Spring and summer provide a bounty of nectar for our pollinator friends. Because we love them so much and appreciate all they do for us, we can keep them happy through the end of summer and into fall with both long-blooming and late-blooming plants. There are many, many plants to fill the bill.
Below are some favorites you may want to consider. Here are two great resources for details about these plants and more: “Native Plants of Southwest Virginia” https://www.plantvirginianatives.
org/plantswvanatives/native-plants-of-southwest-virginia North Carolina Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox: https://plants.ces.ncsu.
edu/find_a_plant/ Some important details you need to consider are the height and spread of mature plants, watering needs, and of course whether they are native to our area. Color, texture and shape considerations will help you build an eye-catching display that you and pollinators can enjoy. Wild bleeding heart (Dicentra eximia) can provide its unique flower from March through October.
If summer weather is quite hot, it may wait until cooler temperatures to rebloom. A variety of bee balm, (Monarda didyma), starts a blaze of red in May and can continue into October. White turtlehead (Chelone glabra) is a late bloomer that likes moisture.
If you have a spot for it, you’ll enjoy its unusual flower, and so will hummingbirds. The white flower can be tinged with pink. Great blue lobelia (Lobelia siphilitica) is deer resistant and beloved by hummingbirds, butterflies and.