Attracting More Pollinators to Your Garden

From the time a seed gets its appropriate space to flourish, to the time it blossoms, everything makes a garden beautiful and full of life. In this process, pollination plays a very important role. It is the process of fertilization in plants, in which the pollen grains are transferred to the female part with the help of various aboitic and biotic agents.

You cannot attract abiotic pollinators like wind and water but you can follow some tips on how to attract biotic pollinators to your garden. There are around 200,000 varieties of biotic pollinators and some of the most common ones are hummingbirds, bats, moths, bees, beetles, flies, butterflies, etc.

Here, you will learn how to attract pollinators to your garden which will help you to get the best varieties of flowers throughout the years.

Pollinators help in the process of fertilization and many plants do not produce fruits and seeds without the process of pollination. So, in order to get the plants pollinated, you need pollinators.

As pollinators are of different species and varieties, you need to first think about the kind of pollinator you want to attract in your garden. The following points will help you with some tips on attracting more pollinators to your garden.

You don't need to fill a lot of water hence, take a big but shallow container. You can use deicer for the winters to prevent the water from freezing. In summers, these water containers will be of great use as thirsty birds and insects will take a halt at your garden for sure.

Some pollinators like male butterflies love to linger around puddles. You can make small puddles in your garden or can just place a basin with some sand, gravel and water in it. If you already have a pond then don't worry at all as you are already attracting a lot of pollinators.

Researches show that native plants attract four times more native pollinators than other exotic plants. Native plants are a rich food source which help the pollinators to survive and stay in your garden for a long time. It's not that you have to plant just the native ones. Try to get more of the native varieties than the exotic ones.

We can say that attracting a pollinator is all about selecting the appropriate plants. In the previous mentioned point, we have seen how important it is to go for native varieties but even then you need to select the plants very carefully.

Try to get a diversity of plants in your garden which keep flowering through the year. You can get plants which blossom in summer, spring, fall, or any of the other seasons according to their life cycle. This will help your garden to blossom throughout the year.

There are many flowers which look attractive to us but we have to decide the flowers keeping the pollinators in mind. You need to have colors that attract pollinators to your yard. Blue and yellow are among the most attractive colors that attract bees to your garden.

Similarly, different colors look attractive to different pollinators. Hence, choose colors according to the pollinators you want to attract in your garden. The shape of the flower also plays an important role in complementing the color and attracting pollinators.

This will not only attract more pollinators but will also improve the look of your garden. Try to make these clumps four feet or more in diameter.

Some farmers and gardeners provide special nesting sites for the pollinators in order to improve their productivity. You can also provide them with the log of a dead tree or long pipes or tubes, on which they can start nesting. Shelter is also an important point to keep in mind.

Provide some shelter which may help the pollinators to protect themselves from the sun, wind, rain, etc. It is a fact that the population of the pollinators is decreasing across the globe. So by giving them a nesting place you will also help in maintaining the balance of the ecosystem.

Pesticides are used for pest control but sometimes these pesticides may also result in the death of the pollinators. So, try to avoid the usage of pesticides as far as possible. If necessary, start with the least toxic pesticide and follow the instructions given on the label. Avoid using them when the pollinators are present which is usually in the morning.

These are some of the most important ways to attract pollinators to your yard. These small creatures can create wonders in your garden.

So, just follow the given points to see the magic of these pollinators and enjoy the beauty of your garden throughout the year.