Supporting Pollinators in Barbara’s Pennsylvania Garden

Hi GPODers!

We’re back in the garden of Barbara Mrgich today to learn more about the many ways she supports pollinators with her plantings. Barbara already shared a highly informative submission on supporting monarch butterflies in her Pennsylvania garden (Check that out here, if you missed it: Supporting Monarchs in Barbara’s Pennsylvania Garden), but she’s got a lot more to share on more than just butterflies. Her garden is a haven for all kinds of wildlife and pollinators, and a multitude of gorgeous native plants provide as much beauty as they do environmental benefit.

Hello, this is Barb Mrgich, Adams County master gardener, back to talk about supporting pollinators in my suburban Pennsylvania garden, zone 6b (or maybe 7a).

Pollinators are vitally important to our food supply, and are disappearing at an alarming rate from our landscapes mostly because of loss of habitat, and misuse of pesticides in the home landscapes. Some pollinators are beautiful and a delight to see, while others can be rather scary looking. They all perform important tasks for us that most folks don’t even recognize.

Host plants are needed to attract important pollinators to your garden. Since most important pollinators are native insects, they need native plants for their larva to host on (feed on).

An important early season native plant is red columbine (Aquilegia canadensis, Zone 3–8) which attracts the ruby-throated hummingbirds (Archilochus colubris) when they arrive from their annual migration. Red columbine is a vital early nectar source for the hummingbirds. Did you know they are the only native hummingbird this side of the Mississippi? (Occasionally, other species of hummingbird might be spotted here, but ruby throats are the only ones who raise their young here.)

Red columbine is a beautiful little flower that self-seeds itself around liberally forming a very nice ground cover in partially shaded areas. It serves as a host plant for the columbine duskywing butterfly (Erynnis lucilius), and the hawk moth (Sphingidae), an important nighttime pollinator.

Red columbine will naturally release its seed, and next year the clump will be larger. The deeply rooted little plants actually prefer lean soil over rich, and are quite drought tolerant. They create a lovely ground cover between larger plants.

Along with the columbine comes the native honeysuckle (Lonicera sempervirens, Zone 4–9), or coral honeysuckle. This plant blooms with no help from me from May until October. Hummingbirds can’t resist it! Here it is in May on a trellis.

The flowers of this native coral honeysuckle are well suited to the hummer’s long, slender bill and tongue.

Black swallowtail butterfly (Papilio polyxenes) nectaring on orange zinnia. The black swallowtails are frequent visitors to my garden, probably because I keep a host area just for them. Carrots, dill, fennel, rue, and parsley will all act as a host plant for the black swallowtail. But, these are not native plants, so how can this be?

Golden alexander (Zizia aurea, Zone 3–8) is also a host plant for the black swallowtails, and is a North American native plant belonging to the Apiacaea family just as the other plants mentioned above. The fact that they are part of the same family means they have a similar chemical make-up. For some unknown reason to me, the butterfly has made the adjustment.

Golden alexander is a pretty plant the blooms for about a month very early in the season. It likes full or partial sun, and is drought tolerant. Like the native columbine, it will form an attractive ground cover if you encourage it.

Two black swallowtail caterpillars. Photo: Marsha Furtaw

Cutleaf coneflower (Rudbeckia laciniata, Zone 3–9) is a very tall, late summer native loved by bees. Bees are the most efficient pollinators and ecologically the most valuable. There are hundreds of different species of bees who all emerge at different times during the season, and rely on flower nectar to live. Late season blooms are vitally important.

A small bumble bee enjoys the bloom of a goldenrod (Solidago spp.).

Two different shades of New England aster (Symphyotrichum novae-angliae, Zone 4–8) bloom in front of ‘Fireworks’ goldenrod (Solidago rugosa ‘Fireworks’, Zone 4–8).

Thank you so much for sharing your wealth of knowledge on pollinators and the gorgeous plants that you grow to support them. The variety of beautiful blooms you cultivate makes your space a haven for all visitors.

How do you support pollinators and wildlife in your garden? Native plantings tend to get the unwarranted reputation that they are “messy,” but our readers continue to prove that no interest needs to be sacrificed when you lean into ecologically beneficial practices. Consider sharing your beautiful and beneficial garden with the blog. Follow the NEW directions below to submit your photos to Garden Photo of the Day!

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You can also send 5–10 photos to [email protected] along with some information about the plants in the pictures and where you took the photos. We’d love to hear where you are located, how long you’ve been gardening, successes you are proud of, failures you learned from, hopes for the future, favorite plants, or funny stories from your garden.

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