Spring is the perfect time to create a pollinator garden at home or work. They provide lots of beauty and color and help promote wildlife!
These gardens are key to attracting butterflies, birds and bees to your yard and can be as easy as planting desert milkweed and nectar plants.
Pollinator gardens with milkweed help provide habitat for butterflies as they migrate and lay eggs. Milkweed is the only plant where Queen and Monarch butterflies lay their eggs. In the Coachella Valley, Desert Milkweed (Asclepias Subulata) is the appropriate type to plant.
Pollinator gardens feature native plants, which are drought-tolerant and need less water to thrive. Here are tips on how to create a pollinator garden:
- Include plants of various heights.
- Butterflies and other pollinators like the sun, so consider plants that grow well in full or partial sun.
- Go organic. Avoid pesticides as they can be toxic to bees.
- If you start with seeds, plant them in the fall or late winter so they have time to germinate.
- If you go with nursery plants, dig holes big enough for the roots and reinforce with soil or compost.
