their beaks.

[tarawatterson]

Awesome content. Loved the exploration of types of beneficials at the end.

[racebiketuner]

I came to understand the benefits of a polyculture 3 years ago. Now I always plant flowers well ahead of my veggies.

[untenableposition]

You are really good. Excellent delivery and editing. It goes without saying (but I'll say it anyway) that I love the content

[QueCocinas]

I do plant wild flowers for the garden, but mainly because my older daughter loves them too 🥰

[WesternMONo-TillGardening]

I used to have the "if you can't eat it..." rule also. These days, my garden is half flowers and half vegetables. I started adding flowers to attract beneficials, but now I plant them as much for their beauty as for their benefits. I love having such a colorful garden and being able to give bouquets to friends and family, and it makes me so happy to see beneficial insects all over the garden.

[tomst]

I just started incorporating flowers in my vegetable garden and use most of the varieties you mention. One addition that I really like is anise hyssop. It readily self-seeds and the bright blue/purple flowers are like beacons inviting all sorts of pollinators. Added bonus, you can make herbal tea from the leaves and flowers.