How-to Guide
How to Make a Garden for Bees, Butterflies, and Hummingbirds
The short answer
To bring in pollinators, plant a diversity of flowers — leaning on native plants, which local bees and butterflies co-evolved with — and arrange them so something is blooming from early spring to late fall. Plant in clumps of the same flower (easier for pollinators to find), include host plants like milkweed for monarch caterpillars, and add a shallow water source.
Two things matter as much as the plants: don't use broad-spectrum or systemic insecticides (especially on blooms), and leave some habitat — most native bees nest in the ground or in hollow stems, so skip heavy landscape fabric and leave leaf litter and standing stems over winter.
Plant for pollinators
- Favor native plants — they support far more native bees and are the only food for many butterfly caterpillars.
- Aim for continuous bloom, early spring through late fall, so there's always nectar and pollen.
- Plant in clumps of one kind rather than singles scattered about — pollinators spot and work a patch more efficiently.
- Include host plants: milkweed for monarchs, and native larval plants for other butterflies.
- Offer a shallow water source (a dish with pebbles) for bees and butterflies.
Protect their habitat
- Avoid broad-spectrum and systemic insecticides; never spray open flowers where bees forage.
- Most native bees nest in bare ground or hollow stems — leave some un-mulched soil and standing stems.
- 'Leave the leaves' and stems over winter: they shelter overwintering butterflies, bees, and beneficial insects.
✔ For a bee 'house': natural habitat (bare ground, brush, hollow stems) supports more native bees than a store-bought bee hotel — and a hotel needs cleaning to avoid disease.
Use your regional native list
The best plants depend on where you live. Your state Extension office and native plant society publish regional pollinator-plant lists — start there rather than a generic list, so your choices actually match your local pollinators and climate.
Sources
Reviewed 2026-07-18. We cite university Extension, government, and established horticultural sources — and never invent pesticide rates or dangerous treatments.
- Oregon State University Extension — Create a home landscape for pollinators: Butterflies, bees and hummingbirds — Attract pollinators with a diversity of (native) plants blooming across the seasons, planted in clumps, plus nesting habitat and water; avoid broad-spectrum and systemic insecticides.
- University of Maryland Extension — Pollinator Gardens — Use native plants, provide continuous bloom and larval host plants (e.g. milkweed for monarchs), leave nesting habitat, and avoid pesticides to support pollinators.
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