Top Pollinator Plants for Public Spaces

The Planting with a Purpose Initiative is a program of the Riverbanks Botanical Garden co-sponsored by Garden Club of South Carolina Inc. The program seeks to serve as a model for South Carolina public planting areas by creating critical habitats for pollinators and other wildlife that are both beautiful and functional. Garden Club invites our members to adopt this planting idea to help you GardenFORLife.

“Most landscapes today feature shrubs and turfgrass, which is a wasteland for bees, butterflies, hummingbirds, and other important pollinators. Insects need flower for nectar and pollen. Whether creating a new planting space or adding plants to an existing landscape, you can make a big impact by creating spaces that attract and nurture the smallest wildlife friends. Planting with a Purpose is a Riverbanks initiative designed to inspire individuals, businesses and communities to add much needed pollinator habitat into everyday landscapes.” https://www.riverbanks.org/plantingwithapurpose/

While many, many plants can be used to create pollinator habitats in South Carolina, below is the list that has proven most successful in the Riverbanks trial gardens. These plants have been selected for their ability to shelter and feed pollinators, provide host habitat for larvae and beneficial insects, as well as pollen and nectar for butterflies, bees and other wildlife. The combination of these plants also provides the show-stopping beauty that elevates the look of the space making it worthy of civic beautification projects, public parks and front yard gardens.

Asclepias sp. ‘Milkweed’ Aster sp. ‘Aster’Baptisia ‘False Indigo’ Cercis canadensis ‘Red Bud’Eupatorium maculatum ‘Joe Pye Weed’ Helianthus angustifolius ‘Sunflower’Lobelia cardinalis ‘Cardinal Flower’ Monarda ‘Bee Balm’Nepeta ‘Catmint’ Pycnanthemum muticum ‘Mountain Mint’Rosmarinus of. ‘Rosemary’ Rudbekia hirta ‘Black-eyed Susan ‘Salvia sp. ‘Sage’ Solidago ‘Goldenrod’Vaccinium sp. ‘Blueberry’ Grasses for Sheltering

Grasses provide the filler in between the clusters of pollen and nectar sources that become critical habitat for larval stages of butterflies and beneficial insects. They also enhance the visual appeal of the planting by adding fall color and movement through the space. These are more zone specific but can any of the muhly grasses, oats, buckwheat, Indian grass, sedges, or rushes. Choose one or two species to repeat through the planting in order to maximum the visual appeal and tie the garden together for a pleasing effect during fall and winter off seasons.

Planting with a Purpose is copyright to Riverbanks Zoo & Garden. GardenFORLife is copyright and trademarked to Trish Bender

Planting with a Purpose is copyright to Riverbanks Zoo & Garden. GardenFORLife is copyright and trademarked to Trish Bender