Photo credit: Devin Floyd

Nashville and Middle Tennessee are booming. Whether it’s job growth, the robust housing market or the number of new residents moving to this area daily, we frequently seem to be in the news headlines.  Like many Middle Tennessee residents, I’m a transplant, too. It’s hard to believe the number of new business complexes and housing developments that have sprung up in the 12 years that I’ve lived here. 

While all this growth is wonderful for our area’s prosperity, it’s not without its costs.

As a gardener, I’ve always loved watching butterflies flitting and bees buzzing among my flowers, but I have noticed that the number of pollinators in my garden has dramatically dwindled as area development has grown. New subdivisions and commercial buildings are replacing the fields and forests that serve as the natural habitats of many of our pollinators.

As Middle Tennessee residents and stewards of our environment, there is much we can do to lend a hand to our bees, butterflies, moths, beetles and other pollinators. By taking some simple steps in our own backyards and neighborhoods, we can provide habitats that are pollinator friendly to help offset the loss of natural areas.

Pollinators are remarkable creatures and they are important in maintaining healthy, vital ecosystems.  By moving pollen from flower to flower of the same species, pollinators play a crucial role in plant reproduction and genetic diversity. Pollination must occur for a plant to produce its offspring to assure its survival as a species.  This pollination process is also important to humans as it provides us with a wide variety of fruits, vegetables, and other essential crops.

While some plants primarily depend on the wind to distribute pollen for reproductive purposes, other plants evolved to attract insects and birds to aid in this pollination process.  The nectar flowering plants produce provides the energy rich food source pollinating insects and birds require.  Bees also collect pollen which is high in protein to feed their young.  This relationship between plants and pollinators evolved over time to be mutually beneficial to both. 

But not all pollinators are attracted to or can pollinate all plants. The relationships that evolved over time are much more complex. For example, bees, butterflies, moths and hummingbirds all have tongues (proboscis) of varying lengths that determine from which flowers they can collect nectar.  It’s not one size fits all when it comes to pollinators. Hummingbirds with their long beaks and tongues can nectar from narrow, deep tubular flowers such as native Coral or Trumpet honeysuckle (Lonicera sempervirens) that other pollinators are unable to reach.  Butterflies are attracted to brightly colored flowers including red, orange and purple that provide a wide landing pad.  Bees and butterflies are active pollinators during the day, but moths are the specific pollinators of night blooming flowers and many wildflowers. 

While the honey bees most of us are familiar with are important pollinators of many of our agricultural crops, they are not native to North America. European settlers brought them to the U.S. in the 1600s along with a variety of plants and seeds. The U.S. has almost 4000 species of native bees that primarily nest in the ground or in dead trees, branches, twigs and stems. These native bees are much better pollinators of many native plants such as pumpkins, squash, blueberries and cranberries than are honey bees. Native bees are also responsible for pollinating our beloved tomato plants. In areas that are bulldozed and cleared for development, these ground and twig dwelling bees can be virtually wiped out.  That can have a direct impact on our vegetable gardens as well as our Middle Tennessee ecosystem.

Different species of butterflies have different specific host plants on which the females lay their eggs.   The beautiful Zebra Swallowtail (Eurytides marcellus), our Tennessee state butterfly, only lays its eggs on our native pawpaw tree. If we don’t have pawpaw trees, we won’t have Zebra Swallowtail Butterflies.

But don’t worry, you don’t have to understand all the characteristics of our pollinators or their specific relationships with plants to help them out. By taking just a few simple steps in our yards and neighborhoods, we can make a big difference in creating more pollinator friendly environments.

Here’s how:

• Learn about our local pollinators and plants. Use guidebooks, online resources, & the resource list below.
• Don’t limit your landscape to green hedges and meatball shrubs. Include a wide variety of flowering trees, shrubs, perennials and annuals, especially native plants, to provide nectar and pollen from early spring to late fall. Not only have native plants co-evolved with our native pollinators, they have also evolved to be well adapted to our soil and climate.
• Provide flowers in a range of colors, shapes and heights to support a wide variety of pollinators. Bees like blue, yellow, and bright white flower clusters. Butterflies enjoy bright colored flowers that provide landing pads with different species preferring to nectar at different heights. Beetles prefer dull white and green, bowl-shaped flowers like magnolia; while hummingbirds like scarlet, orange and red tubular flowers.
• Plant several of the same plant in groups or clumps so pollinators can work efficiently.
• Include trees and shrubs to provide shelter from weather and predators.   
• Plant butterfly larval host plants for butterfly eggs and caterpillar food.
• Avoid hybridized, double flowering plants that are often not attractive to pollinators.
• Plant night blooming flowers such as moonflower vine and native wild flowers for moths.
• Let your garden be a little messy and your yard a little less pristine.  Leave dead twigs for nesting sites, and leaf litter for shelter. Don’t mulch too thickly. It prevents ground nesting pollinators from being able to nest. Try leaving a few areas of uncovered soil for them. Fallen fruits also provide a source of food for bees, butterflies and beetles. Dandelions provide nectar in early spring before most other flowers bloom so a few weeds in your lawn can be a good thing.
• A source of water is essential to pollinators. Ponds, running water features or small, shallow containers of water can provide what is needed.  A rock rising just above the water gives insects a place to land.  Butterflies also use shallow mud puddles to get necessary salts and minerals.
• Decrease the use of pesticides in your yard. Use them only when absolutely necessary and use the least-toxic material. Read and follow all directions. Spray at dusk when there is no wind to limit exposure to the most pollinators.

If we all take these simple steps to create pollinator friendly yards and gardens, and encouraged these practices in our neighborhood common areas, we can make a big impact in helping our pollinators to survive and thrive as Middle Tennessee continues to grow.

Resources:

The Pollinator Partnership (P2) – North American Pollinator Protection Campaign http://pollinator.org/index.html

North American Butterfly Association (NABA)  http://www.naba.org

Environmental Protection Agency  http://www2.epa.gov/pollinator-protection

United States Fish and Wildlife Service  http://www.fws.gov/pollinators/pollinatorpages/yourhelp.html

United States Forest Service  http://www.fs.fed.us/wildflowers/pollinators/index.shtml

Butterflies of Tennessee.  Rita Venable.  Maywood Publishing.  2017

Gardening for Birds, Butterflies & Bees.  Editors of Birds and Bloom Magazine.  The Reader’s Digest Association, Inc.  2016

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Mary Pemberton

Mary is the Speakers Bureau Project Chair for the Williamson County Master Gardeners Association. The Speakers Bureau offers a series of workshops in partnership with the Williamson County Public Library. Please visit the library calendar to view dates. If you would like a Master Gardener to speak at your event, please contact them at wcmgainc@gmail.com. Include “Speakers Bureau” in the subject line.