In the garden: Attract wildlife with flowers

Dana Kelley Bressette

guest columnist

If you’ve ever read a book or magazine article about attracting wildlife to your yard, you’ve probably seen lists of flowers that attract hummingbirds and lists of flowers that attract butterflies. I thought it was somewhat ridiculous, however, when one book listed flowers that attract bees!

The reason a plant produces a showy flower is to attract a pollinator. If you’re attracted to a flower because of its beauty or fragrance, it’s sure to attract other creatures as well.

Botanists classify flowers as primitive or specialized. A primitive flower like a Magnolia can be compared to a community event — everyone is invited to sample the fare. More specialized flowers have evolved to attract just one particular species of pollinator, which, in turn, have evolved to be better able to access the nectar or pollen of that flower.

A classic example of that type of co-evolution is when Darwin was ridiculed for predicting that there must exist a moth with a 12-inch-long tongue to pollinate an orchid that had a 12-inch-long nectary. More than 40 years later, that moth was finally discovered in Madagascar, where the orchid originally had been collected.

This degree of specialization, however, can ultimately lead to extinction when either of the species is threatened.

Instead of lists to help you choose flowers to attract wildlife, it’s more helpful to know what type of flower attracts what type of pollinator.

The following are “preferences.” Many different pollinators are likely to visit white flowers or more primitive flowers.

Hummingbirds prefer red, orange or pink, tubular flowers. Pollen is transferred when protruding stamens and stigmas brush up against the hovering hummingbird as it sips nectar from the flowers.

The color red is especially attractive to hummingbirds during migration. I always put out my hummingbird feeders when Red-flowering currants begin ti bloom in early spring.

Rufous Hummingbirds seek out the brightly colored flowers on their return journey from wintering in Mexico. Anna’s Hummingbirds may stay year-round, if the food supply is sufficient.

Butterflies and moths prefer yellow or orange, scented, tubular flowers. They need a landing platform and prefer closely packed clusters of flowers so they can rest while they lap nectar from several flowers at one stop. They especially like composites, such as asters, daisies and sunflowers, which have several florets in one “flower.”

Bees prefer scented blue and violet flowers. Some, such as pansies and violets, have ultraviolet “landing pads” that guide bees in the same way lights on an airstrip guide airplanes.

Fruit growers often provide “nest boxes” for our native orchard mason bees. These “busy bees” are smaller than honey bees and are very good at pollinating apples, plums and many other agricultural crops.

Flies or beetles usually pollinate “stinky” flowers, such as skunk cabbage. Bat flowers, such as the saguaro cactus, are white or cream-colored, fruity-smelling, large and dish-shaped.

In South Africa and Australia, rodents pollinate flowers such as proteas.

Other insect species also pollinate flowers, but I’ll leave the identification of most to an entomologist.

Flowers provide a convenient food for many insects. Which, in turn, may become food for birds and other animals.

The seeds and fruits that develop after pollination also are important foods for animals and people.

So grow and nurture the flowers that make you happy, and you will be sure to make some of the local wildlife happy, too!

In the Garden columnist Dana Kelley Bressette can be reached by e-mail at skyenergy@centurytel.net.