Meow! As a perennial-loving cat, this is paws down one of my favorite times of the year to walk through our greenhouse. So many of our perennials are in full bloom and it is a gorgeous sight to see.

Adding perennials to your landscape can not only improve the overall look of your landscape but many of our perennials are excellent for pollinators so you will be helping them out as well! Being a cat, I love to watch, chase, and occasionally eat some of the pollinators (shhh don’t tell my humans about that last part) that are attracted to the blooming perennials. Some of the pollinators that I see the most frequently are dragonflies, butterflies, and of course, bees! There are over 400 species of bees in Minnesota, and they depend on us to plant pollinator friendly species.

Some of my favorite pollinator friendly perennials would be Echinacea (coneflower), Milkweed, Veronica, and Monarda. Monarda is my personal favorite as I love the wonderful herb-like smell as I rub on the leaves! In addition to our wonderful selection of perennials, we have a great supply of wildflower and pollinator seed mixes that can be used to beautify a space in addition to providing a haven for pollinators.

One thing to remember with pollinators is that you need to be very careful with the use of any insecticide. Insecticides will harm the pollinators in addition to the target insects so limit your use of those on plants that your pollinators may be attracted to.