Pollinator garden kit

The Pollinator Buffet.

Open seating for bees, butterflies and hummingbirds.

Scarlet bee balm for the hummingbirds, white coneflowers for the butterflies, two kinds of tickseed for the bees, and a goldenrod to feed everyone into fall. Every plant is a native or a native variety with open, single flowers, planted in groups so the pollinators can find them.

14 plants · 5 kinds4 × 8 ft bedFull sunAll 5 native
$424.86
Same price as buying them one by one. The plan's on us.
The Pollinator Buffet
What it looks like

Year two. Then you brag.

Year two, mid-July. Each plant drawn at its full size.

1 ft312451 ft31245
  1. 1Bee balm 'Jacob Cline' × 33–4 ft tall, 18–24 in. wide
  2. 2Coneflower 'White Swan' × 324–36 in. tall, 18–24 in. wide
  3. 3Goldenrod 'Solar Cascade' × 224–30 in. tall, 12–24 in. wide
  4. 4Mouse-ear tickseed 'Nana' × 36–9 in. tall, spreading slowly
  5. 5Tickseed 'Super Star' × 314–16 in. tall, 16–18 in. wide
What's in the box

14 plants, 5 jobs.

$92.97
In this kit: Hummingbird red
Monarda didyma

Bee Balm

Hummingbird bait in fire-engine red.

Red flags for hummingbirds. Shaggy heads of true scarlet flowers on tall stems in midsummer, with aromatic, minty leaves. Hummingbirds find it within days.

Size3–4 ft tall, 18–24 in. wideShowMidsummer Lightfull, partZones4–9 PetsNot pet-safe; keep out of reachWatermoderate
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In this kit: Hummingbird red
Monarda hybrid

Bee Balm

Knee-high bee balm. Hummingbirds still find it.

Bee balm, cut down to size. Shaggy amethyst-purple flowers with darker speckles, on a compact plant about a foot tall. It blooms earlier than most bee balms and hummingbirds and bees show up for it right away.

Size10–14 in. tall, 18–22 in. wideShowEarly to midsummer LightfullZones4–9 PetsNot pet-safe; keep out of reachWatermoderate
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$89.97
In this kit: Butterfly landing pads
Echinacea purpurea

Purple Coneflower

The classic, in clean white.

A classic, dressed in white. White, slightly drooping petals around a coppery-orange cone, all summer long. Butterflies work the flowers by day and goldfinches pick the seed heads in fall.

Size24–36 in. tall, 18–24 in. wideShowEarly summer into fall Lightfull, partZones3–8 PetsNot pet-safe; keep out of reachWaterlow
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In this kit: Butterfly landing pads
Echinacea hybrid

Coneflower

Every plant a different color.

A sunset, no two alike. Seed-grown, so each plant blooms in its own color, anywhere from red and orange to pink, yellow, cream and white. Plant a group for a mix that looks like a prairie at sunset.

Size24–30 in. tall, 18–24 in. wideShowEarly summer to early fall Lightfull, partZones4–9 PetsNot pet-safe; keep out of reachWaterlow
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In this kit: Butterfly landing pads
Echinacea hybrid

Coneflower

Pure orange. No pastels here.

Orange you can see from the street. Glowing pumpkin-orange petals that sweep down from a dark reddish-brown cone, on stems sturdy enough to stand through a storm. Butterflies work it in summer, finches pick the seed heads in fall.

Size2–3 ft tall, 18–24 in. wideShowMidsummer into early fall Lightfull, partZones4–9 PetsNot pet-safe; keep out of reachWaterlow
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$61.98
In this kit: Fall fuel
Solidago shortii

Short's Goldenrod

Gold sprays. Doesn't cause hay fever.

Golden arches for fall. Arching sprays of bright yellow flowers spill over a neat clump from late summer into fall, buzzing with bees and butterflies. A selection of a rare native, but it stays put instead of running.

Size24–30 in. tall, 12–24 in. wideShowLate summer into fall LightfullZones4–9 PetsNot pet-safe; keep out of reachWaterlow
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In this kit: Fall fuel
Rudbeckia laciniata 'Herbstsonne'

Cutleaf Coneflower

Seven feet of late-summer yellow.

Tall, airy, very yellow. Big lemon-yellow flowers with drooping petals around a green cone, held five to seven feet up from late summer into fall. Butterflies and bees work it hard, and goldfinches take the seed.

Size5–7 ft tall, 3–4 ft wideShowLate summer to early fall LightfullZones4–9 PetsNot pet-safe; keep out of reachWatermoderate
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$89.97
In this kit: Low gold edging for early bees
Coreopsis auriculata

Mouse Ear Tickseed

Gold buttons, early, low to the ground.

Spring gold at ankle height. Golden-yellow daisies held just above low rosettes of rounded leaves, the 'mouse ears.' It blooms earlier than most coreopsis and slowly spreads into a neat groundcover.

Size6–9 in. tall, spreading slowlyShowMid to late spring, with light rebloom Lightfull, partZones4–9 PetsNot pet-safe; keep out of reachWatermoderate
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In this kit: Low gold edging for early bees
Penstemon

Beardtongue

Near-black leaves. Lavender tubes. Hummingbirds.

Dark leaves, lavender bells. Glossy, nearly black maroon foliage on upright stems, topped in late spring with clusters of lavender tubular flowers. Burgundy seed pods follow and keep the dark show going.

Size24–30 in. tall, 18–24 in. wideShowLate spring to early summer Lightfull, partZones3–8 PetsNot pet-safe; keep out of reachWaterlow
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$89.97
In this kit: Sunny front row
Coreopsis grandiflora

Tickseed

Lemon yellow with a red eye.

Big lemon flowers, red center. Oversized lemon-yellow flowers with a red ring at the center on a compact clump. Heat and drought don't slow it down, and the bees keep busy.

Size14–16 in. tall, 16–18 in. wideShowEarly to late summer LightfullZones4–9 PetsNot pet-safe; keep out of reachWaterlow
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In this kit: Sunny front row
Coreopsis grandiflora

Tickseed

Variegated leaves, gold flowers, red fall.

The leaves do half. Leaves variegated green and cream, with pink-red tints in cool weather, under bright golden flowers with a red-brown eye. Good looking even when it's not in bloom.

SizeAbout 18 in. tall and wideShowLate spring to late summer LightfullZones5–9 PetsNot pet-safe; keep out of reachWaterlow
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The whole kit: 14 plants + the planting planEvery plant picked for your zone. Arrives alive, or we replace it.
The planting plan

Dig here. Then here.

4 × 8 ft bedFull sunTap a plant for the details
Back · tallMiddleFront · low
↓ Front edge · path, lawn or walk
What blooms when
AprMayJunJulAugSepOct
1Bee balm
2Coneflower
3Goldenrod
4Mouse-ear tickseed
5Tickseed

Something in flower every month from April to October.

  1. 1Lay it outSet the pots on the soil to match the plan before you dig. Step back, nudge, then commit.
  2. 2Dig and dropEach hole twice as wide as the pot, just as deep. Crown level with the soil. Firm it in.
  3. 3Soak itWater deeply today, then weekly for a month. After that, mostly leave it alone.
Why it's laid out like this

Bee balm and goldenrod at the back, coneflowers in the middle, both tickseeds at the front, with the low mouse-ear tickseed right on the edge. Space 18 in. apart. Leave the seed heads up in fall for the finches.

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The Sunday Tip · every Sunday

One good plant idea,
every Sunday.

What to plant this week in your zone, every Sunday. New ways to plant and odd tricks that actually work.