Buzz buzz… it’s pollinator week! 🐝
There are all kinds pollinator-friendly seeds and starts you can plant in your garden to create a thriving, local ecosystem.
Most pollinator gardens fail for one reason: bloom gaps. A garden that explodes with color in April but offers nothing in July starves the bees that fly from February through November.
California’s Mediterranean climate creates a natural bloom pattern:
Late winter / early spring (February-March): Early-emerging bumblebee queens and mining bees need pollen immediately after breaking dormancy. Manzanita, native willows, and early ceanothus varieties fill this critical window.
Spring (April-May): The peak bloom. California poppies, lupines, phacelia, and buckbrush provide abundant resources as bee populations ramp up.
Early summer (June-July): Many spring annuals have seeded out. Without intentional summer bloomers, your garden goes dormant just as bee colonies hit maximum population. Buckwheat, Native Salvias, Penstemons, Milkweed (Narrowleaf milkweed (A. fascicularis) and showy milkweed (A. speciosa) are California natives that bloom June through August. While famous as monarch butterfly host plants, milkweeds are also heavily visited by native bees for their nectar. The Xerces Society considers milkweed a priority conservation plant.) & Yarrow
Late summer (August-September): Heat stress and drought reduce wild forage. Buckwheat, native sunflowers, and late salvias become lifelines.
Fall (October-November): Bees preparing for winter need late-season forage to build fat reserves. Goldenrod, California fuchsia, and native asters close the season.
Make your garden more pollinator-friendly!