Member Report: Pollinator Garden

 Ellen Jessee sent these photos of her Pollinator garden.  Send us photos if you also have a native plant or pollinator garden!! 

Photo by Ellen Jessee

I have been working on a native plant garden around my patio for several years hoping to attract butterflies, adding plants when I can find them for sale.  A few butterflies have arrived as seen in the photos, a Skipper, a Greater Fritillary, a Tiger Swallowtail, and a Zebra Swallowtail. I have also seen a number of Garden Whites (no photo).  So far I have seen more bees than butterflies.

Photo by Ellen Jessee

In the photos of the entire garden, the first was taken when my 6 Butterfly Weeds (Asclepius tuberosa) were in bloom.  The second photo is later when various cultivars of my Coneflowers (Echinacea sp.) are blooming - purple, red, and white ones) and a purple Verbena sp.  You can still see one Butterfly Weed blooming.  To the far left you can see Coreopsis lanceolata and in the lower right there is a Green & Gold (Chrysogonum virginianum) still blooming.  I'm amazed how long that Green & Gold plant blooms - it's been blooming since April.  Also blooming but not seen in the photo are Mountain Mint (Pycnanthemum muticum) and Liatris sp.

Photo by Ellen Jessee: Zebra Swallowtail on Purple coneflower

Plants in the garden that have already bloomed include Columbine (Aquilegia canadensis), Fire pink (Silene virginica), Wild Petunia (Ruellia caroliniensis) and Spigella sp.

Photo by Ellen Jessee: Tiger swallowtail on Butterfly Weed

Plants in the garden that will bloom later include a dwarf variety of Joe-Pye Weed (Eupatorium sp.), Common Milkweed (Asclepius syriaca), Swamp Milkweed (Asclepius incarnata), Great Blue Lobelia (Lobelia siphilitica), Orange Coneflower (Rudbeckia fulgida), Maryland Golden Aster (Chrysopsis mariana), and Pink Turtlehead (Chelone sp.)

Photo by Ellen Jessee: Greater Frittirlary on Butterfly Weed 

Photo by Ellen Jessee: Skipper on Butterfly Weed