I’ve planted a variety of nectar-rich native flowers. How else can I attract bees and butterflies to my garden?
You can offer pollinators a drink. Bees drink water to help with digestion. Nurse bees need water to create royal jelly to feed the larvae. During summer, honeybees keep cool by adding water to their hive and fanning it with their wings. Place a shallow container of water at ground level shaded by nearby flowers. Pollinators need to drink without getting their feet wet. Fill the container with rocks or small sticks that sit above the water creating islands for the bees to land on. Change the water often. Capital naturalist Alonso Abugattas Jr. suggests using mosquito dunks to control unwanted larvae but not harm bees or other insects. Avoid letting the bee bath dry out. The bees will find a new source and it may be difficult to lure them back. Bees are faithful to their water source so setting up your bee bath in spring is ideal.
Butterflies suck up water from wet mud. This behavior called puddling also provides salts and minerals needed by butterflies to attract mates and to egg-laying. You can create a natural puddling area by digging a shallow depression in a sunny area near flowers. Line it with plastic weed barrier for durability. Cover it with 1-2 inches of soil and add water to create a wet mud. Place rocks in it to serve as landing and basking spots. Keep it moist by hand watering or placing it near drip irrigation. If you don’t have room for a puddling area, make a puddling station by filling a small dish with sand and compost and adding water to create wet mud. Place it in a depression in the ground or even on a pedestal so you can enjoy the visiting pollinators.
I want to enjoy my garden in the evening when I get home from work. What do you suggest?
Plant a moon garden! Now is the time to plan how your garden will look and smell at night. Choose plants that reflect moonlight to create a space that feels magical. Look for flowers and foliage in the white and silver color palette. In early spring, consider Galanthus or snowdrops, white tulips, or creeping phlox, Phlox subulata. Fragrant lily of the valley, Convallaria majalis, can scent the evening air. Artist Claude Monet used a white theme in his spring garden in Giverny by lining the border with white narcissus under the snowy blossoms of a plum tree. Summer blooms of sweet alyssum, Lobularia maritima, and white varieties of petunia and cleome will add varying heights. White blooms layered with colorful flowers will keep your garden vibrant during the day yet mystical at night. The rich scent of the night bloomer Gardenia jasminoides can evoke a sense of tranquility. The morning glory sibling, the giant moonflower, Ipomoea alba, is a prized heirloom. Opening around dusk, huge trumpet-shaped luminous flowers deliver a sweet fragrance attracting moth pollinators. By dawn, the flower fades. This climbing vine may grow to 20 feet and will need the of a trellis. An autumn moon garden can showcase white chrysanthemums or even white eggplant, Solanum melongena, and white pumpkin, Cucurbita maxima.
A container with foliage accents of the trailing silver falls, Dichondra argentea, mixed with the texture of ornamental kale and sweet blooms of Hymenocallis, the spider lily, will offer a fragrant evening respite. Accent with soft lighting, wind chimes or a reflective gazing ball for the ultimate moon garden experience.
Emperor Babur in the 16th century built a moon garden across from the Taj Mahal. Can you grow one on Capitol Hill?
Gardening advice from the Capitol Hill Garden Club. Send your questions to [email protected].
Want to learn more about gardening or spend time with people who like plants? Attend the next Capitol Hill Garden Club meeting on Tuesday, March 11 at 6:30 PM, at Northeast Library, 330 7th St. NE.
