I live in south east Austin by McKinney falls. I recently dug up a 7’x8’ patch of grass to turn into a pollinator garden.
I dug up 6-8 inches of soil and replaced it with native enriched top soil and mixed in some native Texas growers soil to help with moisture retention, the. Covered with 3 inches of native hard wood mulch.
Looking for colorful plants to attract as many pollinators as possible that DO NOT GROW HIGHER THAN 2-3 feet as to not reduce street traffic visibility. Water conscious options are also great!
Area gets constant direct sun nearly the entire day with 2-3 hours of dabbled light from a near by tree.
Any recommendations would be greatly appreciated!!!
by JNCO_Malfoy
8 Comments
Greg’s mistflower all the way. It’s commonly called butterfly crack. Then this fall i would sprinkle wildflower seeds since most other plants get taller than 2′.
i ripped up my hell strip and planted an assormen of greggs mistflower,sage,lantana and firebush.
full sun.
filled with butterflies,dragonflies and honeybees
I have blue & lipstick sages. They are colorful, do not grow tall, are low maintainance and indestructable, and attract plenty of bees and butterflies.
Interspersed with red yucca which may reach 3ft, but it’s pretty and attracks hummingbirds.
Four nerve daisy, blackfoot daisy, antelope horn milkweed or green milkweed, gregg’s mistflower, tropical/scarlet sage
I have tons of butterflies, bees and hummingbirds because of mistflower, salvia and zinnias
Zexmenia, prairie verbena, four nerve daisy, society garlic, pink skullcap are all pretty low growing and drought tolerant. You can also do frogfruit but it tends to expand and can take over a small space like this.
Mistflower for sure. Dwarf salvia, like Mysty. While I love Blackfoot Daisy, I don’t ever see pollinators on them. They’re native and water wise though. Salvia greggi. Herbs like cat mint bring in bees. Rue and parsley are host plants for giant and black swallowtails. Honestly, Magellan zinnias are full sized blooms on a dwarf plant and I get tons of bees and butterflies on them. Also, lantana. When I look back at my butterfly photos, zinnias and lantanas are always fan favorites.
https://preview.redd.it/s0xy63p9yugf1.jpeg?width=3276&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=01f6a2250db038e498931de9ff52db4a5aaeb54c
Too many to mention, but standing cypress, rock rose, salvia, skeleton leaf goldeneye, Gregg’s mist flower are all big hits with locals.