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JOIN US THIS SATURDAY MORNING

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GARDEN WORKSHOP

BIRDS, BEES & BUTTERFLIES

SATURDAY JUNE 1ST // 11:00AM // VINEYARD GARDENS NURSERY

Please join us to learn about pollinator plants. Chris Wiley will discuss the best plants to include in a pollinator garden to attract birds, bees and butterflies. We look forward to seeing you there!

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[Videos] Allium buzzing with bees. Oak Leaf Hydrangeas on the Highline in NYC.

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FLOWERING PLANTS ARE POLLINATOR PLANTS

Do you want your garden to come alive this summer with bees, butterflies, birds and beneficial insects?!

The good news is all flowering plants attract pollinators. Flowers are their food source. While they are feeding, pollinators distribute the pollen within the same flower and from flower to flower. The pollen grains stick onto the pollinators feet and body and then stick to the female stigma part of the flower. The pollen grain then grows a tube that travels all the way down the stigma to the ovary of the flower where it then fertilizes the female ovule(egg) inside the ovary. It will then develop into an embryo within a seed. The flower is the reproductive structure of flowering plants. The fruit is the swollen ovary of the female reproductive structure. And inside the fruit are the seeds. If you look closely at a strawberry you will see the seeds on the outside of the berry with all the stigmas (the little hairy things) still attached. Pollination truly is a magical process!

Some pollinators need very specific plants to complete their life cycles. We, at Vineyard Gardens, encourage customers to plant native plants that have evolved together with the existing fauna. There has been a surge of understanding around the importance of caring for the native ecosystem through native plants to protect our pollinators. Horticulturalists are continually doing research and trials on plants that stand out as pollinator favorites. More and more customers are looking to grow pollinator friendly gardens and to cultivate a healthy native landscape. Cape Cod Native Plants.org has a wonderful online tool that helps you select the native plants best suited for your specific site.

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native plant list

cape cod & the islands

native plant finder

national wildlife federation

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POLLINATOR FRIENDLY PERENNIALS

Perennial POLLINATORS

Agastache
- kudos Coral, kudos ambrosia, kudos Mandarin, Blue Fortune, Black Adder & Little Adder
Bluebeard (Caryopteris)
Coneflower (Echinacea)
- Sombrero series, White Swan & Green Twister
Coreopsis
- Solanna™ Bright Touch & UpTick™ Gold & Bronze
Goldenrod (Solidago)
Lavender (Lavandula)
Milkweed (Asclepias)
Phlox (Phlox paniculata)
Salvia
Perennial Sunflower (Helianthus)
Stonecrop (Sedum)
Yarrow (Achillea)

native pollinator perennialS

Ageratum (coelestinum)
Aster ‘Aromatic’ (Symphyotrichum oblongifolius)
Aster ‘Woods Purple’ (Eurybia divaricata)
Baptisia (Baptisia australis)
Beebalm (Monarda didyma)
Black-eyed Susan (Rudbeckia fulgida)
Coneflower (Echinancea purpurea)
Cutleaf Coneflower (Rudbeckia laciniata)
Foam Flower (Tiarella cordifolia)

Goldenrod (Solidago flexicaulis)
Joe Pye Weed Gateway (Eutrochium Gateway)
Solomon’s Seal (Polygonatum)
Blazing Star (Liatris spicata)
Mallow ‘Rose’ (Hibiscus moscheutos)
Milkweed ‘Butterfly’ (Asclepias tuberosa)
Perennial Sunflower (Helianthus)
Primrose ‘Evening’ (Oenothera biennis)

Native Eastern Red Columbine (Aquilegia canadensis)

Sedum, Butterfly Milkweed, Quickfire Hydrangea

Goldenrod, Rudbeckia photo by keith kurman

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POLLINATOR FRIENDLY SHRUBS

native pollinator shrubs

Blueberry, Lowbush (Vaccinium angustifolium)
Winterberry (Ilex verticillata)
Beach Plum (Prunus maritima)
Arrowwood (Viburnum dentatum)
Inkberry (Ilex glabra)
Sweet Pepperbush (Clethra alnifolia)
American Elderberry (Sambucus nigra L. ssp. canadensis)
Highbush Blueberry (Vaccinium corymbosum)
Sweet Fern (Comptonia peregrina)
Willow (Salix)
Viburnum (Arrowwood)
Buttonbush (Cephalanthus occidentalis)

additional POLLINATOR shrubS

Butterfly Bush (Buddleia)
Double File Viburnum (Viburnum plicatum)
Oakleaf Hydrangea (Hydrangea quercifolia)
Lilac (Syringa vulgaris)
Ninebark (Physocarpus)
Fothergilla
[VIDEO] Oak Leaf Hydrangea full of bees on the Highline in NYC.

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POLLINATOR FRIENDLY TREES

NATIVE POLLINATOR TREES

Red Maple (Acer rubrum)
Tulip Tree (Liriodendron tulipifera)
Sassafras (Sassafras albidum)
White Oak (Quercus alba)
American Holly (Ilex opaca)
Eastern Redbud (Cercis canadensis)
Magnolia virginiana
Dogwoods (Gray, Silky, Red-twig, Pagoda, Flowering)

Additional POLLINATOR treeS

Magnolias [ViIDEO]Magnolia grandiflora Little Gem is full of pollinators and a deer resistant tree!]
Stewartia

Eastern Redbud (Cercis canadensis Pendula) photo by keith kurman

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Visit Vineyard Gardens to see all the different pollinator friendly varieties we carry!

AGASTACHE

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Agastache foeniculum

ANISE HYSSOP / HUMMINGBIRD MINT

Agastache foeniculum is a native edible perennial flower that is extremely long blooming and one of the best for pollinators. It’s tubular flowers are highly attractive to bees, butterflies and hummingbirds. It is a member of the mint family and produces aromatic foliage. Agastache will grow best in full sun and prefers dry to medium soil. It is not suitable to wet areas or flooding.

There are four cultivars of Agastache foeniculum we sell as perennials. All four will come back year after year. They have a spike of blue / lavender flowers in midsummer and fragrant foliage that repel deer. They also are known for reseeding and spreading in your sunny garden.

Agastache foeniculum cultivars

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***- Black Adder***
***- Blue Fortune***
***(RHS Award)***
***- Golden Jubilee***
***(yellow foliage)***
***- Little Adder***
***(dwarf blue cultivar)***

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Other Agastache We Carry

There are many other Agastache species and hybrids we carry. Even though the literature and the catalogs tout them as zone 5 plants we have not had good luck with them perennializing. If our winters were a typical zone 5 winter, where the ground freezes and stays frozen all winter they would survive but with our freeze thaw cycles all winter long they do not usually survive. Therefore, we treat them as annuals. These Agastache start blooming in early summer and continue to bloom until a killing frost, which is often not until Thanksgiving or later.

Agastache auriantica ‘Apricot Sprite’ : We grow these from seed and they are a great season extender. It is the perfect orange color for fall.
Agastache Kudos series : A hybrid Agastache developed at the famous Terra Nova nurseries and is more compact than the species. It comes in many colors: Mandarin, Ambrosia, Coral, Gold and Slivery Blue and Blue Boa. Plant these in the summer for a long fall season of color. They are great season extenders. A bonus, their minty foliage is not eaten by deer.

“Combine them with other season extenders like salvias and chrysanthemums. Plant them with late season asters, perennial sunflowers and rudbeckia.” -Chris Wiley, owner

Agastache ‘Rosie Posey’ & ‘Peachie Keen’ : Walters Gardens introductions that we still have in stock. These are shorter, more mounded plants that want a sunny location and are drought tolerant once established. Easy to grow.
Agastache ‘Mango Tango’
Agastache ‘Guava Lava’ and ‘Queen Nectarine’ : Two new Walters Gardens introductions we have ordered for 2024 (a Proven Winner variety). New for next year!

Agastache Apricot Sprite

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DESIGN TIPS

Agastache is a versatile perennial, with many uses in the landscape. Here are a few ideas:

Plant a compact variety in a rock garden in combination with creeping succulents, thyme, stonecrop, dianthus, ice plant (Delosperma), and blue fescue.
Adorn a curbside strip with agastache and other long blooming, low water perennials such as lavender, catmint, yarrow, beardtongue (Penstemon) and fountain grass (Pennisetum).
Place a large decorative ceramic container near a deck or patio and plant with a compact variety of agastache alongside other plants with similar cultural needs such as lantana, gazania, African daisy (Osteospermum), ‘Angelina’ sedum, or New Zealand flax (Phormium).
Naturalize in a meadow setting with other flowering natives such as black-eyed Susan, gayfeather (Liatris), purple coneflower (Echinacea), salvia, milkweed, and asters to attract hummingbirds, butterflies and insect pollinators.
Plant an herb garden with anise hyssop (Agastache foeniculum) and some of your culinary favorites such as oregano, marjoram, sage, rosemary, thyme, mint, and lavender.
Mass along a slope, alternating groupings of other long blooming drought-tolerant plants such as lavender, Russian sage (Perovskia), salvia, sea holly (Eryngium) or tickseed (Coreopsis).
For late season color, plant agastache alongside asters, goldenrod, salvia, Joe pye weed, silvergrass (Miscanthus), stonecrop (Sedum), and little bluestem (Schizachyrium scoparium).
[Resource: Garden Design}

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