Harvesting History

This article is the third and last in a 3-part newsletter series about pollinator gardening. The series is dedicated to the work of a New Jersey Garden Club member, Jeannie Geremia. For years I have watched her tireless efforts to educate us all about protecting and nourishing pollinators. There are a number of dedicated, inspired pollinator crusaders in this country whose work is deeply appreciated. Jeannie is one of the best.
Whether your garden occupies a fire escape, a backyard or acres on a farm or arboretum, it can be a flourishing, stunning home for the pollinators of this planet – our bees, butterflies and birds. As the creator and sustainer of this garden, though, there are three factors which you should always keep in mind when building a pollinator paradise:  timing, consistency and ease of growth. Today’s newsletter is going to address the issue of ease of growth.
Most gardeners garden because they like the growing challenges that Nature produces, they love spending time working the soil, and they enjoy the beauty of a garden. However, creating a successful pollinator garden means that consistency must be a priority. Because of this, plants that are easy to grow, vigorous under many growing conditions and reliable year after year are the best choices for a pollinator garden. All of the plants mentioned in this series easily fill the criteria of easy to grow, vigorous and reliable and few others are their equal, but in this final newsletter of the pollinator series, I would like to introduce you to a few great, easy to grow pollinator plants that are rarely suggested for pollinator gardens.
I will never forget the experience that we had with Sunflower, Vanilla Ice and the goldfinches.  Years ago, I worked in a warehouse located in an industrial area of Baltimore. The area was extensive, hundreds of acres dotted with brick and concrete buildings and blanketed with asphalt and concrete roadways. There were no birds. At-best a few starlings would fly by on their way to some other destination. There were few insects. The only non-human life we would occasionally see was a giant rat climbing out of a dumpster.
As part of a small trial garden project, we planted a row of Vanilla Ice Sunflower. It was only 10 feet long and 18 inches wide. The plants were carefully nourished by us and grew quite well.  Vanilla Ice reaches a height of 4-6 feet and produces multiple blossoms with lemon yellow petals and large, dark seed centers.
Days after the plants started blooming, a single goldfinch appeared and within a week the plants were covered with goldfinches between 6 and 10 each day. They remained with the flowers for hours. We were flabbergasted! Where had they come from? There were no birds in this area – no crows, few starlings, no cardinals, no blue jays.
Each of us watched, fascinated, as they ate and played on the blossoms. A single goldfinch would land on a blossom and begin to eat. As it pecked the seeds from the blossom, the flower would begin, slowly, to swing back and forth, up and down, until the goldfinch was eating upside down. Only then, when the bird was upside down, would it fly away. The goldfinches would repeat this dance over and over again throughout the day. Those goldfinches returned to the sunflowers day after day until the blossoms were all gone. Then they disappeared and were not seen again.
Sunflowers are incredibly easy to grow from seed. Plant the seeds in very late spring when the ground has warmed considerably. Moisten the soil and keep slightly moist until germination. For continuous blooms, start a second group of seeds in mid-summer. These plants will bloom in July-October.
That little sunflower patch was our own Field of Dreams. We planted it and the goldfinches came!
Borage is really a super pollinator plant. In fact, it could be called a super, super pollinator plant because of all the good it does for a garden. Borage is said to strengthen any plants that it is planted near, especially strawberries, tomatoes, cucumbers and cabbage. It repels the adult insects that produce cabbage worms and tomato hornworms. Once the plant spikes its beautiful blue blossoms, those blossoms are covered daily with honey bees, butterflies and beneficial wasps.
Native to Europe, Asia Minor and Africa, this plant has been cultivated for centuries. The 2-3 ft. plants produce grayish-green, 6 in., ovate to oblong, slightly savoyed, hairy leaves that have a cucumber flavor. Borage self-seeds prolifically. Once planted, new plants will grow each year from re-seeding.
Plant in spring after the danger of frost has passed. Rows should be 2 ft. apart. When seedlings are 2 in. high, thin, leaving 2 ft. between plants. Harvest throughout the season by cutting individual leaves.
Borage makes an excellent container plant – 1 plant per 10 in. diameter pot.
Hyssop, a member of the Mint Family, but far less aggressive, is another easy to grow, super pollinator plant. It is very attractive to bees, butterflies and other beneficial insects. Hyssop has been credited with repelling flea beetles, cabbage moths and other pests, but research has not confirmed these attributes.
Hyssop’s real value in the garden comes because it is an outstanding pollinator plant. Bees love this plant as do butterflies and hummingbirds. The plant is so attractive to bees that beekeepers have been known to rub down their hives with a mixture of hyssop, juniper, fennel and thyme to keep the bees close to home.
Plant as soon as the ground can be worked in the spring. Rows should be 12 in. apart. When seedlings are 2 in. high, thin, leaving 12 in. between plants. Harvest throughout the season by cutting leaves off the plants.
The strong anise fragrance of fennel has made it popular for centuries.  It is absolutely beloved by both Black Swallowtail and Monarch butterflies. I will never forget bringing some tiny fennel plants to sell at the Newport Flower Show. The plants had never left the greenhouse, so they had never come in contact with any insects.
We unloaded the plants on a Thursday morning and by Friday morning there were three Black Swallowtail butterfly caterpillars on the plants. With all the plants available at this beautiful event, the caterpillars had found the fennel and that is where they chose to be.
There are at least two types of fennel – the non-bulbing perennial, ‘wild fennel’, and the bulbing annual, ‘sweet fennel’ also known as Fennel Florence. In ancient times, fennel was prized as an appetite suppressant. The name, fennel, comes from the Greek meaning “to grow thin”. There is frequent mention in the recipes of the Romans and the Anglo-Saxons of fennel.
The oil of the fennel plant contains 50-60% anethol which is the chief chemical in the oil of the anise plant and explains why the fragrance and flavor of the plant is so much like anise. Fennel Florence is a shorter version of its wild cousin and produces a large white bulb with plant stems the shape and texture of celery.
Plant as soon as the ground can be worked in the spring and the danger of frost has passed. Make sure the ground is consistently moist until germination occurs. Rows should be 12 in. apart.
When seedlings are 2 in. high, thin, leaving 12 in. between plants. Leaves can be gathered throughout the season and eaten fresh. Stems take about 80 days to mature and are usually eaten fresh because cooking destroys the flavor.
Fennel is not a good companion for some plants in the vegetable garden. Bush beans, tomatoes, caraway and kohlrabi do not flourish when planted near fennel.
Have you ever seen a carpet of honeybees?  I have and I do yearly. There are few plants as attractive to honeybees as thyme, specifically English or Lemon Thyme. When the thyme comes into full bloom, the bees cannot resist it.  Our thyme bed covers approximately 3 square feet.  The plants all bloom at the same time and produce a blanket of white flowers. Hours after the blooming begins, the bees come. I have tried for years to count them, but am never successful.  I believe that there are at least 60 bees at a time on the thyme.
Native to the western Mediterranean, Thyme has been cultivated for thousands of years. It was brought to the US by the early colonists in the 1600s. It is one of the most universally used culinary herbs in existence. The lemony flavored leaves of the 6-8 in. plants enhance the flavor of many foods.
Start indoors about 6 weeks before the last frost date. Transplant outside when the danger of frost has passed and the soil has warmed to a depth of 6 in. Plant 6-8 in apart in rows 12 in. apart.
We have discussed honeybee friendly plants throughout this pollinator series, but there are many other bees that are important pollinators for our land. Bumble bees and miner bees are only two such beneficial pollinators. Baptisia is the plant of choice for these bees and other native bee species.
Baptisia is an herbaceous perennial shrub that is native to several areas of North America including the Central and Northeastern United States. It is also known as False Indigo because the leaves of the plant can be used to produce a pale blue dye. In fact, the name, Baptisia, comes from the Greek word bapto which means to dye or to immerse.
The plants produce beautiful, blue flowers which resemble the blossoms of Sweet Peas, on spikes 4-6 inches long. Several Native American tribes were familiar with and used Baptisia. The Cherokees made dyes with the leaves and harvested the roots to make a tea which could be used to ease toothaches and nausea and as a purgative. It was the Cherokees who taught the early colonists the uses of Baptisia. The Osage Indians also used Baptisia. They made an eyewash from its roots.
The plant, after being cataloged by Lewis and Clark during their expedition of 1806, became a familiar border plant in the flower gardens of Americans. It is not frequently seen today.
Baptisia should be planted in the spring when the danger of frost has passed. The seeds can be scored and soaked for 12-24 hours before planting to optimize germination. The plants do best in lime-free, stony soil with full sun though they can tolerate mild shade.
They are relatively drought resistant and hardy from Zone 3-Zone 8. Baptisia plants grow 3-4 feet with a 2 foot breadth. The plants have a long taproot, and because of this, they DO NOT transplant well. Choose their permanent spot when you plant the seeds, because that is where they will remain.
Celebrate your uniquely American horticultural heritage
Harvest Your History
Seed Your Future