Monarch butterflies feed on purple asters.

Monarch butterflies feed on purple asters.

With the addition of monarch butterflies to a worldwide endangered list, we are thinking about them, and pollinators in general. What are pollinators? They are insects, mainly. They are one of the engines that run healthy habitats, and without them we would have no food. They transfer pollen from part of the plant to another, or one plant to another, ensuring seed production.

Pollinators need what every animal needs: food, shelter, water and a place to raise a family. Nature usually provides all that pollinators need. We just need to stay out of the way and resist disturbing their natural environment. However, many of our yards and gardens don’t provide what they need.

You’ll need food for both adults and eggs/larvae. Provide a sheltered space for butterflies — we are a windy area! Water — a birdbath, shallow pool, mud puddle are great. Nesting areas — a bare patch of ground, dead wood, hollow stems of plants and grasses. Many of the man-made “bee hotels” are not suitable. Do your research on which are the best.

Construct pollinator gardens with a variety of colors, shapes and heights of plants, and include plants that flower throughout the growing season to provide nectar and pollen. From grasses and vines to shrubs and bulbs, include all types of plants in your landscape. An array of flower shapes caters to different pollinator’s feeding methods, making them feel at home. Mixing bloom shape and size creates pretty contrast, too. Plus, when you choose a variety of plants, your garden will naturally have a range of bloom times, extending feeding.

Summer may be when they’re busiest, but bees, butterflies, wasps, moths and hummingbirds visit your garden from early spring through mid- to late fall. Plant in sweeps to minimize the distance pollinators travel — and, in turn, the energy they spend — to gather pollen and nectar.

You don’t need a large yard or budget. Even a few plants will help. You can do a cute pollinator container.

Provide host plants, in addition to nectar plants, and habitat for reproduction, life cycle completion and winter shelter. Some pollinators and beneficial insects need the shelter provided by perennial plants growing in untilled areas, woody plant material such as unused firewood and dead branches, and undisturbed soil in areas that are not mowed or cultivated.

Avoid planting invasive species, such as butterfly bush. There are many alternatives, including asters, goldenrods and milkweeds, to plant instead. Trees such as willows, maples and serviceberries are great too.

Research suggests that most pollinators prefer to forage — but not necessarily exclusively — on the nectar and pollen from native plants. There are plenty of non-native species that are also great for pollinators, so it is not necessary to avoid them altogether, but incorporating more native plants into your landscape will make the pollinators, as well as the birds and other wildlife, happiest. A typical suburban landscape contains only 20 to 30 percent native plant species. Try reversing that trend in your own landscape by using 70 to 80 percent native species.

Do not use pesticides in your yard or garden. Learn to tolerate some damage and control pests in natural ways, if at all. “If there is no insect damage in your garden, it’s not an ecosystem.”

• Red maple — Acer rubrum. Tall tree, likes sun and a moist area. Tiny red flowers very early in spring, great for queen bumblebees just waking up. Many early pollinators will gather nectar and pollen from the flowers.

• Willows — Salix spp. Both the tree, black willow, and several shrubs are native, and very important for early pollinators.

• Oaks — Quercus spp. They are wind pollinated, so their flowers don’t provide much, but they are a host for more than 500 species of butterflies and moths, who happily munch on the leaves. Since they have (mostly) co-evolved, the damage they do isn’t that significant.

• Golden Alexanders — Zizia aurea or aptera (prefers drier soil). Great early season pollinator plant and a host for swallowtail butterflies. 2 feet tall about. Sun to part sun, average water and soil. Can be short lived but will reseed. Pretty yellow flowers mid spring.

• Lanceleaf coreopsis — Coreopsis lanceolata. 2 to 3 feet tall and wide, but open growth. Yellow flowers. Short-lived but will reseed. Like dry well-drained soil in full sun

• Wild Indigo — Baptisia spp. There are several, getting from 2 to 4 feet tall and wide. The species B tinctoria has beautiful yellow flowers and is much more dainty. Full sun to a little shade, durable and long-lived.

• Beard tongue — Penstemon spp, especially P digitalis, 2 to 4.5 feet. Needs sun, easy-care, not picky. Great flowers. Many cultivars. Can be a winter groundcover.

• Black-eyed Susan — Rudbeckia spp. Many species, ranging from 1 to 6 feet tall. All love full sun, average moisture, and aren’t too picky about soil.

• Bee balms — Monarda spp. Different species and cultivars. From 2 to 4 feet tall, needing full sun. Look at Mt Cuba’s website for information on the best types for our area ( https://mtcubacenter.org/trials/monarda/).

• Goldenrods — Solidago spp. Also many different species and cultivars, and check Mt. Cuba there, too. One of the absolute best pollinator groups. Full sun, not choosy.

• Asters — Several different genera. Probably the best for pollinators. Many kinds, for sun or shade, tall or short. There is an aster for you (https://mtcubacenter.org/trials/aster/).

• Zinnias — a great annual, loved by pollinators. Different sizes and colors, great for a pot on the deck in full sun. Large, easy seeds to plant for little kids, too.

• Mexican sunflowers — Tithonia rotundifolia. Huge, fabulous annual. A true annual, it flowers, sets seed and dies all in one season. Full sun, average soil. Gets 6 to 7 feet tall and 5 feet wide. Brittle stems, so protect from the wind. Brilliant scarlet-red blooms are a pollinator-magnet — they love this plant! Great for filling in holes in new landscaping.

The Coastal Point is a local newspaper published each Friday and distributed in the Bethany Beach, South Bethany, Fenwick Island, Ocean View, Millville, Dagsboro, Frankford, Selbyville, Millsboro, Long Neck and Georgetown, Delaware areas.