The One Plant Swap to Make on Earth Day to Transform Your Garden Into a Wildlife-Friendly Haven
This Earth Day, do pollinators a favor and swap your sterile plants for nectar-rich alternatives
In our hectic lives, we spend so much time in pursuit of perfection – a picture-perfect home, say, or a Pinterest-worthy garden – that we can forget about what really matters. Earth Day is an antidote: a welcome reminder to slow down, connect with nature, and commit to a few small changes to help protect the environment.
With this in mind, there is one plant swap you can make if you're looking to create a wildlife garden: replacing sterile cultivars with nectar-rich plants.
You might be keen to stock up on plants that won't self-seed, but this leaves bees, butterflies and other insects with a distinct lack of feeding sources. While sterile cultivars promise to keep your garden neat and free of weeds, a tidy yard can, in fact, be rather detrimental to pollinators – and prioritizing nectar-rich flowers can make all the difference.
Article continues belowWhy Replace Sterile Cultivars?
No gardener wants to spend their spare time digging up fast-growing weeds, so it's only natural to seek out sterile cultivars.
Since they produce almost no viable seeds, these specially-bred species provide manageable alternatives to traditionally invasive plants, helping you to maintain a neat and tidy yard.
For all their logistical (and aesthetic) benefits, however, sterile cultivars have one crucial drawback: they do virtually nothing to support pollinators.
Of course, a lack of nectar and pollen is ideal for anyone with spring allergies, but it also means that insects will miss out on vital feeding sources, and many other wildlife species will be less inclined to visit your garden.
Sterile cultivars might be bred to look good, but they often have no viable pollen or nectar, which prevents pollinators like bees, butterflies, or hummingbirds from feeding on them.
Above all, a pollinator garden needs a variety of nectar-rich plants that can support wildlife all year round.
By prioritizing sterile cultivars, you might ensure that your garden is orderly and fuss-free, but you'll miss out on the buzzing, lively feel of a teeming pollinator haven – and you'll end up with a much weaker ecosystem.
What to Plant Instead of Sterile Cultivars
With all of this in mind, the best plants for pollinators are those that provide plenty of nectar and pollen – especially at this time of year, when many flowers aren't blooming just yet.
Swapping out even a few sterile plants for nectar-rich alternatives can have a huge impact on your garden, helping to attract not only insects but birds and other wildlife.
When it comes to choosing plants, there are a few classic options, from Grosso lavender (which you can find at Burpee) to native purple coneflowers, like these from Plant Addicts and May Night salvia, which you can shop at Fast Growing Trees.
Coneflowers are one of the easiest swaps to make; they are hardy and low-maintenance, and they're especially popular among bees. Wildflowers like goldenrod and black-eyed susan are also ideal, especially since they bloom all summer and through fall.
In fact, timing is a particularly important consideration: while you'll want to provide early-blooming plants which can support wildlife right now, you'll also need to incorporate flowers that bloom later in the year.
'I try to ensure that something is blooming from early spring through the end of summer,' reflects Dr Anne Leonard, bee expert and Professor of Biology at the University of Nevada, Reno. 'It's all about providing a variety of options, and counting on my neighbors to also make thoughtful choices about their gardens.'
Anne Leonard has been a professor in the Department of Biology at the University of Nevada, Reno since 2012. Originally from Berkeley, California, she began her study of animal behavior while an undergraduate at Brown University. After receiving her Ph.D. from the University of California, Davis, she received an NIH PERT postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Arizona and the Darwin Fellowship to study bee and spider behavior at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst.
Even the plants that you might be inclined to remove from your yard can be vital for pollinators. Take cowslips and dandelions: they might be viewed as the enemy, but 'weeds' like these are a rare food source that pollinators can rely on during the earliest days of spring.
Unlike specially-bred species, these flowers are inherently useful for wildlife – even if they can look a little unruly.
'In my own garden, I watch carefully to see what plants bees visit most and try to put in more of them,' says Dr Leonard. 'A larger patch to visit makes it even more appealing to pollinators.'
Shop Pollinator-Friendly Garden Essentials
Milkweed is another crucial pollinator-friendly plant. It is particularly beloved by butterflies, and it's a brilliant plant for birds.
This set of four flower stands can be filled with water for bees, butterflies, and even birds to drink from and bathe in.
From butterflies to ladybugs, this charming wooden house will provide refuge for plenty of insects. You can hang it from tree branches or mount it on a wall.
If you're looking for more Earth Day inspiration, check out our guide to creating a pollinator pit stop, or stocking up on aromatic plants to attract wildlife.
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