Pike Nurseries (the southeast garden center) experts share tips for creating the perfect pollinator garden.
No need to wing it! Pike Nurseries is sharing all the buzz to help gardeners turn spaces into havens for butterflies, hummingbirds and other pollinators during National Pollinator Week, June 22-26. Butterflies, bees, and birds are critical to gardens, ensuring plants are cross-fertilized and able to bloom and produce crops to their fullest. Growing garden favorites that attract pollinators will bring color to landscapes while helping the environment. Families can involve the kids by watching birds and butterflies, decorating birdhouses, or planting seeds and flowers. Gardeners can create the perfect habitat to attract these beneficial creatures into the garden with the following tips:
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Food
Bright-colored flowers and a strong smell are magnets for pollinators! Planting different colored pollinator-attracting plants and native plants will provide food for a mix of wildlife. Hummingbirds and butterflies have heightened awareness to red and purple colors, but nectar itself is the biggest draw. Bees are drawn to pollen-rich flowers in yellow and blue hues. Gardeners can also plant nectar-supplying flowers, such as lantana, salvia, verbena and butterfly bush. Pollen-heavy flowers such as coneflowers, bee balm, yarrow and rudbeckia double as gorgeous pops of color for the garden.
Host plants, such as asclepias (also known as milkweed), dill, parsley and fennel, are also important for the butterfly lifecycle. Butterflies lay eggs on host plants and then hatch into caterpillars that later eat the host plants, gathering strength for their transformation.
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Water
To guarantee these garden helpers are getting ample amounts of water, birdbaths or small saucers can be incorporated. To create a station from which butterflies and birds can drink, add stones, pebbles or even sand to a shallow birdbath to create depths for drinking and bathing.
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Shelter
Homeowners can add birdhouses or beneficial bug houses to their landscapes; choose bug houses with vertical slits so butterfly wings can fit, too! Pollinators seek shelter on plants for protection against storms and predators, as well as a place to nest. Shrubs with broad, large leaves like anise or hydrangeas provide the best places for them to land in the sun but also serve as shelter from rain and wind. Dense shrubs like boxwoods are also great shelter for birds.
The pros at Pike Nurseries caution against using synthetic pest control solutions in a pollinator garden. Ladybugs and praying mantis are natural pest control partners; these good bugs will eat harmful bugs like aphids and mites. Stick to organic options that will have little to no impact on the beneficial critters. Neem oil is an organic solution for mites and other insects as well as fungal issues, but it will not harm bees and other pollinators.
In an effort to keep customers safe, all Pike Nurseries locations are now exclusively offering delivery and curbside pick-up. Hours are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily. Customers can complete an online form or call a local store to order, and a Pike Nurseries employee-owner will return the call to personally consult on the request and finalize the order.
Pike Nursery, Buckhead 4020 Roswell Road Atlanta, GA 30342 Phone: 404-843-9578 | Pike Nurseries, Acworth 3602 Cobb Parkway Acworth, Georgia 30101 Phone: 678-574-5868 | |
Pike Nurseries, Milton 3155 Bethany Bend Milton, Georgia 30004 Phone: 678-433-9060 | Pike Nurseries, Cumming 6050 Bethelview Road Cumming, Georgia 30040 Phone: 770-205-1737 | |
Pike Nurseries, East Cobb 2900 Johnson Ferry Road Marietta, Georgia 30062 Phone: 770-640-6468 | Pike Nurseries, Suwanee 1105 Peachtree Industrial Boulevard Suwanee, Georgia 30024 Phone: 770-271-5433 | |
Pike Nurseries, Toco Hills 2101 LaVista Road Atlanta, Georgia 30329 Phone: 404-634-8604 | Pike Nurseries, Marietta 1875 Roswell Road Marietta, Georgia 30062 Phone: 770-977-3040 | |
Pike Nurseries, Johns Creek 5795 State Bridge Road Alpharetta, Georgia 30022 Phone: 770-813-5050 | Pike Nurseries, Lindbergh 2410 Camellia Lane NE Atlanta, Georgia 30324 Phone: 404-869-2875 | |
Pike Nurseries, West Cobb 3431 Barrett Parkway, NW Marietta, Georgia 30064 Phone: 770-423-1650 | Pike Nurseries, Towne Lake 2475 Towne Lake Parkway Woodstock, Georgia 30189 Phone: 770-926-3252 |
Please view other Pike Nurseries articles: Online Advice with Kid’s Corner, Stressless, plant more: Pike reveals top benefits of gardening, Juicy tips for tasty tomatoes, Tips for planting modern-day victory gardens, personalized container gardens, Garden-Themed Learning, Heat-Loving Plants for Summer, Hottest Pet-Safe Houseplants,Picking the Perfect Pumpkin, and Top essentials for a colorful spring garden.
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