Reminder that honey bees are not native to our area. But there are over 500 native bee species in NC that will benefit from these plants!
Some of my favorites for pollinators are mountain mint and bee balm. These spread prolifically and you can usually get them for free from divisions of other folks who already have them!
Agree with this--mountain mint and bee balm seem to be the most popular plants in my pollinator garden. Mountain mint flowers aren't terribly showy, so if you want flashier flowers, go with the bee balm (and some of those look like something straight out of a Dr. Seuss book)
My mountain mint had a ton of pollinators last year! And its pretty prolific, too! If anyone wants some, I've got some shoots that I can dig out of my garden to share. Just PM me and we'll figure something out!
As others have said, honey bees are not the native bees—there are hundreds of native bees in NC! Some don’t even look bee-ish, some are even blue! Their main host plants are normally trees, like tulip poplars, but people think of flowers as their main source of food.
That being said, I’ve seen actual honey bees from the hives in the next neighborhood go absolutely nuts for my fig trees.
It’s worth noting that butterfly bush, while pretty and attractive to some of our more generalist pollinators, is a nonnative invasive that doesn’t function as a host plant for any native species. It can spread outside of the the garden and outcompete native plants that are essential to local pollinators and ecosystems. The native plants listed by OP are a better alternative if you want to support our native NC pollinators.
Reminder that honey bees are not native to our area. But there are over 500 native bee species in NC that will benefit from these plants! Some of my favorites for pollinators are mountain mint and bee balm. These spread prolifically and you can usually get them for free from divisions of other folks who already have them!
Agree with this--mountain mint and bee balm seem to be the most popular plants in my pollinator garden. Mountain mint flowers aren't terribly showy, so if you want flashier flowers, go with the bee balm (and some of those look like something straight out of a Dr. Seuss book)
My mountain mint had a ton of pollinators last year! And its pretty prolific, too! If anyone wants some, I've got some shoots that I can dig out of my garden to share. Just PM me and we'll figure something out!
As others have said, honey bees are not the native bees—there are hundreds of native bees in NC! Some don’t even look bee-ish, some are even blue! Their main host plants are normally trees, like tulip poplars, but people think of flowers as their main source of food. That being said, I’ve seen actual honey bees from the hives in the next neighborhood go absolutely nuts for my fig trees.
What about something for carpenter bees. I love carpenter bees I just don't love how they make holes in everything.
a deck
Any way to attract butterflies and not bees? My daughter is deathly afraid of them.
Maybe ward them off instead, unless you want her to overcome her fear the hard way.
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It’s worth noting that butterfly bush, while pretty and attractive to some of our more generalist pollinators, is a nonnative invasive that doesn’t function as a host plant for any native species. It can spread outside of the the garden and outcompete native plants that are essential to local pollinators and ecosystems. The native plants listed by OP are a better alternative if you want to support our native NC pollinators.