Butterflies, hummingbirds, honey bees and song birds, they are all so easy to take for granted and yet, without them our food system would grind to a halt and the flowers on your neighbours vine would curl up and die faster than they otherwise would.

All four of them are flying assets.  Or, put another way, they lift the assets that we grow in our Canadian gardens to extraordinary levels.

Perhaps you have heard that the common honey bee and all of its native relatives are in decline.  They have been for a few years now.  Without the bees and other pollinators in our gardens we are in deep doo doo.  

To help remedy this situation I encourage every gardener to plant flowering plants in your garden and in containers on your patio, deck or balcony.  If you are not a gardener this would be the perfect opportunity for you to consider becoming one.  All that you need is some soil and a place to plant a petunia [for example].

All of the 'trumpet' shaped flowers attract hummingbirds, especially the hot coloured ones like yellow, orange and red.  The 'Cardinal Flower' or perennial salvia is one of the best for attracting hummers.  If it is not hardy in your area [it is hardy to zone 4] then treat it as an annual, it is that valuable.

Butterflies enjoy pollen and nectar rich flowers but like to land on them to take their meal.  A flat-surfaced flower works best.  I plant lots of Shasta daisies in my yard and rudebeckia.  But the most attractive butterfly magnet of all is the Budlea or Butterfly bush.  I usually lose mine in my cold zone 5 garden but I replant several each spring - about now - just to get the butterflies coming to my yard in the second half of the gardening season.

There are many more 'pollinator attractants.  To learn more go to my website and click on 'library' and punch in some key words.  Enjoy this segment with Jeff and I.  

Mark Cullen
www.markcullen.com