Arboretum Paths: Summer perennial gardens attract pollinators

Published 10:00 am Wednesday, May 6, 2026

Making plans for your garden or landscape this month will influence its appearance during the coming hot summer days. Fortunately, you will still have some time for late gardening projects before sultry summer days descend upon us. Tuck away some summer perennials to attract pollinators, such as Scarlet Sage, Spotted Beebalm, or Coral Honeysuckle to draw hummingbirds. The Arboretum currently has pollinator plants on the Visitor Center deck and is planning a Pollinator Plant Sale on Friday and Saturday, June 5 and 6. Most perennials are in four-inch containers, making them easy to plug into your landscape. Remember to locate your plants where you will enjoy the view from inside your house during the summer!

Low-maintenance native perennials can blend with nearby natural areas where native species “run wild”. Stokes Aster and Blue-eyed Grass are such plants, equally at home in garden beds or used as a border or a mass where they can spread and form a carpet. These last two are “chameleon” plants, performing in wet to slightly dry locations, in sun or shade. Choose tough native perennials with an informal, relaxed appearance such as black-eyed Susan (Rudbeckia), Gaura (Beeblossom), and Coreopsis. Hopefully, they will inspire you to adopt the same behavior! Supplement your blooming perennials with flowering trees and shrubs.

Join us to paint and plant a terra-cotta clay pot in our program Saturday, May 9 from 1:00 to 2:00 p.m., “Paint a Flower Pot for Mother’s Day,” an activity or gift for someone special in your life. Led by Kathryn Jeffers, Crosby Arboretum Education Coordinator. Cost is $10 for Arboretum members and $15 non-members. All materials included.

Support the Magnolia Moves Activity Challenge on Wednesdays, ending May 27. Admission is free to all registered participants from 8:00 to 9:00 a.m. The Arboretum will open an hour early at 8:00 a.m. for early morning walkers and runners. See the event calendar on our website at www.crosbyarboretum.msstate.edu to register. Self-guided workout stations will be set up along our North Savanna loop with a special station for mat work at our covered rain shelter. Don’t miss this opportunity to experience the Arboretum for free! Register for the challenge at https://extension.msstate.edu/magnolia-moves.

We are located at 370 Ridge Road in Picayune and open Wednesday through Sunday from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. See our website for information on membership levels. For questions please call (601) 799-2311, Ext. 0.