Last Updated on October 31, 2021 by Phil
Want to attract more pollinators to your yard? Here are the best plants to encourage wildlife into your garden.
Butterflies, bees and hummingbirds are just some of the popular animals that people love welcoming to their gardens. That’s because these tend to help with pollination to keep your garden looking beautiful and healthy.
So, if you want to get more of these creatures to come, here are some plants to grow.
Best Plants to Encourage Wildlife into Your Garden
Aster
Butterflies and bees love asters. As such, they’re a great addition to your garden if you want more bees and butterflies to visit your yard.
Asters are long-lived perennials that many people like used in cut flower arrangements as well.
They feature a few lovely colors including purple, pink, white and blue which make them bring color and beauty to any flower bed.
To let them grow their best, you want to position them where they get full sun. Ideally, plant them in rich, well-draining soil that’s neutral or acidic.
They are hardy to USDA zones 3 to 8 which makes them a good choice for many regions.
Dahlia
If you need something taller to fill the back of beds or borders, consider dahlias. These lovely flowers feature large blossoms and stand on tall stems.
They can grow up to 6 feet tall and stand out on the rear with other shorter blooms in front.
Like asters, they attract pollinators like bees and butterflies to your garden.
And, because they’re late season bloomers that either begin in the end of summer or during fall, they’re perfect for bringing color to your yard when spring and early summer blooms fade.
There are over 20,000 dahlia varieties. These come in a wide variety of shapes and colors. The latter include pink, white, purple, red, yellow and orange.
Mexican Bush Sage
Mexican bush sage or Salvia leucantha ranks among the best plants to encourage wildlife into your garden ad they’ll bring more hummingbirds, butterflies and other pollinators there.
These are lovely evergreen shrubs with bright colored flowers that last long.
Like dahlias, they bloom late in the summer. And, they’ve got some height to them reaching up to 4 feet high.
Mexican bush sage grow all year round outdoors in USDA Hardiness Zones 8 to 11.
Dandelion
Dandelions are not only beautiful looking flowers but they’re also edible and nutrition. In fact, you can make recipes with them. Check out the internet and you’ll find lots of different culinary uses.
When it comes to attracting wildlife to your garden, they bring bumblebees, honeybees, beetles, hoverflies and moths. The latter is beneficial if you have night blooming flowers since these creatures pollinate those plants after dark.
Sunflower
Tall, bright and attractive, sunflower are known not only for their stunning looks but also for their seeds. Birds love the nectar of these big beautiful blooms.
In the fall, you can expect lots of wildlife to come visit as sunflowers will give away their seeds.
As you probably already know, this flower gets its name because it turns towards the sun. As such, it requires full sun to achieve ifs amazing appearance.
It is also very easy to grow since it is hardy to USDA zones 2 through 11, which covers almost all the regions in the country.
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Morning Glory
Morning glory feature some amazing looking blooms of different colors. Their unique looks make this annual vine a great addition to any pollinator garden.
You can choose from all sorts of colors including pink, blue, purple and white.
They are most fragrant in the morning when they open up. And, they attract all sorts of pollinators including butterflies and hummingbirds.
The one thing to consider is that they self-seed. As such, they can be invasive depending on where you live. However, it is also the way by while many of them which grow as annuals (except in warm climates) to keep growing year after year.
Last year’s plants will drop seeds allowing new plants to grow from them.
Violet
Some butterflies and birds are attracted to the nectar of violets. Violets or Viola come in a wide array of varieties. All in all, there are over 500 different species.
A such, you can decide which ones you have in your garden.
Violets are non toxic. This makes them safe for yards where your kids and pets run around.
They are likewise small flowers that only get to about 10 inches tall.
But, you do get lovely colors from them including violet, blue, white, yellow and some multi-colored ones.
Violets are hardy to USDA zones 3 to 8. They bloom in the spring or fall although sometimes during both periods.
The get the most of out them, plant in acidic soil that’s rich in organic matter. Make sure it is well-draining as well.
Sedge
Often, when people talk about attracting wildlife to your garden, they think about big, blooming flowers because of the nectar. But, that’s not the only reason why pollinators come around.
In fact, sedge grasses are able to produce the same results. As such, they’re a great addition for pollinator gardens or if you want to attract more wildlife to your backyard.
Geraniums
Geraniums are among the best plants to encourage wildlife into your garden as these will bring butterflies and hummingbirds.
These lovely plants come in many different varieties. But, they do feature many similar characteristics.
Geraniums are short flowering perennials. They have smaller blooms which make them beautiful to look at when grown as a dense carpet. This lets you enjoy many flowers with a green backdrop.
You can choose from pink, purple, blue and white colors.
They do like moist, well-drained soil. And, ideally, you should let them receive full sun. Although they can tolerated part shade as well.
Grevilleas
Grevilleas are beautiful looking plants that come from Australia. As such, they enjoy hot, dry conditions.
That said, their unique looking blooms produce nectar that are many bees, butterflies and birds are attracted to. Insects also use this as a food source.
As such, adding them to your garden not only incorporates something different that’s stunning to look at but also brings wildlife there.
