Top Native Plants for Supporting Pollinators along the Main Line
As a landscape designer and gardener, I love the overlap between beauty and function.
Along the Main Line, we have the benefit of beautiful homes and established neighborhoods. Installing landscapes with native plants can create outdoor spaces that are not only beautiful, but support wildlife and enhance connections to broader natural areas,
Designing with plants that are not only beautiful, but provide food and habitat to support pollinators like bees, butterflies, and birds is an extremely rewarding aspect of working with native plants.
Here are some of my top recommendations for trees, shrubs, flowering perennials, and grasses to consider adding to your landsape. The number following the the plant name is the number of native lepidoptera species Doug Tallamy has recorded as being supported by similar plants in that genus
Trees:
White Oak (Quercus alba). 518. These gorgeous canopy trees are the iconic spreading oaks you imagine standing proud in an old field. Their spreading form and gently-lobed leaves are beautiful.
Hickory (Carya spp.) 233. A classic forest species with Shagbark being one of the most striking bark textures. Bitternut and Butternut are also beautiful species for.
Serviceberry (Amelanchier canadensis) 119. Typically grown as a larger multi=stem shrub, Serviceberry provides a beautiful early spring flowers, nectar and berries loved by birds.
Shrubs:
Smooth Viburnum (Viburnum nudum). 97. Beautiful foliage, white flowers and late season fruit support wildlife throughout the groiwng season.
Winterberry (Ilex verticillata) 34. White flowers early in the season give way to bright berries in fall and winter that attract birds.
St John’s Wort (Hypericum prolificum) 20. Beautiful green foliage is covered with yellow blooms in summer. Bees love the abundant flowers and flock to it when in bloom.
Flowering Perennials:
‘Golden Fleece’ Goldenrod (Solidago sphacelata ‘Golden Fleece’) 112. Robust groundcover foliage carpets the ground all season. In late summer, spikes of bright yellow blooms emerge adding an awesome color and texture to the late season landscape.
‘Bluebird’ Aster (Aster laevis' ‘Bluebird’) 105. Beautiful smooth leaves on upright stalks lead to a flush of light blue flowers late in the season that are a magnet for pollinators.
Blue False Indigo (Baptisia australis) 15. Beautiful, silver-mint-green foliage emerges in spring followed by rich blue flowers. The sweet-pea shaped flower clusters are stunning.
Grasses:
Pennsylvania Sedge (Carex pensylvanica) 36. For a shady location, these sedge provide a beautiful texture. As a nice contrast to broad-leaved perennials, sedge can help diversify a shady planting.
Switchgrass (Panicum virgatum) 24. This soft textured grass begins to emerge in late-spring and summer as the temperatures rise. The airy seedheads provide a late season food source for birds.
Little Bluestem (Schizachyrium scoparium) 6. Provides habitat and seeds for wildlife and beautiful tan stems that stay up all winter.
If you’ve been curious about how to make your home’s landscape have a positive impact for wildlife, adding any of these species will help your landscape become a haven for pollinators.