Pollinator garden kit

The Bee Border.

Open for business from June to frost.

Anise hyssop and bee balm carry midsummer, tickseed fills the front, and October Skies aster keeps the bees fed into frost. One mountain mint in the middle, because nothing in the garden pulls in more pollinators per square foot. Planted in pairs so the bees can find them.

9 plants · 5 kinds4 × 8 ft bedFull sun
$197.91
Same price as buying them one by one. The plan's on us.
The Bee Border
What's in the box

9 plants, 5 jobs.

$43.98
In this kit: Late-summer spikes
Agastache × hybrida

Anise Hyssop

Smells like licorice. The bees agree.

Weeks of blue, no fuss. Pale violet-blue flower spikes from midsummer into early fall, over leaves that smell like black licorice when you brush them. It handles heat and humidity better than most anise hyssops, and the bees work it from morning to dusk.

Size2–3 ft tall, 18–24 in. wideShowMidsummer into early fall LightfullZones5–9 PetsNot pet-safe; keep out of reachWaterlow
$21.99 each
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In this kit: Late-summer spikes
Liatris pycnostachya

Prairie Blazing Star

Purple spikes. Butterflies line up.

A tall prairie native in purple. Dense lilac-purple spikes open from the top down in late summer, which is backwards and works anyway. It's a native of the tallgrass prairie, and monarchs, swallowtails and bees treat it as a regular stop.

Size3–5 ft tall, 1–2 ft wideShowLate summer into early fall LightfullZones3–9 PetsNot pet-safe; keep out of reachWatermoderate
$21.99 each
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$43.98
In this kit: The odd one bees love
Monarda punctata

Spotted Bee Balm

Odd-looking flowers. Every bee in town.

The bee balm for dry ground. Tiers of small yellow flowers spotted in purple sit on pink-lavender bracts that hold their color for weeks. It's a native of sandy fields, it smells like oregano when you brush it, and bees, wasps and butterflies all come.

Size1.5–2 ft tall, 1 ft wideShowSummer Lightfull, partZones3–8 PetsNot pet-safe; keep out of reachWaterlow
$21.99 each
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In this kit: The odd one bees love
Stokesia laevis

Stokes' Aster

Big frilly flowers on a short plant.

A Southern native, in purple. A selection of a native from the Southeast, with large, fringed purple flowers that look like a cornflower crossed with an aster. It stays low over a clump of glossy, strap-like leaves. With deadheading it blooms through summer and into early fall.

Size12–24 in. tall, 12–18 in. wideShowSummer into early fall LightfullZones5–9 PetsNot pet-safe; keep out of reachWatermoderate
$21.99 each
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$21.99
In this kit: Bee magnet
Pycnanthemum muticum

Clustered Mountain Mint

A bee magnet that needs elbow room.

The busiest plant in the garden. Broad, minty leaves topped in summer by flat clusters of tiny pinkish-white flowers, set off by silvery bracts. Native to the East, it pulls in bees, wasps and butterflies by the dozen. It also spreads, which is the price of admission.

Size2–3 ft tall, spreading 2–3 ft or moreShowMidsummer into early fall Lightfull, partZones4–8 PetsNot pet-safe; keep out of reachWatermoderate
$21.99 each
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In this kit: Bee magnet
Pycnanthemum virginianum

Virginia Mountain Mint

Narrow leaves, white buttons, a lot of bees.

The tidy mountain mint. Fine, narrow leaves on stiff stems and flat-topped clusters of small white flowers from midsummer on. Native from the Northeast through the Midwest, it's the most upright and compact of the mountain mints. Pollinators line up for it all the same.

Size2–3 ft tall, 12–18 in. wideShowMidsummer into early fall LightfullZones3–7 PetsNot pet-safe; keep out of reachWatermoderate
$21.99 each
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In this kit: Bee magnet
Calamintha nepeta ssp. nepeta

Lesser Calamint

A cloud of flowers with a buzz.

Small flowers, big crowds. Tiny white to pale lavender flowers in a loose, airy mound from midsummer into fall, over small leaves that smell of mint when you brush them. On a sunny day it hums with bees.

Size1–2 ft tall, 12–18 in. wideShowMidsummer into early fall LightfullZones5–9 PetsNot pet-safe; keep out of reachWaterlow
$21.99 each
Full plant page →
$43.98
In this kit: All-summer gold
Coreopsis

Tickseed

Fluted petals. No flute solo required.

Gold all summer. Big golden daisies with fluted, tubular petals on a compact mound, blooming from early summer into late summer. A selection of a native coreopsis, it handles heat and dry spells and keeps the butterflies coming.

SizeAbout 18 in. tall and wideShowEarly to late summer LightfullZones5–9 PetsNot pet-safe; keep out of reachWaterlow
$21.99 each
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In this kit: All-summer gold
Gaillardia × grandiflora

Blanket Flower

Red, yellow, and blooming until frost.

Small plant, long season. A compact blanket flower with scarlet daisies tipped in yellow around a reddish brown center. It starts in June and keeps going into October. Heat, drought and road salt don't bother it.

Size10–12 in. tall, 12–18 in. wideShowJune to October LightfullZones3–9 PetsNot pet-safe; keep out of reachWaterlow
$21.99 each
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$43.98
In this kit: Fall finale
Symphyotrichum oblongifolium

Aromatic Aster

Saves its best for last.

Sky blue in late fall. A selection of a native aster that forms a neat, bushy mound and covers itself in sky-blue daisies in mid to late fall. The leaves smell faintly sweet when you brush them, and it's often the last thing in the garden still feeding bees.

Size1.5–2 ft tall, 1.5–2 ft wideShowMid to late fall LightfullZones3–8 PetsNot pet-safe; keep out of reachWaterlow
$21.99 each
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In this kit: Fall finale
Solidago odora

Sweet Goldenrod

Not your allergies. Blame the ragweed.

The goldenrod that stays put. A clump-forming eastern native with arching plumes of yellow flowers in late summer. Crush a leaf and it smells of anise, and the dried leaves make a respectable tea. Unlike its rowdier relatives, it stays where you put it.

Size2–4 ft tall, 1–2 ft wideShowLate summer into early fall Lightfull, partZones4–9 PetsNot pet-safe; keep out of reachWaterlow
$21.99 each
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The whole kit: 9 plants + the planting planShips from the growers, timed for your zone. Arrives alive, or we replace it.
The planting plan

Dig here. Then here.

BackFront · path side112234455
1 · Hyssop2 · Bee balm3 · Mountain mint4 · Tickseed5 · Aster
How to plant it

Hyssop and bee balm at the back, the mountain mint in the middle where it can spread a little, aster and tickseed at the front. Space 18 in apart. Water weekly the first month, then only in a long dry spell. Leave the seed heads up for winter.

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