May is the most beautiful month on the flower farm, I think. Hundreds or thousands of flowers open their blossoms to attract pollinators. Tiny wasps love the umbel-shaped flowers of Queen Anne’s Lace and yarrow, and all creatures adore zinnias.
To encourage pollinators in your garden, plant a variety of plants that bloom, especially native plants. Plant flowers that bloom in different shapes, sizes, forms, and colors. You can even allow carrots or broccoli to bolt and bloom; insects love the umbel-shaped flowers of members of the carrot family, and they always visit the yellow or white blooms of brassicas. Hummingbirds visit the tubular flowers of salvia.
A discussion of native plants is beyond the scope of this article, but identifying and planting them will encourage the pollinators. Many pollinators and beneficial insects aren’t just showy bees and butterflies but are also tiny wasps and other creatures that are barely visible.
If you spray pesticides to kill the “bad bugs,” you will also kill the pollinators. Lawn treatments that kill underground insects that harm your lawn might also kill the larvae of pollinators. No one wants to lose expensive sod to lawn insects or to have their yard full of fire ants, and so some judicious pesticide use may be necessary. However, before you use any pesticides, identify the problem insect, research ways to manage it, and decide if you can live with the pest or if you need to try to eliminate it.
There are plenty of options (that don’t harm pollinators) for dealing with pests. Hand-picking problem insects into soapy water is a good way to deal with Japanese beetles and tomato hornworms, for example.
Blythewood Ag & Art
On June 6 and 7, please consider attending the free Richland County Ag and Art Tour. My farm, One Hubcap Farm, will be on the tour along with 15 other tour sites in Richland County. In the Blythewood area, Paradise Cay Plantation and Fable Farms offer experiences with animals and vegetable growing. Local artists and artisans will provide the “art” portion of the tour, and the farms will provide the “agriculture” part of the tour. For more information, please visit https://www.agandarttour.com/richland.
One Hubcap Farm, located at 1236 Muller Road, Blythewood, is open every Friday and Saturday through June 27 from 9-6 each day for you-pick flowers and bouquets, and we will have flowers during the Ag and Art Tour also. Please visit https://onehubcapfarm.com/ for more information.