Tips and tricks for creating a pollinator-friendly yard and garden
Get to Know the Lesser-known Pollinators in Your Garden
When we think of pollinators, bees and butterflies usually come to mind. While they are amazing at their job, and beautiful to see in our gardens, they aren’t the only ones transporting pollen.
Here are three groups of lesser-known pollinators to look for in your garden this year:
Flies
How they pollinate: Flies of all shapes, sizes and colours visit flowers for nectar and pollen. As they move between blooms, they transfer pollen from one flower to another. Because they are so abundant, flies are considered the second most important group of pollinators after the order hymenoptera, which includes bees and wasps.
Unique quirks: Flower flies, also known as hoverflies, are a family of flies that are great at pollination. Some species even have black and yellow colouring to mimic bees, like the transverse flower fly photographed above. Hoverflies have a single pair of broad, flat wings which distinguishes them from bees.
What they find attractive: Flies are particularly attracted to yellow, pink and white flowers as well as, blooms with strong or unusual scents. Plants with unique flowers, like jack-in-the-pulpit, red trillium and pawpaw, attract flies with a mild, rotting odour, usually undetectable by humans in the garden, except at a close range.
Beetles
How they pollinate: Before bees evolved, beetles were the main pollinators of plants. Beetles are especially attracted to flowers rich in pollen, which they feed on as they move through the garden. Any pollen these pollinators don’t eat may be carried to the next flower they visit.
Unique quirks: Beetles are messy eaters. Unlike bees, they often chew through flower parts while feeding on pollen leaving behind damaged petals.
What they find attractive: Beetles find flowers through sight and scent. They prefer white and green flowers, as well as flowers with spicy, sweet or musky fragrances. Look for beetles pollinating tulip trees, spicebushes and goldenrods.
Ants
How they pollinate: Compared to other insects, ants aren’t the most effective pollinators. Ants love to feed on the sweet nectar many plants produce. Occasionally, when getting a drink, some pollen may find its way onto the ant, which they they will spread on their journey to their next meal.
Unique quirks: Some plants, especially in more tropical areas, rely on ants for pollination. In our watershed, several native plants, such as bloodroot, depend on ants for reproduction beyond pollination. Learn more about how ants help plants spread seeds in our Caring for Your Yard column.
What they find attractive: Although ants may not be pollination powerhouses, they still play an important part in our ecosystem. In our watershed, ants are drawn to low-growing plants with flowers close to the stem, for example, wild strawberry and butterfly milkweed.
How Insects Benefit Your Garden
Ants, flies and beetles benefit gardens in many ways. Here are some ways they help and how we can support them in our yards:
Life Under the Soil
Many insects, including ants and beetles, spend much of their lives at soil level, digging tunnels and moving organic debris.
Garden benefit: These activities naturally aerate the soil and add nutrients that feed our plants.
How to help these insects: Avoid tilling and turning soil with a shovel as it can harm beneficial insects and damage the soil structure.
Pest Control
Let insects do the work for you.
Garden benefit: Many beneficial insects, including beetles and flower fly larvae, help keep garden pests such as aphids and scales under control by eating them.
How to help these insects: Plant native shrubs and wildflowers to attract beneficial insects. Avoid using pesticides and herbicides that can harm them.
Myremecochory
Some native plants, such as bloodroot and trillium, depend on ants to disperse their seeds, a partnership called myremecochory. Ants carry the seeds back to their nests, where the larvae will eat a specialized structure on the outer layer of the seed, then discard the seed. These discarded seeds will then establish in a new area.
Garden benefit: Ants create nests in leaf litter and woody debris, helping increase organic matter in your garden.
How to help these insects: Leave the leaves and create woodpiles in your garden to mimic natural habitats.
To encourage beneficial insects in your yard, plant a variety of native plants that will bloom throughout the season. Consult our native plant lists for inspiration.
White Meadowsweet
Spiraea alba
White meadowsweet (Spiraea alba) is sure to attract pollinators and birds to your yard.
Pollinators, such as flies and bees, will visit the delicate white flowers for nectar and pollen. Birds, such as the Indigo bunting, song sparrow and red-winged blackbird, will seek shelter, or even nest, within the mature, upright purplish-grey branches.
Care Notes
A member of the rose family, white meadowsweet grows naturally in swamps, wet meadows and along shorelines. While it prefers moist to wet soil of any type, it can withstand drought—although extra watering may be required during prolonged dry periods. Grow this plant in full sun in a rain or pollinator garden and avoid areas with heavy road salt exposure.
Remaining seed heads can add aesthetic interest and provide food for birds in the winter. Occasional pruning in early spring or summer after the flowers have finished can encourage more blooms the following year. The narrow green leaves of white meadowsweet turn yellow-green in the fall, adding a pop of colour to your yard in the cooler months.
A Summer Delight
A perennial shrub, white meadowsweet may be available at your local native plant nursery. In moist areas, consider planting grey dogwood, swamp milkweed or harlequin blue flag alongside it for a garden that will delight pollinators, birds and people alike. For more inspiration, consult our native plant lists for rain-ready and prairie and meadow landscapes.