Create a Pollinator-friendly Garden with Planters

Whether you’re a fan or not, one thing cannot be denied about pollinators - without them, we would have a hard time surviving. Hundreds of crop plants we cultivate to produce our food require pollination by animals to grow.

Pollinators also allow you to enjoy a beautiful garden of flowers every year, as pollination is an essential part of the plant’s reproduction process. The pollinators get covered in the pollen from a flower’s anthers, and once they move on to the next flower, the pollen they were covered in sticks to the stigma.

It’s safe to say that pollinators are important, and we as humans should strive to help them as much as we can to compensate for everything they do for us. One way you can do it is by creating a pollinator-friendly garden in your outside area.

In this article we will discuss how to do it with planters, as not everyone who wants to create one has an actual garden to do it in - and with planters, you can even do it on your balcony or terrace. Sounds good, doesn’t it?

#1 Choose the Right Plants

Not all plants attract pollinators, and not all plants require pollination. That’s why, when creating a pollinator-friendly garden, doing your research about the plants you’re considering using is crucial.

While you can find pre-prepared mixes of seeds with pollinator-friendly flowers, you can also decide to go for your own selection, as truth be told, with the packaged ones you never know which ones or how many of each you’re getting.

Different types of flowers will attract different pollinators. Here are some examples of plants to consider if you want to attract:

• Bees - Bees are most attracted to white, yellow, and blue flowers, as well as those with contrasting colors. They enjoy mild and pleasant scents. They love sunflowers, goldenrods, hyacinths, snapdragons, and bee balm. If you don’t mind bees being your guests more often, you might want to add a bee nesting block, providing a habitat for solitary bees.
• Butterflies - Butterflies mostly enjoy red and purple flowers with a faint smell. Some of their favorite plants include lavender, lilac, phlox, mint, and pansies. If you have the space, it might also be worth adding some trees or logs around your garden, as butterflies tend to live in the hollows.
• Hummingbirds - Hummingbirds mostly enjoy flowers with a trumpet shape, especially when they’re white, red, orange, or pink. Some of the flowers they particularly enjoy include bird of paradise, Chinese bell flowers, columbine, fuchsia, and yellow trumpet bush.

While there are many more, those are the most commonly present in any pollinator-friendly garden. So, if you have a specific flower in mind but don’t see it on this list, don’t worry and search it up - it might be the perfect addition to your pollinator-friendly space.

#2 Choose the Right Planters

Once you’ve picked your flowers, you can move on to choosing the planters to use for your garden. Which ones will be the best choice depends on several things, including the type of plants you want to grow in them, which is why we included choosing the plants as the first step.

You might be wondering, “What’s the correlation between the two?” Well, there are actually several, so here’s why the plant selection will most likely affect which planter you choose for your pollinator-friendly garden:

• Plant size - If the plant you’re going to grow in your planters is deep-rooted, then you will most likely require a large or a tall planter that will give the roots enough space to grow comfortably. If, on the other hand, the plants are shallow-rooted, the planter’s depth plays a secondary role.
• Drainage - If the plants you choose to grow require well-drained soil, then planters with drainage holes will be the better choice. Those plants who prefer moist soil, however, might be better off in a planter with either no or less drainage.
• Sunlight - The color of the planter can actually affect how your plant grows. Specifically, darker-colored planters tend to absorb and retain light, which might not be an ideal condition for heat-sensitive plants.
• Cluster planting - If you’re planning on grouping a few different flowers together (which is recommended), then you will need to go for a large planter to make sure that they aren’t overcrowded. If there are too many plants in one planter, they might slow down their growth, and be a lot weaker compared to their counterparts that had enough room through the growing process.

As you can see, organizing a pollinator-friendly garden requires quite a bit of research. However, in the end it will all be worth it once you see all the different kinds of pollinators feeling right at home in your outdoor space.

#3 Tips for Creating a Pollinator-friendly Garden

Here are some tips that might help you when creating a pollinator-friendly garden:

• When choosing plants, opt for native ones instead of imported or hybridized ones, as the latter might not be attractive to local pollinators.
• Choose plants with varying bloom times so you can enjoy your garden for as long as possible, from early spring to late fall.
• Include flowers of various shapes and colors - this will not only create a beautiful and lively effect, adding charm to the space, but you’ll also ensure that your space looks appealing to different kinds of pollinators.
• Add a watering area so pollinators can rest. Make sure to add rocks or glass beads in it and fill it enough so that when a small pollinator like a bee lands on it, it can drink water without drowning. Butterflies like to drink from muddy soil, as it gives them the necessary salts and minerals, so you can create a spot for them, too, by adding a shallow dish and placing a mixture of dampened landscape sand, compost, and organic garden soil on it.
• Try not to use pesticides, or if you have to minimize their use - you might accidentally harm the pollinators you’re trying to attract while eradicating the unwanted pests.

The Bottom Line

Creating a pollinator-friendly garden with planters might not be the easiest thing in the world due to the needed research about flowers and the best planters for it, but it’s definitely rewarding. Once you see all the little bees, butterflies, and other pollinators make themselves at home, you will be glad you put all this effort into it.

At Pots, Planters & More, we want to help you with that, which is why we offer a number of planters that can also be customized to suit the plants you wish to grow. Remember, choosing the right planter is just as important as choosing the right plants. And if you have any questions, don’t hesitate to reach out to us - someone from our team will get back to you as soon as they can!