Pollinators and Native Plants

ENJOY A BEAUTIFUL LANDSCAPE

The many textures, colors, and habits of native plants can be combined in attractive designs. Choose a natural-looking or more formal style. 

PRESERVE MARYLAND’S BIODIVERSITY

Make a positive impact on natural areas near your home.  Locally native gardens benefit pollinators and reduce risk to wild plant populations.

SUPPORT BIRDS AND POLLINATORS

Many bees provision their nests with pollen from native plants, and butterflies and moths eat native species at the larval stage. Birds, in turn, feed an abundance of these caterpillars to their young. Going native supports this whole food web.

IMPROVE WATER QUALITY AND REDUCE YOUR CARBON FOOTPRINT

Conventional gardens often employ fertilizers, pesticides, supplemental water, and fossil fuel-using machinery – resulting in poor soil health, more erosion, and polluted stormwater runoff. 

PROVIDE FOOD

• Plant a succession of native blooms of different shapes, sizes, and colors from spring to fall
• Choose a variety of plants that support caterpillars.
• Plant densely, using native groundcovers as “green mulch” and leaving some bare soil for the 70 percent of native bee species that nest in the ground.
• Choose native species over cultivars.
• Plant in drifts of 3+ to be noticed by pollinators.

PROVIDE WATER SOURCES including mud-puddling areas for butterflies. Refresh water often to deter mosquitoes.

PROVIDE SHELTER and nesting sites for bees, caterpillars and others by leaving fallen leaves where possible and incorporating dead wood (stalks, logs, stumps) into the garden.

SAFEGUARD POLLINATOR HABITAT

• Action 1: Control Invasive Plants
• Action 2: Avoid Pesticides

National Wildlife Federation’s Wildlife Habitat Registration

Wildlife habitat gardens are a haven for local birds, butterflies, and other wildlife.  Tell us how your yard or garden provides habitat, and the National Wildlife Federation will recognize it as a Certified Wildlife Habitat®.

Extension Resources

• Garden Templates
• School Programs
• For Master Gardeners
• Pollinator Basics 
• Pollinator Gardens
• Native Plant of Maryland
• Attracting Pollinators to Your Garden Using Native Plants
• Tried & True Natives of Howard County
• Native Plant Supplies
• Integrated Pest Management
•  

Additional Resources

• Howard County Bee City
• Bee City USA is an initiative under the Xerces Society - Pollinator Conservation Program, Howard County’s program of choice for its pollinator habitat activities.  
• Bringing Nature Home: How You Can Sustain Wildlife with Native Plants, by Douglas W. Tallamy, c. 2009, Timber Press, Portland, OR; 360 pp.
• Native Plants for Wildlife Habitat and Conservation Landscaping, Chesapeake Bay Watershed, Maryland Department of Natural Resources
• Better Backyard–A Citizen’s Resource Guide to Beneficial Landscaping and Habitat Restoration in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed, Chesapeake Bay Program:
• Native Plants for Conservation, Restoration and Landscaping, VA Dept. of Conservation and Recreation, Natural Heritage:  (includes invasive species).
• Conservation Landscaping Guidelines-The Eight Essential Elements, Chesapeake Conservation Landscaping Council
• Mistaken Identity–Invasive Plants and Their Native Look-Alikes, Delaware Department of Agriculture
• Garden for Wildlife, National Wildlife Federation
• Audubon Guide to a Healthy Yard and Beyond
• Wild Ones Handbook–Green Landscaping
• Nature’s Best Hope: A New Approach to Conservation that Starts in Your Yard by Doug Tallamy
• HOA and Condo Guide