Nothing makes a gardener’s heart flutter more than seeing pollinators dance from bloom to bloom in the garden.
This joy can be magnified if you have a veggie garden in addition to your flower garden since you know those pollinators are busily improving your next harvest.
Not only do pollinators make the garden more exciting, but they also benefit the ecosystem around us. It’s no wonder that pollinator-friendly plants are more popular than ever.
But if you’re wondering what you should plant to increase your garden’s winged visitors, we’ve put together a list of plants pollinators adore.
The Butterfly Bush
If you want a showy shrub that’s low-maintenance and attracts pollinators like a magnet, the butterfly bush is unbeatable. This beautiful shrub emits a scent reminiscent of honey that draws butterflies in. 
These clusters of flowers also offer abundant nectar, which keeps butterflies, moths, and other pollinators coming back for more. To make this stunning garden choice even better, it blooms all summer long and into fall.
Not only do butterflies adore these sweet blooms, but hummingbirds also cannot resist the orangey-red cultivars.
Our top choices in butterfly bushes for pollinators:
- Black Knight Butterfly Bush
- BiColor Butterfly Bush (best for hummingbirds)
- Buzz™ Hot Raspberry Butterfly Bush
- Lo & BeholdⓇ Blue Chip Butterfly Bush
- Perfect Trifecta Butterfly Bush
Butterfly Weed
This brilliant and popping plant is part of the milkweed family. Butterflies, including monarchs, frequent this lovely plant that features stalks topped with bunches of dynamic and vivid blooms.
Each petite flower is filled with pollen and nectar that butterflies cannot get enough of!
Butterfly weed is ideal for native gardens and is a rare host for monarchs, gray hairstreaks, and queen butterflies.
Top picks for butterfly weed plants for pollinators:
Daylily
It’s easy to see why bees, butterflies, and other winged beauties wind up floating around daylilies all day long!
These large, bright, and breathtaking flowers have glowing, cupped centers that pollinators, including hummingbirds, find entrancing. 
These blooms are easy to pull nectar from, making them an easy choice for insects.
These vibrant and easy-to-grow plants naturalize, so you will have an entire pollinator bed in no time.
When it comes to choosing daylily varieties that bees love, you cannot go wrong. If you’re looking for butterflies, select cultivars with high-contrast centers and hints of red.
Of course, a variety of daylilies will keep your garden aglow!
Best daylilies for pollinators:
- Strawberry Candy Daylily
- Little Grapette Daylily
- Pardon Me Daylily
- Stella de Oro Daylily
- Chicago Apache Daylily
Salvia
What makes pollinators’ mouths water? Salvia sure does make them salivate.
These dynamic plants don’t take up much room, but their spikes of flowers last for weeks, and bees, butterflies, and they bring all the bees to the yard. Other beneficial pollinators find these flowers irresistible, as well!
Top choices for salvias that attract pollinators:
Hyssop
Hyssop, or Agastache, is perfect for your pollinator garden. These delightful and showy flowers dance and sway in the breeze, enchanting pollinators, large and small.
In fact, Hyssop is a favorite of hummingbirds, which is why you may hear some people call this garden beauty “hummingbird mint.” These sweetly scented flowers are also quite popular among monarchs and bees.
Pollinators’ favorite Hyssops:
- Anise Hyssop -- a real stand out for hummingbirds
- Blue Fortune Hyssop
Coneflower
These little drops of sunshine sure do light up the garden--they also invite an impressive show of butterflies, bees, beetles, and other joyful winged creatures.
While they are popular among a wide variety of pollinators, bees have a special place in their hearts for them. What makes these flowers so alluring to bees?
They produce a lot of nectar and offer a showy bullseye of a center!
These bright blooms even provide birds with a winter snack once their seed heads dry up.
Best coneflower for bees, butterflies, and more:
- Purple Coneflower
- Ruby Star Coneflower
- Cheyenne Spirit Coneflower
- Sombrero Adobe Orange Coneflower
- Yellow Coneflower
Black-Eyed Susan
This sunny and charming garden staple is a form of coneflower, but it deserves a spot of its own on our list. These cheerful flowers naturalize rapidly and stand tall from summer to fall then come back year after year to greet your local butterflies and bees.
In fact, it’s difficult to find a more low-maintenance native flower that pollinators adore this much.
It’s no wonder, they’ve become a pollinator garden icon. These black-eyed beauties are particularly attractive among butterflies and native bee species.
Black-eyed Susans that bees and butterflies love:
- Little Goldstar Black-eyed Susan
- Showy Black-Eyed Susan
- Deamii Black-Eyed Susan
- Sweet Black-Eyed Susan
What Else Can You Do to Attract Pollinators to Your Garden?
When it comes to creating a pollinator haven, planting brilliant and showy pollinator-friendly flowers will get you started on the right foot. You can also plant a pollinator-friendly patch of clover or native wildflowers to give your pollinators more places to collect nectar.
Butterfly houses and pollinator hotels are a wonderful way to provide these beneficial pollinators a place to seek refuge from predators and rest for the winter.
Bees houses also provide native bee species an easy way to rest their wings and stay safe in rough weather.
Pleasing Pollinators, One Plant at a Time
It’s nearly impossible to measure just how much pollinators help the natural world!
From pollinating plants to providing us with bountiful fruits and veggies, it’s important to repay pollinators and provide them with all the plants they love.
Make creating a pollinator garden easy with our Spring Pollinator Pocket Garden pack or
A Summer Pollinator Pocket pack.
In no time, you’ll be enjoying a bountiful amount of pollinators visiting here and there! Enjoy it!
