Pollinator garden plant list and design

All the garden plants were chosen from Dr. Robert Gegear’s plant list based on his research on the preferred plants of at-risk bumblebees and butterflies. The 33 species will provide nectar and pollen from early spring to late fall. Unlike honey bees, our native bees do not make or store honey to be able to ride through periods of low floral resources. Only queens survive the winter, hibernating underground or in plant stems or tree hollows.

The bottom half-circle of the garden is planted primarily with low-growing plants that will tolerate the spreading canopy of the existing redbud tree saplings.   Taller plants and those preferring sunnier conditions were planted higher on the knoll.   Most of the plants selected prefer medium to dry conditions. A few plants that prefer more moisture were included because of the exceptional resources they provide. Plants were generally planted in one or two clusters of nine square feet or more, based on Dr. Robert Gegear’s research.

Several shrubs and larger, spreading plants –prairie willow, beach plum, and purple flowering raspberry –were planted behind the fenced garden. The fence is to protect the garden from rabbits, at least until the plants mature and can withstand browsing.

Three types of native grasses are interspersed in the garden as host plants of butterflies and to provide additional habitat diversity and visual interest. 

Plants included in the Cold Spring Park Pollinator Garden

Latin name (links to Native Plant Trust technical descriptions)Common name (links to Bluestem Natives colorful descriptions)Sourced from: (links below)
Agastache foeniculumAnise hyssopVolunteer!
Agastache scrophulariifolia Purple giant hyssopLeonardo DaSilva
Asclepias tuberosa Butterfly milkweedLeonardo DaSilva
Asclepias incarnataRose (or swamp) milkweedLady Fern Farm
Astragalus canadensis Canadian milkvetch Bluestem Natives
Baptisia tinctoria Yellow wild indigoBluestem Natives
Blephilia ciliata Downy wood-mintBluestem Natives
Blephilia hirsuta Hairy wood-mintLeonardo DaSilva
Carex pensylvanicaPennsylvania sedgeCavichio greenhouses
Cercis canadensisRedbud treePre-existing
Doellingeria umbellata Flat-topped white asterBluestem Natives
Eragrostis spectabilis Purple lovegrassBluestem Natives
Geranium maculatumWild geraniumNative Plant Trust, Russell’s Garden Center
Hypericum prolificum Shrubby St. John’s WortBluestem Natives
Hypericum ascyronGreat St. John’s WortVolunteer!
Lupinus perennis Sundial lupineBluestem Natives
Monarda didyma BeebalmRare Roots
Monarda fistulosa Wild bergamotLeonardo DaSilva
Penstemon digitalis Foxglove beardtongueBluestem Natives
Penstemon hirsutus Hairy beardtongueBluestem Natives
Physotegia virginianaObedient plantVolunteer!
Prunella vulgaris SelfhealBluestem Natives
Prunus maritimaBeach plum (behind garden)Native Plant Trust
Pycanthemum tenuifoliumNarrowleaf mountain mintVolunteer!
Rosa CarolinaCarolina roseGrowNative Mass.
Rubus odoratusPurple flowering raspberry (behind garden)Native Plant Trust
Salix humilis Prairie willow (behind garden)Vermont Willow Nursery
Schizachyrium scoparium Little bluestemBluestem Natives
Solidago caesiaBluestem or wreath goldenrodNative Plant Trust
Solidago speciosa Showy goldenrodLeonardo DaSilva
Spirea alba White MeadowsweetNative Plant Trust
Viola sororiaCommon blue violet (link is to birdsfoot violet, which was out of stock)Russell’s Garden Center
Zizia aurea Golden alexanderBluestem Natives

Volunteer plants are most likely from extra seeds inadvertently in a pot with another plant from a vendor.

Bluestem Natives

Lady Fern Farm

Leonardo DaSilva (annual sale)

Native Plant Trust

Russell’s Garden Center

Cavichio’s Greenhouses (wholesale only)

Rare Roots

GrowNative Massachusetts (annual sale)