2 MILLION BLOSSOMS Most pollinators are attracted to open, sunny areas when
and predators. While man-made bug hotels and bee houses can be delightful additions to a pollinator garden, most shel- ter for wildlife is going to come from the plants themselves. Different pollinators will seek different types of shel- ter for different reasons, so it’s best to allow your garden to be as diverse as you can. During harsh weather, soldier shrubs and grasses which can provide a 4-season windbreak. groundcovers to hide from predators. Even a boulder in the sunshine can become a valuable basking spot for these cold-blooded creatures.
Garden designers often use the term “structural com- plexity” to refer to a landscape that is composed of many diverse elements, serving many needs. Wildlife habitats, in- cluding those geared to pollinators, require this complexity – it’s the difference between a sterile bed of junipers adorned with some nodding petunias and a living landscape. Adult pollinators are not only doing the hard work of
carrying pollen from plant to plant, they are often looking for mates. A well-planned habitat garden promotes pollina- - duction, and they typically get these salts from mud, animal Few gardeners will go so far as to put a cow pie or dead
a shallow dish with equal parts compost and sand, then keep it moist—the perfect watering hole for single males
- ing tall grasses or perennials near paths gives them the ideal Of course, the most important part of mating is actually
having available mates. Making sure your habitat is connect- ed or at least close to other habitats—such as your garden buddy down the street—leads to more interconnected polli- nator pathways and thus success for pollinators. Some of our don’t venture far, so we should strive to get our neighbors, friends and communities planting pollinator habitats, too. Once these pollinators mate, habitat gardeners pay equal attention to preparing the nursery for all the little larva ba- bies that will grow up to be the next generation pollinating over two-thirds of native bee species will raise their young in underground burrows. If we keep a few patches of bare ground, we’re really just wallpapering the baby’s room—mak- ing it hospitable to rear young. The same goes for soft wood, the perfect home for burrowing bees, and moist patches that
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Digger bees nest in bare ground. By providing open spaces with soft ground, we permit the entire solitary life cycle of digger bees in our pollinator gardens.
Pollinator habitats are complex and diverse. Varying the heights of the plants we grow to “perch and patrol”, claiming
© Amy Yarger
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