Marietta Daisies Garden Club

Katryn Taylor
Aug 8
6 min read

Pollinator Garden Tutorial

by Katryn Taylor

Planting for Butterflies, Bees, Hummingbirds & Migration

A successful pollinator garden is more than a collection of pretty flowers.

It is a living habitat that provides the four things pollinators need most:

food, water, shelter and places to reproduce.

For a Georgia garden, the best approach is to combine native host plants with nectar-rich flowering plants and companion herbs and flowers. By choosing plants that bloom at different times, your garden can support pollinators from early spring through fall migration.

The Golden Rule of Pollinator Gardening

Plant it. Let it bloom. Let it be eaten. Let it reproduce.

A beautiful ornamental garden is designed primarily for people.

A pollinator garden is designed for the entire life cycle of wildlife.

The goal isn't simply to attract a butterfly long enough to photograph it.

The goal is to give that butterfly a place to:

Feed → Find a Mate → Lay Eggs → Raise Caterpillars → Transform → Fly Away → Return

And when your garden provides those resources year after year, it becomes more than a flower bed.

It becomes a habitat.

1. Understand the Two Jobs Plants Do

When planning a butterfly garden, remember that adult butterflies and caterpillars need different plants.

Host Plants = Raise the Next Generation

Host plants are the plants where butterflies lay their eggs and where caterpillars feed.

Examples:

Butterfly	Native Host Plants
Monarch	Milkweeds (Asclepias)
Black Swallowtail	Native parsley, Golden Alexanders, Fennel*
Eastern Tiger Swallowtail	Tulip tree, Wild Cherry, Sweetbay Magnolia
Spicebush Swallowtail	Spicebush, Sassafras
Gulf Fritillary	Native passionflower
Pearl Crescent	Native asters
Painted Lady	Asters, thistles and other host plants
Spring Azure	Native blueberry and other host plants

Important: Some commonly sold garden plants are excellent butterfly plants but are not native. For a conservation garden, prioritize native species whenever possible.

**Fennel is a useful butterfly plant but is not native to Georgia.*

2. Nectar Plants Feed Adult Pollinators

Marietta Daisies is working hard to apply these methods to our pollinator garden at

Park on Polk.

Adult butterflies, bees and other pollinators need nectar.

Choose plants with different bloom periods so that something is flowering throughout the growing season.

Spring

Golden Alexander
Native phlox
Columbine
Wild geranium
Blueberry
Mountain mint

Summer

Coneflower
Black-eyed Susan
Bee balm
Blazing star
Coreopsis
Buttonbush
Butterfly weed
Native mountain mint

Late Summer & Fall

Native asters
Goldenrod
Joe-Pye weed
Ironweed
Swamp sunflower
Mistflower
Cardinal flower

Fall flowers are especially important. They provide critical fuel for butterflies, bees and other insects preparing for winter or migration.

3. Build the Garden in Layers

The variety of these layers amazingly already exist in the forest landscape.

We are slowly adding the plantings for each season as our Marietta Daisies Pollinator garden evolves.

Think of your pollinator garden as a small ecosystem

rather than a flower bed.

Upper Layer

Provides height, shelter and sometimes butterfly host plants.

Consider:

Tulip poplar
Sweetbay magnolia
Serviceberry
Eastern red cedar
Native cherry

Middle Layer

Spicebush
Buttonbush
Beautyberry
Viburnum
Ninebark

Flower Layer

Coneflower
Black-eyed Susan
Bee balm
Asters
Goldenrod
Coreopsis
Blazing star

Ground Layer

Native violets
Woodland phlox
Sedges
Native ground covers

This layered design gives pollinators food, shelter and

habitat at different heights.

4. Add Companion Plants

Companion plants can make a pollinator garden more useful—and more beautiful.

Herbs

Many culinary herbs are excellent nectar sources when allowed to flower:

Oregano
Thyme
Lavender
Chives
Mint
Basil
Rosemary

Regular parsley (flat-leaf or curly) is a prized larval host plant for the Eastern Black Swallowtail butterfly in Georgia. Female butterflies lay eggs directly on the foliage, and the striped caterpillars feed on the leaves. It thrives in Georgia's climate when given morning sun and afternoon shade, and pairs well with nectar-rich companion plants.

*Summer Watering at Marietta Daisies POP's Garden photo by Katryn Taylor*

Instead of harvesting every flower, allow portions of your herbs to bloom.

Companion Flowers

Combine herbs with:

Zinnias
Marigolds
Calendula
Sunflowers
Cosmos
Nasturtiums
Celosia

These can provide additional nectar and extend the flowering season.

A note for a native-focused garden: Use these as supporting plants rather than replacements for native species.

5. Create a Monarch Migration

Station Monarchs need special consideration because their life cycle involves migration.

The most important plant is milkweed, because monarch caterpillars can only develop

on milkweed.

Plant several milkweed species when appropriate for your area.

For Georgia, potential native choices include:

Butterfly milkweed (Asclepias tuberosa)
Swamp milkweed (Asclepias incarnata)
Whorled milkweed (Asclepias verticillata)
Common milkweed (Asclepias syriaca)

Planting several species can extend the availability of milkweed and increase habitat diversity.

But don't stop at milkweed.

Adult monarchs also need nectar plants, particularly during migration.

Plant late-season nectar sources such as:

Goldenrod
Asters
Mistflower
Ironweed
Joe-Pye weed
Swamp sunflower

Think of your garden as a rest stop on the migration highway.

6. Make a Butterfly "Fuel Station"

Butterflies need more than flowers.

Create several small habitat features.

Marietta Daisies has accomplished this in two sections of their Butterfly garden plan at Park on Polk, POP's garden.

Water

Add a shallow butterfly puddling area.

Use:

A shallow dish
Sand
Small stones
Soil
Water

Keep it damp rather than creating a deep pool.

Butterflies are attracted to the minerals and moisture found in damp soil.

Sun

Most butterflies prefer sunny areas.

Place your nectar garden where it receives approximately 6 hours of sunlight when possible.

Resting Areas

Add:

Flat stones
Logs
Branches
Small dead limbs
Butterfly house ( A feature in the Marietta Daisies pollinator garden)

Butterflies use sunny surfaces for basking and warming their wings.

Shelter

Don't make the entire garden perfectly manicured.

Leave some:

Leaf litter
Hollow stems
Seed heads
Fallen branches

These provide overwintering habitat for insects.

7. Plant for the Butterfly Life Cycle

A true butterfly garden should support every stage of the butterfly's life.

Egg

Host plants

↓

Caterpillar

Leaves from host plants

↓

Chrysalis

Sheltered vegetation and garden habitat

↓

Adult Butterfly

Nectar flowers

↓

Reproduction

Host plants for the next generation. This is why a garden filled exclusively with nectar flowers isn't necessarily a complete butterfly habitat.

8. Native Plant + Pollinator Pairings

Here are some easy combinations for a Georgia pollinator garden.

Spicebush

Supports: Spicebush Swallowtail Companion plants: Asters, mountain mint, goldenrod

Butterfly Milkweed

Supports: Monarchs Companion plants: Coneflower, black-eyed Susan, blazing star

Passionflower

Supports: Gulf Fritillary Companion plants: Native asters, coneflower and goldenrod

Golden Alexander

Supports: Black Swallowtail Companion plants: Coreopsis, bee balm and asters

Buttonbush

Supports: Bees, butterflies and other pollinators Companion plants: Swamp milkweed, cardinal flower and Joe-Pye weed

Asters

Supports: Numerous late-season pollinators Companion plants: Goldenrod, ironweed and native grasses

9. A Simple 10 × 10 Pollinator Garden

For a small garden, try this basic structure:

Back row

1 Buttonbush
1 Spicebush
2–3 Swamp milkweed

Middle

3 Coneflowers
3 Black-eyed Susans
3 Blazing stars
3 Bee balm

Front

3 Butterfly milkweed
3 Coreopsis
3 Asters
2 Native violets

Herb companions

Oregano
Chives
Thyme
Mint
Parsley

10. Create a Migration Calendar

A great educational feature for a garden club or school garden is a

Pollinator Migration Calendar.

This will be a goal for our next years addition to the garden. It will also be added to the Educational Curriculum already being executed for this project.

Early Spring

Garden goal: Wake up the garden.

Look for:

Early bees
Spring butterflies
Swallowtails

Provide early-blooming native plants.

Late Spring

Garden goal: Build population.

Plant and maintain:

Host plants
Milkweed
Native flowering plants

Watch for eggs and caterpillars.

Summer

Garden goal: Raise the next generation.

Don't remove caterpillar-damaged leaves!

Chewed leaves are evidence that the garden is working.

Late Summer–Fall

Garden goal: Fuel migration.

Increase:

Asters
Goldenrod
Ironweed
Mistflower
Joe-Pye weed
Sunflowers

This is especially important for migrating monarchs.

Winter

Garden goal: Protect habitat.

Resist the urge to cut everything down.

Leave:

Seed heads
Hollow stems
Leaf litter
Standing plant material

Many beneficial insects spend the winter in these materials.

11. The "Don't Spray" Rule

A pollinator garden and broad-spectrum pesticide use don't mix well.

Instead of trying to create a garden without insects, remember:

A pollinator garden is supposed to have insects.

Caterpillars chewing leaves are not necessarily a problem—they may be exactly what you planted the garden to support.

Use an integrated pest management approach and avoid unnecessary pesticide applications, especially when flowers are actively attracting pollinators.