Well it’s that week that all gardeners hold near and dear to their hearts with dirty hands…It’s Pollinator Week!!
This week bring awareness to and celebrate all the critters that help us in the garden and on the Farm-
-Hilary Armour, Garden Center Manager at Bartlett’s Farm
Bees are the most celebrated pollinator and consequently, the most in decline. Helping bees can be as easy as letting your dandelions bloom in the spring. Honestly! Dandelions! They are one of the first bloomers and provide a lot of pollen for hungry, sleepy bees just waking from hibernation. Maple tree flowers are also an early food source for bees. Flowering before the leaves emerge, these flowers are copious and easily accessible.
What can we, as gardeners, do to help?
Plant NATIVE! Nature doesn’t evolve as fast as humans change their minds! Bees need time to adapt to new plants. What we consider to be “tried and true” in the yard is still new to them… Truly native plants are the most reliable sources of bee happiness. They bloom at the right times and survive the best in our climate.
Plant for the whole season…
Especially on Nantucket, everyone wants everything blooming in the summer months, but the bees need all-season flowering plants. Consider planting spring and fall bloomers in your garden here and there, to encourage the bees to continue to visit.
Give ’em a drink!
If you are really feeling the urge to bee friendly, add a watering spot for bees in your garden. A shallow bowl or plate ( I like to use an old plant saucer) works great. Add some stones for the bees to land on, keep it clean and full, and you will keep the bees hydrated. Pollinating is thirsty work!
When it comes to birds the same goes-
Plant NATIVES…
Many varieties of native shrubs like shadblow, chokeberry and blueberries provide small berries for birds to enjoy, some lasting on the trees into winter. Evergreen shrubs provide shelter for the cold winds and wet weather. Bird feeders are great in the winter months when wild food sources are scares but are best discontinued the summer months to encourage the birds to go to what they do best….
Who doesn’t love a butterfly floofing about their garden? Butterflies benefit from much of the same treatment as bees; Flowers, flowers, flowers! They like nectar filled lowers such as campsis radicans ( trumpet flower) and Asclepia tuberosa ( butterflyweed). In addition you can provide plants that feed the butterfly caterpillars Asclepia incarnata (swamp milkweed). Asclepia syriaca (common milkweed) are home to Monarch Butterfly caterpillars. Butterflies will also visit cut fruit and will enjoy the watering station with the bees.
Although most bats in our area are of the bug eating variety, in many parts of the world and the very southern portions of the U.S., fruit bats are indispensable. About 300 species of plants depend on bats for pollination, mangos and bananas being two of the biggest. Many bat species are listed as endangered. Closer to home, our bat populations help by consuming insects, typically about 2,000 insects per night…PER BAT!!! Bat houses are a great way to encourage a healthy bat population. They live in colonies; females and young together, and the fellas have a bachelor pad set up, so if you are seeking to host a colony, two bat houses is a great way to start.
So Bee Friendly….and Bee kind to the Flutterbys….enjoy the song of the Birds and don’t forget to thank the bats for snacking on the mosquitos! Visit us in the Garden Center to bring home some pollinator friendly annuals, perennials and natives to support your local population!