If you want to invite hummingbirds and bees to your garden, then check out these Container Garden Ideas that Attract Pollinators.
Pollinators like bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds boost fruit and vegetable production. You can support their population even with limited space by planting nectar-rich flowers in containers. Creating a pollinator-friendly balcony garden is simple—just group a few pots to create a cluster of nectar-filled blooms. To start, choose a container that can hold a mix of single-petal plants with various heights and growth patterns. Ensuring that their flowering season spans from spring to fall. Position the container near a bench or porch where you can watch pollinators visit and enjoy their buzzing activity. Below are six Container Garden Ideas that Attract Pollinators and are perfect for brightening up your space while contributing to a healthier ecosystem.
Container Garden Ideas that Attract Pollinators
1. Grow Tube-Shaped Perennials to Invite Hummingbirds
To attract hummingbirds to your garden, plant a container with a vivid mix of red, orange, and bright pink tube-shaped flowers. For consistent color, opt for plants that bloom from spring through fall, which will keep the hummingbirds coming back.
Consider filling the container with Salvia ‘Mystic Spires,’ red and purple verbena (Verbena canadensis), and coral and raspberry autumn sage (Salvia greggii).
2. Offer Host Plants for Butterflies
You can contribute to the growth of butterfly populations by planting “host” plants that serve as food sources for caterpillars. Herbs that attract butterflies also act as magnets for many species of egg-laying female butterflies. This repurposed galvanized washtub with drainage holes contains a variety of these butterfly-friendly plants.
You can add flat-leaf parsley, verbena, white coneflower, hibiscus, sedum, curly parsley, and rudbeckia. These host plants not only offer a variety of textures and colors but also play a critical role in supporting the butterfly life cycle.
3. Select Bright Colored Container Plants for Butterflies
To invite butterflies into your garden, plant a container filled with long-blooming, daisy-shaped flowers. Include butterfly-friendly plants like delphinium, ‘Queen Victoria’ salvia, red verbena, and coreopsis to offer nourishment and resting spots for these delicate insects.
Generally, butterflies are drawn to brightly colored flowers in shades of red, orange, yellow, pink, purple, and blue. They also tend to prefer flowers with flat “landing pads,” like coreopsis, where they can comfortably perch while feeding.
4. Add Bee Friendly Balcony Plants
If you aim to design a pollinator garden that attracts butterflies and bees, it’s essential to include a variety of nectar-rich flowers. The more of these plants you have in your container, the more likely you are to attract beautiful butterflies and other intriguing insects.
By including blue, pink, and red cornflowers, Spanish lavender, blanket flowers, and baby’s breath, you’ll create a pleasant feast for bees and butterflies. This diverse mix of colors and species will ensure that your garden is buzzing with activity.
5. Include Dill
Dill is a popular host plant for the Eastern Black Swallowtail, a butterfly commonly seen across much of North America. It is easy to grow from seed and combines well with other plants like salvia, dianthus, and calibrachoa. Adding dill to your garden not only attracts these butterflies but also enhances your landscape with its feathery texture and green color. Planting these companions together creates a harmonious and butterfly-friendly garden.
6. Make a Complete Territory
An effective pollinator garden plan combines visual appeal with plant diversity that attracts and supports a variety of pollinators. By using a large container, like a washtub, you can create a garden that both looks great and serves a practical purpose.
Plants like Buddleja, Rudbeckia, calibrachoa, ageratum, and Aster create a showy arrangement while providing food, shelter, and breeding grounds for many pollinator species. This is a fantastic way to cater to a range of pollinator species.
7. A Pollinator-Friendly Window Flower Box
A large window box offers many opportunities for gardeners with limited space. Picture yourself enjoying the intricate dances of pollinators from your kitchen window or a cozy armchair.
Also Read: Bad Plants For Bees, Butterflies, and Pollinators
