Top Plants for Bees, Butterflies, and Birds: The Ultimate Pollinator Garden Guide

Many plants require pollination for seeds, flowers, fruits, and vegetable production. These plants generate nectar to attract pollinators like butterflies, bees, and birds.

While these pollinators collect nectar from various flowers, they also carry pollen from one plant to another. This is known as pollination. Pollinators will move pollen grains from the anthers, the male part of the flower, to the stigma, the female part.  

Once the pollen reaches the stigma, the pollen forms a tube that extends down through the style to the ovary. This leads to fertilization, resulting in the production of seeds. Therefore, it is important to pollinator plants that attract butterflies, bees, and hummingbirds are some of nature’s primary pollinators.

Pollinator plants are those that attract and benefit pollinators like bees, butterflies, hummingbirds, and moths. These plants provide shelter and food in the form of nectar and pollen. There are a few characteristics of good pollinator plants.

Brightly colored flowers

• Flowers with bright colors, especially blue, purple, yellow, and red, attract pollinators. These flowers are easy to spot from a distance, especially if the insects have keen eyesight.
• Bright colors also stand out amongst all the greenery, making it attractive. 

Strong fragrance

• Some insects use eyesight, while others use smell to find food sources. Therefore, plants with strong and sweet fragrances attract and guide pollinators to the plants.
• Scents travel greater distances than colors, allowing plants to attract various pollinators.

Flower Shape and Structure

• The shape and structure of a flower are also essential for attracting pollinators. It is similar to finding the right shoe shape and size.
• The appropriate pollinator has to have an ideal body shape and feeding habits for a specific flower. For example, flowers with flat, sturdy platforms, like sunflowers, attract bees because it is for them to land on the flower.
• Meanwhile, hummingbirds have long tongues, perfect for tube-like flowers like a trumpet vine.

Abundant Nectar and Pollen

• Many flowering plants contain nectar and pollen. Nectar is a sugary liquid that pollinators consume for energy to fly from flower to flower.
• Pollinators also consume pollen, which contains protein and other nutrients essential for the growth and development of pollinators.
• Therefore, the more nectar and pollen a flower provides, the more appealing it is to pollinators. It is a supply-and-demand relationship: abundant food source attracts more pollinators.

Now that we know what pollinator plants are, let's learn about some of the best plants for bees, butterflies and birds.

• Plant Type: Herbaceous Perennial
• Growing Zone: 5 to 9
• Size: Tall ones are 1-3 feet tall and 1-4 feet wide, there are also medium and dwarf varieties.

Lavender is one of the best plants for bees. It has a distinct purple color that contrasts sharply against the green plants, making it easily noticeable to pollinators seeking nectar and pollen. The color of the flower, coupled with the strong, aromatic fragrance, makes it attractive even from a far distance. 

The flower also produces nectar and pollen large enough for a population of pollinators. They have an open, tubular structure that allows access to various pollinators, from bees with short tongues to butterflies with long feeding tubes.

• Plant Type: Most Annulas, some perennials
• Growing Zone: 2 to 11
• Size: 6-10 feet tall, 2-4 feet wide

The sunflower has everything pollinators could ever want. It has large, bright yellow petals, abundant nectar and pollen, and a subtle, sweet fragrance that invites pollinators to feed on it from miles away. 

Additionally, it tracks the sun, meaning the flower follows the sun across the sky. This ensures the flower head is comfortable and warm for heat-loving pollinators like bees. The flower’s flat and board head also provides a stable platform for pollinators to land on while feeding. 

• Plant Type: Annual Herb
• Growing Zone: 3 to 10
• Size: 1-3 feet tall, 1-2 feet wide

Borage, also known as starflower, has beautiful star-shaped vivid blue flowers that are useful to humans as well as bees. Bees feed on its sweet nectar, and there is plenty because of its long flowering period. It flowers during the summer when there is a shortage of nectar.

Borage is also beneficial to humans. The seed is used to make oil, while the flowers and leaves can be used in cooking. 

• Plant type: Leguminous Herb
• Growing Zone: 3 to 10
• Size: 6-12 inches tall, spreading

Clover benefits various pollinators thanks to its long blooming period, which provides a consistent food source but also offers a practical benefit: habitat for the pollinators.

Clover is a ground cover, meaning it is a low-growing plant that spreads horizontally to cover the ground. This type of ground cover provides shelter and nesting sites for various pollinators. It also makes for a good hiding spot from predators. 

• Plant Type: Herbaceous Perennial
• Growing Zone: 3 to 9
• Size: 1 to 5 feet tall, 1 to 3 feet wide

Milkweeds, or butterfly weeds, are the best plants for butterflies. These plants are the only food source for monarch caterpillars, and without the weed, the caterpillars cannot survive. 

The plants contain toxins that the caterpillars ingest to morph into adult butterflies. The toxins also protect the butterflies from predators because it makes them unpalatable. While milkweed is essential for butterflies, it also benefits other pollinators like bees, hummingbirds, and other pollinators.

• Plant Type: Perennial Shrub
• Growing Zone: 5 to 9
• Size: 5-12 feet tall, 5-15 feet wide

The name butterfly bush or butterfly plant suggests that they are the best flowers for butterflies. They have blue-purple flower clusters poking out of the bush, and soon as it gets warm and sunny, tons of butterflies and bees visit the flowers.

The butterfly bush is a popular pollinator because the plants grow rapidly and bloom early in their life cycle. It continues to produce flowers throughout its lifespan of up to 30 years. 

• Plant Type: Perennial
• Growing Zone: 3-9
• Size: 2-4 feet tall, 1-2 feet wide

Coneflowers are not only attractive to bees and butterflies, but they are one of the best plants for birds. If you have these flowers in your garden, you might catch songbirds nibbling on the seeds or hummingbirds sipping the nectar. 

These flowers are usually purple but are available in various colors like white, yellow, orange, red, and green. Even after all the seeds are consumed by the birds, the remaining flower heads still liven up your garden with their beauty 

• Plant Type: Perennial in warm climates, annual in cooler areas
• Growing Zone: 8-11
• Size: 2-6 feet tall, 2-6 feet wide

Lantana is a must-have for a pollinator haven. These plants are well-loved by butterflies, bees, and hummingbirds on many levels, from sweet nectar for food and attractive scent to bright color and overall flower structure. 

These plants are easy to plant and grow and relatively low maintenance. They do not need regular watering because they love the heat and thrive in drier soil.

• Plant Type: Woody Vine
• Growing Zone: 4-9
• Size: 25-40 feet tall, 4-10 feet wide

The trumpet vine has trumpet-shaped red-orange or yellow flowers, depending on the cultivar. These flowers bloom from June to September in clusters and are very attractive to all kinds of pollinators.

The only downside is that these plants need to reach maturity before they can start flowering, and maturity takes several years. However, once they flower, they are great pollinators and can be used to decorate landscapes beautifully.

• Plant Type: Herbaceous Perennial
• Growing Zone:  5-9
• Size: 2-5 feet tall, 1-2 feet wide

Red hot poker, commonly known as torch lily, has beautiful flowers in all colors. For example, the flashpoint variety has chartreuse yellow buds that mature to creamy white, while the Poco Sunset blooms dramatic bicolored flowers.

This flower is one of the best flowers to plant for bees. It attracts all kinds of bees like bumble, honey, mason, sweat, mining, and many more. They are also attractive to a wide species of birds, such as orioles and cedar waxwings. 

• Plant Type: The majority are perennial, some are annual and shrub.
• Growing Zone: 4-10
• Size: 18 inches to 5 feet tall and wide depending on the variety

Salvia, commonly referred to as sage, is a large group of flowering plants. These plants have vibrant flowers in a rainbow of colors. Their nectar-rich blooms attract numerous pollinators, such as honeybees, native bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds.

Additionally, their aromatic, resinous foliage makes them highly resistant to deer and rabbits, making it easier for pollinators to feed on the flowers. 

If you are planting salvias in your garden, try the Raspberry Delight variety, which is one of the cold-hardy plants once established. It blooms all summer long with raspberry-red flowers and has aromatic foliage.

• Plant Type: Herbaceous Perennial
• Growing Zone: 3 to 9
• Size: 12 to 36 inches tall to 12 to 24 inches wide

Columbine is one of the plants that attract birds. It is especially a favorite of the ruby-throated hummingbirds. The plant has flowers in various colors, including shades of red, pink, purple, blue, yellow, and white. 

The red one, in particular, is a favorite of these hummingbirds because it has long spurs with nectar at the very tip. These columbines necat is twice as sweet as all other columbines, making it a good match for hummingbirds. 

• Plant Type: Herbaceous Biennial
• Growing Zone: 4 to 9
• Size: 3-5 feet tall, 2-3 feet wide

Evening primrose is one of the pollinator plants that is active at night. Unlike other pollinators that open during the day, evening primrose blooms in the late afternoon or evening.

This makes it a valuable food source for pollinators active in the afternoon and evening, like moths. Moths are active at night to reduce the chances of becoming prey to birds that are active during the day.

With fewer insects active in the evening, they also have less competition for doos like nectar. 

• Plant Type: Perennial or annual vine
• Growing Zone: 3-9, perennial in 10-11
• Size: Reach heights of up to 20 feet with flowers 3 to 6 inches across

Like evening primrose, the moonflower opens its large, creamy white trumpet-shaped flowers after dark when other flowers are dropping their heads to call it a day.  They are ideal for nighttime pollinators like moths and bats. 

When these flowers unfurl their petals, they release a powerful, sweet fragrance that attracts moths, bats, and other night-active insects from a distance.

The pale color of the moonflower contrasts brightly with the darkness of the night, making it easy for night-flying pollinators to locate.

• Plant Type: Climbing vine or shrub
• Growing Zone: 7 to 10
• Size: Climbing jasmines can reach up to 20 feet or more. Shrub jasmines can be 3 to 10 feet tall

If you have planted jasmine in your garden, you are probably familiar with the rich, sweet, fruity, sensual, and almost vanilla-like scent. This scent can fill your garden and attract pollinators.

They also have delicate, star-shaped flowers with sweet nectar and pollen for these pollinators to feed on. 

You can include jasmine in your collection of pollinators. They are easy to grow and low-maintenance. They can tolerate a range of growing conditions and are ideal for novice gardeners. 

• Plant Type: Herbaceous Perennial
• Growing Zone: 3-9
• Size: 8 inches to 5 feet tall, with various spread depending on growing conditions and cultivar

Apart from bees and butterflies, yarrow flowers attract wasps and hoverflies. They usually have small cream shades of white flowers that bloom in clusters at the top of the yarrow plant.

These flowers can also range in colors from yellow to pink to red depending on the cultivar. But no matter what color, the flower produces abundant nectar and pollen grains, an essential food source for pollinators.

The yarrow plant is also beneficial to humans. The leaves are dried and ground to a powder that has healing properties. 

• Plant Type: Annual and perennial herbaceous or semi-woody flowering plants
• Growing Zone: 8-11
• Size: 6 inches to 6 feet tall, 18 inches to 3 feet wide

Bees, butterflies, birds, and many other pollinators flock to a garden with verbenas.

These plants produce delicate, star-shaped flowers in a wide range of colors, including pink, coral, blue-violet, and bicolor varieties. These bright and colorful blooms are highly visible to pollinators.

Verbena flowers bloom from July to October and contain nectar and pollen grains that pollinators feast on. Do note that tall verbena varieties can be invasive, so plant non-invasive ones in your garden. 

• Plant Type: Succulent
• Growing Zone: 3 to 11
• Size: A few inches to over 2 feet tall

Sedum, otherwise known as stonecrops, are particularly attractive to butterflies. When these hardy plants bloom, they produce tiny star-shaped flowers, often clustered together in rounded heads.

They come in various colors, like pink, red, white, and yellow.  It is easy to grow sedums in your garden. They can survive in tough thanks to their thick leaves. They do not like clay soil and need sandy or rocky soil. 

• Plant Type: Biennial
• Growing Zone: 3-8
• Size: Average height 5-7 feet but can reach up to 10-12 feet in ideal conditions

Hollyhock produces nectar-rich blooms that are a magnet to all kinds of pollinators. Their flowers are cup-shaped with an open structure to make it easy for pollinators to reach the nectar and pollen.

They come in a wide variety of colors: blue, pink, purple, red, white, yellow, and even black. These plants' height also makes them attractive to pollinators. They stand tall and are easily visible to pollinators amongst green foliage.  

• Plant Type: Herbaceous Perennial
• Growing Zone:  3 to 9
• Size: 1.5 to 5 feet tall, 1 to 3 feet wide

Goldenrod is perfect for bringing some color into your garden and attracting pollinators. They have tiny, bright yellow flowers grouped in clusters at the top of the plant's stems. The flowers produce both nectar and pollen, enough for a large population of pollinators.

Goldenrod is a late bloomer and encourages pollinators to stay in your garden rather than move on to other attractive pastures.