Attracting bees and butterflies to a garden is more than just planting the right flowers.

On Tuesday, New Hampshire Master Gardener Ruth Droescher gave a presentation at Temple Town Hall, in a talk hosted by Mansfield Public Library, on how to create a garden that provides not just pollen and nectar for pollinators, but creates a true habitat for them.

“What we’ve realized is that there’s a lot more to it than just feeding them,” Droescher said. “We want to create a hospitable area.”

Since about 80 percent of plants – including food sources for people – require pollination, it’s in people’s best interest to provide that hospitable area, Droescher said, not only for butterflies and bees, but other less-known pollinators, including hummingbirds, moths, beetles, wasps, ants and flies.

Food sources are only a part of that puzzle, Droescher said. In order to create a space where pollinators don’t just visit, but settle to breed the next generation, gardeners should also provide water in pollinator-safe ways, in shelter areas and nesting places.

For shelter, Droescher said where it’s possible, it’s fine to leave a “some mess” – tall grasses, sandy areas for burrowing bees, snags or stumps. For those with larger properties, Droescher said if there is an unused area that could be framed with hedgerows, ramble plants such as blackberries and fall leaves left on the ground that can create habitat.

Pollinators need water, and many birdbath type features are unsuitable, Droescher said. Shallow, plate-like features with landing spaces such as rocks or sand allow pollinators to land and drink. To prevent mosquitoes from breeding, replace the water at least once a week.

To attract hummingbirds, invest in a feeder, typically in red, which attracts them, and fill it with a sugar water mixture, which can be made by adding four cups of water for every cup of sugar, boiled. Droescher cautioned to keep feeders clean, to prevent illness.

For the plants in the garden itself, Droescher encouraged gardeners to consider native options whenever possible. While honeybees are often a poster child for pollination, Droescher said they were imported with colonists to produce honey crops. There are far more native bees, and they are more efficient pollinators, and they both like and get more nutrition out of native plants.

If people are getting rid of invasive plants, Droescher cautioned to look for plants that fill a similar niche. For example, Droescher said those that are looking to replace a Japanese barberry, an invasive which produces a lot of red berries, replace it with a native that also produces a lot of fruit, such as a blueberry bush.

Droescher recommended planting clusters of the same flower together, particularly those attractive to pollinators, to preserve their energy in food-gathering. Droescher pointed out this can be a tactic for a full garden or a window box, but for those that have the space, they can also plant a wildflower meadow – which can take up to three years.

Droescher cautioned against buying mixed-seed packets, which are often sold with seeds that need varying conditions and may not be suitable for a New England environment at all.

To make a pollinator meadow, till an area away from pesticide use, with open space and full sun, mix seed with a carrier and dampen it and scatter the seeds in sections to ensure uniform density, roll or press the seed into   the soil and cover with a thin layer of straw. It doesn’t need to be watered, fertilized or composted.

Ashley Saari can be reached at 603-924-7172, Ext. 244 or asaari@ledgertranscript.com. She’s on Twitter @AshleySaariMLT.

 

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