Bonus: Seeds I Love - Help Pollinators on a Budget + Download

Speaker A:  welcome to a special bonus episode of the Secret Pollinators podcast.

I'm your host, Kelly from Montana,

and today we're doing something a little different.

After nine episodes of learning about these amazing pollinators,

I keep getting asked,

okay, but what can I actually do to help them?

Well,

I've got an answer for you, and I am going to uncomplicate the whole process.

For about the past 10 years, I've been on my own pollinator journey right here in Montana.

I've been learning about native plants,

buying seeds,

lots of seeds,

planting them, and watching what grows, and my favorite,

observing which native pollinators show up.

And here's what I've discovered.

Buying and planting native seeds is one of the most inexpensive and effective ways to make a real difference for pollinators.

No complicated plans,

no expensive landscaping.

Just seeds, dirt, and nature doing what it does best.

Today, I'm sharing the seeds I love. The ones that have worked in my Montana garden over the past decade,

the ones that bring pollinators in by the dozens,

and the ones that won't cost you a fortune.

I'm going to show you how simple this really is and what a big difference it will make.

I've created a free downloadable planting guide with everything you need, including plant varieties for every growing zone across the US and you can grab it at my website,

secret pollinators.com this is your bonus episode. Seeds I love. Help pollinators on a budget.

And fall.

Well, fall is the perfect time to start my Montana journey.

Let me be honest with you. I didn't start out knowing what I was doing about 10 years ago. I was just someone who liked the idea of helping pollinators,

but I had no clue where to begin.

Native plants sure sounded good, but which ones?

When do you plant them? How do you even start?

So I did what a lot of people do.

I started learning.

I took courses like Florette's flower farming course,

thinking maybe I'd be a flower farmer.

I spent real money trying to figure this out with books and videos and downloads.

And I want to say I learned a lot from Erin at Florette. And I encourage anyone who loves flowers to take her course and watch her documentaries.

They're very inspiring.

But here's what I discovered about myself.

I can't cut the flowers.

I literally can't do it.

I get lost watching all the pollinators working the blooms, and it just kills me to cut a flower when there's bees and butterflies depending on it.

So flower farming.

Flower farming is not for Me.

But Erin's story is so encouraging. It actually helped me get clear on what my destiny really is.

I realized I want to give a Voice to the 4,000 native pollinators here in North America.

Someday I want to go global. But right now,

I'm focused on celebrating and protecting these incredible little creatures that most people never even notice.

But those courses taught me something incredibly important.

Most flowers bred for the cut flower industry are bred to have low or no pollen.

Flower farmers don't want pollen getting all over people's tables and clothes.

They want a long vase life and clean blooms.

Well, that's the opposite of what pollinators need.

They need pollen rich flowers.

They need native plants that haven't been bred to be tidy.

That's when I realized I needed to focus on non GMO native seeds, heirloom seeds,

plants that have the pollen and nectar that pollinators actually depend on.

So I started buying native seeds,

planting them, and seeing what happened.

Some things grew beautifully.

Some things didn't grow at all.

Some attracted every pollinator in the county,

and others just sat there looking pretty but empty.

Over the past decade, I figured out what works here in Montana,

what thrives in our climate,

what our pollinators prefer,

and what can handle our super extreme weather.

And I'm still learning.

Every season teaches me something new,

and so I have something to look forward to.

But here's what I've discovered.

Most of the plants that work in my Montana garden can actually grow anywhere in the United States.

These aren't finicky specialists.

They're tough, adaptable native plants that want to succeed.

They just need a chance.

So today, I'm sharing my personal favorites. The plants that have proven themselves in my garden year after year over the past decade.

The ones that bring bees, butterflies, and all sorts of pollinators without any fuss or expensive maintenance.

Because that's very important.

And I want to hear from you, too,

what works in your region.

What brings pollinators to your garden?

Because while I can share what's working in Montana,

together we can create a nationwide resource of pollinator friendly plants that actually perform in real gardens,

not just in textbooks or fancy videos.

My top five pollinator magnets.

All right, let's talk about my absolute favorites.

The top five plants that have consistently blown me away with their pollinator appeal.

These are the ones that I plant and the ones that I recommend to everyone,

and the ones that make me stop and just watch the wildlife show.

Some are perennials that come back year after year, and some are annuals that can reseed themselves or that I plant every year,

and that information is all available in the download.

But before I dive in,

let me quickly explain Growing Zones the USDA United States Department of Agriculture divides North America into zones based on average minimum winter temperature.

So Montana is zoned 2 to 3, which is very cold,

very cold,

and like Florida would be Zone 9, which is significantly warmer.

Most of the plants that I'm sharing work across a wide range of zones,

which means they're adaptable and likely to work where you live.

Check your specific zone online.

All you have to do is search USDA Hardiness Zone and enter your zip code and then click Go.

So,

number one, Maximilian Sunflower.

This is my champion,

my mvp, my absolute star player.

Maximilian sunflower is a native perennial that grows tall between 4 and 6ft and absolutely explodes with bright yellow flowers in late summer through fall.

And when I say pollinators love it,

I mean they love it.

Number two, Phacelia,

the common name bee's friend says it all.

Phacelia has these gorgeous purple blue flowers that bees absolutely can't resist.

I've watched bumblebees work these flowers so intensely they literally ignore me standing there right next to them.

Number three is yarrow.

These flat top clusters of white, yellow or pink flowers are like little landing pads for beneficial insects.

Yarrow is a pollinator workhorse.

It attracts tons of small native bees, beneficial wasps,

hoverflies and butterflies.

Number four Bee Balm Another perfectly named plant,

bee balm produces these wild, spiky flowers in shades of red, pink, purple or white.

I prefer purple,

and it brings in not just bees, but hummingbirds too.

It's a native mint family plant that spreads readily and blooms throughout the summer.

Number five is salvia.

Salvia encompasses many species,

but I'm talking about like this native salvias, azure sage or pitcher sage.

These have tubular flowers that bees and hummingbirds love.

They're drought tolerant and low maintenance like the rest of my choices.

So those are my four,

or, excuse me, those are my five core team plants that absolutely must be in my garden year after year.

But they're not the only players.

What else works in my garden beyond my top five? I've had great success with several other native plants that consistently attract pollinators.

Here's what else is thriving in my Montana garden.

Purple Prairie Cloverflower this one's a native legume with cool purple cylinder flowers.

It's drought tolerant and attracts tons of small native bees.

Blazing Star these tall spikes of purple flowers bloom from top to bottom, which is really Unusual and beautiful and butterflies really love them.

Joe Pye Weed. This stunning perennial has huge dusty rose flower heads.

It's a butterfly magnet and I've seen it covered with swallowtails and monarchs, but it loves moisture so it's perfect for damp spots.

Goldenrod.

This golden beauty gets blamed for foul allergies, but it's actually innocent.

And it's a pollinator magnet in late summer and fall, attracting everything from bees to migrating monarchs.

It's an absolute powerhouse.

Blanket flower is also called Indian blanket and these cheerful red and yellow blooms flower all summer and attract everything from bees to butterflies.

It's just beautiful.

Poppies.

Both California poppies and other varieties provide pollen for bees and they're stunning in the garden.

Many are great self seeders. And I actually had some random poppy seeds grow that showed up in my garden one year.

I had no idea where they came from.

They self seeded and they kept coming back year after year.

And it turns out that they're like pom pom poppies or they're actually called peony poppies.

They're beautiful and the bees love them. So I was pretty happy that I just kind of let them do their thing and observe them.

And what I've learned is that I like to wait and see what comes up before I pull anything out.

Often volunteer plants turned out to be wonderful, wonderful surprises.

But there's one exception.

Morning glory.

That stuff takes over and strangles my flowers,

so that gets pulled immediately.

Then there's American wild mint.

And this native mint attracts small pollinators and provides a great ground cover.

But fair warning,

it spreads like crazy. Kind of like all mints and actually bees and butterflies like all mints.

Hollyhocks.

These are cottage garden classics and they get really tall, like 6 to 8ft, I think I had some that were almost 10ft in my garden this summer. And they provide nectar for bees and butterflies and they, they love them.

And they also reseed really easily.

And of course, they're just a beautiful flower.

Now I'll be the first to admit,

not everything I've tried has worked.

Lots hasn't worked. But I planted seeds, you know,

that never germinated.

I bought plants that didn't survive in their first winter.

I've tried species that didn't even survive in my conditions because I'll try pretty much anything and I think that's part of the process.

But these plants that I've listed,

these are proven performers in my garden.

They're the ones that come back year after year and thrive and that bring pollinators without demanding constant attention or maintenance.

Because I want to watch bumblebees and hoverflies and moths and everything else in my garden, I do not want to spend time maintaining or pruning it.

Fall Planting and Cold Stratification here's something I learned that changed everything.

Many native plant seeds actually need to be planted in the fall.

They require something called cold stratification.

That's a period of cold, moist conditions that break their dormancy in nature.

Seeds fall to the ground in autumn,

they experience winter's cold, and then they germinate in the spring when the conditions are right and we can work with this natural cycle instead of against it.

When you plant native seeds in the fall,

anytime in late fall or early winter,

or even on frozen ground,

you're letting winter do the work for you.

The seed experiences natural cold stratification,

and when spring arrives, they're primed and ready to grow.

Seeds like Joe Pye weed and purple prairie clover and many others perform much better with fall planting.

You simply scatter them on soil,

press them lightly into contact with the ground,

and let nature take over.

Honestly, that's what I do. I just scatter seeds on the ground and maybe move them around in the dirt a bit so the birds don't eat them all.

That's it.

I'm into simple and easy gardening. No complicated techniques, no fancy equipment.

Just seeds, dirt, and letting nature do what it does best.

The Budget Breakdown let's talk money. Because this is where native seed planting really shines.

You can create significant pollinator habitat for less than you'd spend on a few cups of coffee.

A packet of native wildflower seeds costs somewhere between 3 and $8,

and it can cover around 5 to 50 square feet, depending on the species and how densely you plant.

I plant them really densely,

but compare that to buying established plants, which are between $5 and $15 each, and you can see the difference.

Now, buying plants in spring is totally fine if that works better for you,

it just costs more money.

But here's what's critical.

Make sure they're pesticide free.

I prefer organically grown plants,

but honestly, they're hard to find.

At a very minimum,

please ask your nursery if the plants have been treated with pesticides which are harmful to pollinators.

If they can't tell you the plants are pesticide free,

you might be bringing poison home to the very pollinators you're trying to help.

That's never a good thing.

I've created substantial pollinator gardens for $20 to $30 in seed costs. And because many of these plants are perennials or self seeding annuals,

that's a one time investment that keeps giving year after year after year.

Here's where I get my seeds.

I use two family owned companies that I trust,

Everwild Farms and Hancock Seeds.

Both specialize in native plants,

both offer great prices, and both are small family businesses that care about what they're doing.

These companies offer individual species so you can choose exactly what you want,

which is what I do, or they sell native flower wildflower mixes designed for different regions.

Both options work pretty well.

Individual species give you control and the mixes give you a lot of diversity.

The budget approach to pollinator gardening isn't a compromise, it's actually ideal.

Seeds establish better than many transplants,

they adapt to your specific conditions from day one, and they're so inexpensive you can experiment freely without worrying about costly mistakes.

You don't need a landscape budget to help pollinators.

You need a few dollars, some dirt and the willingness to scatter some seeds,

making it work in your region.

Most of the plants I've mentioned can grow throughout the United States. Maximilian Sunflower grows in zones four through nine.

Phacelia grows almost everywhere. Bee balm and Salvia have species adapted to most regions, which I've noted in the download.

These are tough, adaptable plants and I've created a free download guide with my complete plant list, planning instructions and space for you to add your own regional favorites.

You can get it on my website@secret pollinators.com and I generally want to hear from you. Just share what's working in your garden. Tell us what pollinators you're seeing. Show us your successes and even your failures because we learn from those too.

We're building something together.

A nationwide network of pollinator champions. Creating habitat One Seed packet at a time.

The Power of Seeds A single packet of seeds contains hundreds of potential flowers.

Those flowers can feed thousands of pollinators over years or even decades.

If the plants are perennial or self seeding, I mean that's really important.

And from a $5 investment you can create habitat that functions indefinitely.

Fall is here. The planting window is open, the seeds are really inexpensive and the pollinators are waiting.

So here's your mission. If you choose to accept it,

grab your free free downloadable planting guide at my website, secret pollinators.com it includes my complete plant list with regional alternatives for different growing zones across the usa.

Planting instructions for fall seeding, cold stratification information,

which is sounds complicated, but it's not and space to add your own regional favorites.

No matter where you live in the United States, you'll find native plant varieties work in your area.

Plant something this fall. One of my favorites or something you've been curious about.

Then share what you planted on our Facebook page Secret Pollinators.

Or use the hashtag Secret Pollinators as your plants grow and bloom next spring and summer. Share the photos. We'll all be able to encourage each other and see what's growing.

And make sure to tell us what works in your region because your observations help others in your area know what to plant.

Please please leave me a review on your podcast platform if this bonus episode inspired you to take action.

Every review helps others discover how easy it is to help pollinators,

and that's a good thing.

Thank you for joining me for this special bonus episode.

Up next,

episode 10, the Goldenrod Gold Rush,

where I'll share my personal journey of wrongly blaming goldenrod for my fall allergies for years until allergy testing proved I was wrong.

We'll explore why this golden plant is innocent,

what's really making you sneeze,

and why gold it brought might be the most important pollinator plant in North America.

I'm Kelly from Montana, and this has been a bonus episode of the Secret Pollinators.

Please subscribe wherever you get your podcasts and remember,

every packet of native seeds you plant matters.