Pollinators like butterflies, hummingbirds, and bees sure are fun to watch, but they play an even bigger role: They're heroes in a global ecosystem! After all, pollinators could be responsible for one in every three bites of food. Open your fridge, peek in your lunch bag, and much of what you see is thanks to pollinators.

Happily, it's easy to invite these creatures to your yard by filling your landscape with plants they love. Your reward will be a parade of colour from blooming plants, loads of fruits and veggies, and a flurry of colourful, joyful activity.

Before we get to the best pollinator plants, know this: Pollinators will love it when you grow strong, vigorous plants so the flowers keep coming. Always tuck plants into well-draining, nutrient-rich soil. In raised beds, use Nature's Care Organic Raised Bed Soil. For in-ground beds or in beds for trees or shrubs try Miracle-Gro All Purpose Garden Soil when planting annuals or perennials. This product give plants a solid start and provide an ideal environment for roots.

Remember, too, that plants need feeding to grow their best. Treat flowers to a meal of Miracle-Gro® Shake 'N Feed® Ultra Bloom® Plant Food, and keep flowering shrubs and trees in tip-top shape with Miracle-Gro® Shake 'n Feed® Flowering Trees & Shrubs Plant Food (be sure to follow label directions.) Both fertilizers help fuel a strong flower show that pollinators will appreciate.

Best Pollinator Plants

Work some of these plants into existing planting beds, a raised bed garden, an herb garden, a vegetable garden, or containers. Pollinator plants fit almost anywhere! Rest assured, that these plants are all easy to find, even if you haven't heard some of the names before. Although you can start many of them from seed, you may want to simply buy young plants instead so they'll already be well on their way to maturity (plants are listed in approximate order of bloom time.)

Best Pollinator Plants: Annuals (grow for one season only)

• Sweet alyssum
• Pansy
• Viola
• Violet
• Calendula
• Marigold
• Nasturtium
• Morning glory
• Cardinal Climber vine
• Verbena
• Cleome
• Four o'clock
• Petunia
• Sage (all types)
• Lantana
• Pentas
• Sunflower

Best Pollinator Plants: Perennials (return season after season)

• Creeping phlox
• Allium (all types)
• False indigo
• Lupine
• Dame's rocket
• Bleeding heart
• Coral bells
• Catmint
• Bee balm
• Red hot poker (aka torch lily)
• Milkweed
• Hyssop
• Trumpet vine
• Cross vine
• Liatris
• Coneflower (all types)
• Honeysuckle
• Daisy
• Penstemon
• Joe-Pye weed
• Passionflower vine
• Rudbeckia (aka brown-eyed Susan, black-eyed Susan)
• Garden phlox
• Helianthus
• Sedum (all types)
• Yarrow
• Russian sage
• Goldenrod
• Aster

Best Pollinator Plants: Herbs

• Rosemary
• Borage
• Dill
• Fennel
• Thyme
• Lavender
• Oregano
• Basil
• Mint
• Pineapple sage

Best Pollinator Plants: Shrubs

• Blueberry
• Weigela
• Rhododendron
• Elderberry
• Spicebush
• Chokeberry
• Raspberry
• Beautyberry
• Holly
• Butterfly bush
• Summersweet
• Buttonbush
• Rose of Sharon
• Caryopteris
• Viburnum (all types)

Best Pollinator Plants: Trees

• Horse chestnut
• Plum
• Crabapple
• Flowering cherry
• Maple
• Pear

For more specifics on turning your yard into a pollinator paradise, check out our How to Attract Pollinators article.