I had no intention of adding another section to the Wild Side had I not been handed two wonderful booklets from the David Suzuki Foundation about wildflowers attracting pollinators. Bees, birds, bugs and the likes seeking out wildflowers for a noonday snack.
I opened with : ‘Native plants provide seed and berries for birds and nectar and pollen for insects like bees and butterflies.’
Here it is in a nutshell:
-- Wild strawberries: small white flowers found in clusters developing into red and juicy buds after pollination. Bees and butterflies collect pollen and nectar from them.
-- Chokecherries and wild black cherries: Round white petals. They grow in a variety of soils. Attract bees, butterflies, beetles and flies.
-- Columbine: Large red nodding flower. They attract the usual suspects plus especially hummingbirds.
-- Pussy willow: a Spring favorite. Butterflies go for the nectar; bees go for whatever nectar is available at the time.
-- Anemone: Large white or greenish flower. The pollen attracts many types of bees.
-- Goldenrod: Yellow flowers ‘in curved, one-sided clusters’. And this quote: “Goldenrods are thought (by some) to cause hay fever but this is not true. Ragweed is the common culprit.”
There are many more wild plants mentioned, which makes a good, interesting read. Most can be grown by seed.
Author’s comment: That’s only half the story. The other booklet is a guide to common pollinators, ones found in the both the European Union and North America. This will come in Part Four. Stick with it. Breakfast under the trees provided by members of The Woodbridge Horticultural Society.