As the summer starts to wind down, I look at what was successful and what was not this year. By far, we have had an amazing year for bees, butterflies, and other pollinators.
Our best performer was our Black Eyed Susan which grew to about three feet tall and didn’t start flowering until mid July. We bought these from a greenhouse near us. This has hundreds of buds on it and is always buzzing with honey bees!
Our second best would be our salvia. I planted three varieties of salvia this year, but our most prolific and pollinator attracting was the Blue Monday variety from Baker Creek. It was a very attractive little row and looked great until it was zapped by our incredible heat in June.
Third on the list would be lantana. These were plants we bought from a local greenhouse in town, and they have been blooming for about two months straight! I love seeing the multi-bloom flower in our garden every morning!
Fourth on our list is the wave petunias. These were bought from a big box store and have done well in our little area. They seem to keep blooming when watered well and are a beautiful addition to the front garden!
Last, our beautiful hedge of cosmos have grown and produced wonderful orange, yellow and red flowers all summer long. These were taken from seeds harvested from cosmos grown the past couple years (which we are planning on doing a post about soon!). They are prolific and the insects can't seem to get enough of them!
All of these plants looked great in our yard. If you are looking to grow some pollinator attracting flowers next year, look no further! Also, as a side note, we have not fertilized these plants at all, so if you are not the type to use or remember to use fertilizer, these are a great option! I hope you give them a try! Let us know what flowers you have grown in your yard to encourage pollinators!
~Everbearing Farm
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