Advanced master gardener Michele MacKinnon led the Garden Club of Newtown’s recent program, “Pollinator-Perfect Gardens,” at the C.H. Booth Library on February 25.

More than 40 people attended the free afternoon session to get advice from MacKinnon, a professional garden writer, consultant, and speaker, who tends to her own bountiful garden at her home in Sherman.

“I started gardening in Connecticut in 2005, but I had basically been born in a cabbage patch,” MacKinnon said when she introduced herself to the audience. “I grew up on a farm, and we had a huge vegetable garden that we counted on to help us survive.”

Today, she is mindful to keep the needs of pollinators at the forefront of her garden design, and actively plants to help all kinds of pollinators thrive.

During the presentation, she shared a variety of tips for picking the right garden plants and for proper planting methods in order to create positive environments for pollinators.

She also showcased many colorful photographs depicting pollinators visiting plants in her home garden as proof that these instructions can indeed work and reap the benefits of many pollinator sightings.

Pollinator Needs

“Monarchs and honeybees are the poster children right now for pollinator decline. Whenever you see any advertising for an organization, you’ll often see those particular insects represented,” MacKinnon said. “When we think about pollinators and how we can help them, we really have to do more than just help the Monarchs and honeybees.”

In Connecticut alone, she reported, there are 249 species of native bees. That figure does not even include the well-known honeybee, which is native to Europe.

“When it comes to pollinators and plants, we have to take into account that the plant-pollinator connection is a very special one, and that’s because our insects and our plants have evolved together over centuries,” MacKinnon said.

There are universal elements that can make plants of “high value” for pollinators.

MacKinnon explained that host plants are important for pollinators, because they provide places of shelter. Also, plants that provide nectar (a carbohydrate) and pollen (a protein) are valuable food sources.

Types Of Plants

Since certain pollinators prefer some plants over others, it is beneficial to have a diversified garden to appeal to a wide range of pollinators.

During the presentation, MacKinnon discussed plants for pollinators in seasonal order to “illustrate how our pollinators need food from the time they wake up in the spring to the time the last one goes to sleep in the fall.”

She added that with the weather being warmer than usual for this time of year, pollinators will be out early looking for food.

Among the first types of plants that can benefit pollinators are early spring bulbs, such as crocus and chionodoxa.

Also, suitable for springtime — as well as summer and fall — are alliums. The plant’s flat, round head makes for a nice landing platform for pollinators.

Baptisia, also known as False Indigo, has blooms from the bottom to the top of its spikes and can be a host plant for moths and butterflies; the variety called Solar Flare sends out flowers that change from lemon yellow to soft orange.

Bee balm (scientific name Monarda) is a big hit with hummingbirds, moths, and butterflies.

Those three pollinators also enjoy hardy coneflowers, which McKinnon described as a “pollinator powerhouse,” because they also draw in beetles, flies, and wasps.

When it comes time for summer, Agastache attracts many pollinators, including hummingbirds and goldfinches. Gardeners will be happy, too, since Agastache is in the mint family, and deer are known not to be fond of the fragrant perennial, the guest speaker pointed out.

Lastly, Asters and goldenrod are strong resources for pollinators at the end of the season, because the plants bloom when many other plants are done and have nectar high in amino acids.

“Scientists tell us that those amino acids are really critical for late-season pollinators who are still trying to lay eggs, like the monarch,” MacKinnon said.

Conference Research

In the latter half of the presentation, MacKinnon talked about research she heard at a pollinator conference last fall. She credited Adam Baker, a PhD candidate at the University of Kentucky, and his adviser, Dr Daniel Potter, for the monarch/milkweed research she shared during the program.

“What Adam discovered with common milkweed was that it was really great for attracting monarchs…” MacKinnon said. “They laid eggs that attached successfully, and it was also good at attracting bees. However, it spread somewhat aggressively so it’s not that suitable for a home garden.”

Some other forms of milkweed she touched upon were swamp milkweed that was good for egg-laying butterflies, was less attractive to bees, and was deemed to be suitable for home gardens; and butterfly milkweed, which proved to have a misleading name because it was not attractive to monarchs, but it did attract a variety of bees.

As for how to plant the milkweed, MacKinnon said, “Adam found that you have to separate out the milkweed in your garden. So instead of inter-planting it with a lot of perennials, the way I had done, it’s better if it stands alone and is just surrounded by mulch.”

Additional advice included planting milkweed on the perimeter of the garden to increase its visibility to pollinators, planting gardens in an area with open lines of sight, using a combination of milkweed species, and planting late season flowering plants to support monarch migration.

Reading Labels

MacKinnon emphasized that gardeners should be mindful of checking labels when purchasing plants, because anyone can put a picture of a butterfly or bee on a label to make it appear that it is geared towards pollinators, but it might not be true.

She explained that it is important to choose native species of perennials that grown from seeds, not clones, and are neonic- and insecticide-free. Avoid genetically modified plants and seeds, as well as labels that have the terms: sterile, long-blooming, or nonstop show.

“It’s too bad we have to work so hard to find out the right plants for pollinators, but that’s what it’s come down to,” MacKinnon said.

As for pollinator safety when maintaining plants, she advises avoiding pesticides/sprays and to not kill bugs.

“There’s a lot of insects that don’t create that much harm,” MacKinnon said before giving the example of seeing milkweed aphids in her garden that were soon eaten by ladybugs.

When ending her presentation with a Q&A session and prize giveaway, MacKinnon said, “Please bee good. Use pollinator perfect plants and bee smart. Plant them in ways of some of the techniques I shared with you today. In the end the pollinators will bee happy and so will you.”

To learn more about native host plants, Michele MacKinnon recommends visiting nwf.org/nativeplantfinder and nativeplanttrust.org or e-mailing her at beehappygardener@gmail.com. Those interested in joining the Garden Club of Newtown can e-mail thegardenclubofnewtown@yahoo.com.