Plants for Pollinators
Pollinators are all the buzz in any blooming garden. However, habitat loss is having a big impact on bees and other important pollinators. If you have an urban garden, farm, or have a general interest in rebuilding habitats for pollinators, you’ll want include plants in your landscape that provide good sources of pollen and nectar. Here are a few favorites that will get your customers’ yards buzzing:
Texas Sage, Leucophyllum langmaniae ‘Lynn’s Legacy’ is a bee magnet. When in bloom, this attractive shrub will vibrate with bee activity. This handsome shrub has striking silver foliage that is semi-evergreen with beautiful purple flowers for contrast. Texas sage looks great planted as a specimen or en masse and has a compact habit reaching 4’-5’ tall and wide.
Creeping Rosemary, Rosmarinus officinalis ‘Prostratus’ is another popular plant with the bees. This beautiful sprawling plant is evergreen, reaching ‘2-3’ tall and 4’-8’ wide. Late-winter and early-spring flowers invite the early hungry bees for a meal around the same time your fruit trees are blooming. Creeping rosemary looks beautiful as an alternative ground cover, spilling over in a container, or planted along retaining walls. Best of all, it is something we can eat and enjoy as well.
Graber’s Pyracantha, Pyracantha fortuneana ‘Graberi’ makes a beautiful specimen or windbreak in the landscape. This plant is popular all year long, as bees rush to it for its abundant white spring flowers, the flowers are followed by vibrant red berries in winter that birds absolutely love. This handscome plant is also evergreen, providing you with interest in the winter months.
