Top Five Pollinator Loving Plants Every Garden Needs

By Kathleen Hennessy for Monrovia

Adding color, fragrance and beauty may not be the only reason you’re planting a garden. Attracting pollinators is a top trend this season, and you can invite more bees, butterflies and birds to your landscape by choosing a few key plants.

“Our research shows that many gardeners want to create an outdoor space that is teeming with life,” said Katie Tamony, plant expert and trend spotter at Monrovia. “We are more in tune with the benefits and need for pollinators in our ecosystems, and we are paying more attention to these garden visitors. Some are even calling hummingbirds the next glamour animal – the pollinator gardeners most want to attract to their landscapes, the one that stops them in their tracks when they encounter it in the garden.”

Creating a garden hummingbirds and other pollinators want to visit includes adding pollen and nectar rich plants. Pollinators love a diverse garden and Tamony recommends a mix of climate appropriate cultivars mixed with natives to create an environment that provides longer lasting blooms both pollinator and human visitors can enjoy. She also recommends choosing a few varieties of plants with tubular-shaped blooms. The shape is a particular favorite of hummingbirds, as it accommodates their long beaks.

Here are the top five plants every pollinator garden needs.

Harlequin^TM Purple Beardtongue –

This dramatic penstemon brings spikes of pretty purple blooms to the garden, along with valuable nectar for pollinators. The compact habit makes this an excellent choice for borders, rock gardens and containers. The tube-shaped flowers attract hummingbirds to the garden and have a long vase life in arrangements. Recommended for Zones 5-9.

Pink Pearl Agastache –

Gardeners and pollinators are captivated by Pink Pearl’s tall spikes of beautiful, dainty flowers. This variety has a compact habit and dense blooms. Light pink flowers with darker buds cover the entire plant and provide a gorgeous two-tone effect from late spring until frost. Also known as Hummingbird Mint, it’s the perfect plant for bringing hummingbirds, along with other pollinators, to the garden. Recommended for Zones 6-10.

Goldflame Honeysuckle –

Every pollinator garden needs a Honeysuckle. Goldflame’s purple and deep pink buds cover the plant through the summer and open to become golden yellow tubular flowers that bring beauty and sweet fragrance to the landscape. A wonderful vine to use as a cover for trellis, arbor and fencing, this variety also works well when pruned to form a dense shrub-like shape. Recommended for Zones 4-9.

Cobalt Millenium Allium -

This new ornamental onion has gorgeous blue-green foliage and large rosy-pink blooms. This sport of Millenium is more compact with large, long-lasting flowers that attract pollinators. Recommended for Zones 4-8.

Javelin Forte^TM Deep Purple Spanish Lavender –

The large blooms on this Spanish lavender are always buzzing with pollinators. Selected for its robust growth and big, purple flowers, this beauty blooms from mid-spring through late summer. Hardy to Zone 7, it can also be used as an annual in cooler climates.

Want to learn more about attracting pollinators to your yard? Check out Monrovia’s Backyard Habitat Guide. Packed with pollinator plant suggestions and beautiful garden designs, it’s sure to inspire your next project or garden refresh.

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