Three Superior Performances in a Soggy Pollinator Garden

I was recently asked what the top three performers were in our newly planted pollinator garden. Considering I had to choose from thousands of individual plants representing over 55 distinct species and considering that none of the plants have been in the ground more than eight months it may be a little early to be crowning a king. Here in East Tennessee we have had one of the wettest and coolest summers in recent memory and most of the plants in the garden were chosen for hardiness and drought tolerance (as well as the smorgasbord they offered to our local pollinators) so again it may be a little premature, but here’s what I came up with:

Pycanthemum tenuifolium (Narrowleaf Mountainmint)

Photo by Brian Campbell

Like many of its other Mint Family relatives Narrowleaf Mountainmint spreads through rhizomes and under advantageous garden conditions can be a bit of a bully, crowding out other less tenacious and more delicate garden plants (then again a pollinator garden is no place for the delicate or timid).

 Native from the Rocky Mountains to the Atlantic coast and from Canada to Florida this mountain mint is most often found growing in dry soils of upland woods and prairies which makes it a perfect fit for the often tough conditions of an urban garden. Ultimately growing to a height of 3’ with an equal spread this plant will never win a beauty contest but it does win the award for most attractive to hungry pollinators. Because the flowers do not open all at the same time it has a long bloom time (ours started blooming in late May and are just starting to finish up in October) and the small easily accessible flowers put this plant in high demand for small bees such as sweat bees and mason bees. In fact I have seen every type of pollinating insect on the flowers including butterflies, skippers, bees, wasps, flies and even beetles. Easily grown from seed, stem cuttings or division.

Photo courtesy Bluebird Nursery

Monarda bradburiana ‘Prairie Gypsy’ (Eastern Bee Balm)

This Monarda has everything going for it except name recognition. While it often takes an undeserved second billing to its mildewy cousin M. didyma it is a better garden plant in many ways. First it is clump forming so it won't run around the garden like a sugared up four year old, it didn't have a trace of powdery mildew in our wettest summer in years, and it blooms before any other Monarda (May for us) leaving behind very attractive seed heads. This well behaved beebalm grows to a tidy 18" high and will clump to a width of 3-4'. Native from Alabama west to Texas and North to Iowa, most of the populations in Tennessee occur west of Davidson County. The cultivar 'Prairie Gypsy' was selected for its raspberry red coloured flowers while those of the species are typically light pink. Species easily grown from seed, stem cuttings or division.

Echinacea tennesseensis (Tennessee Coneflower)

Photo by Brian Campbell

Once thought to be extinct several Tennessee Coneflower populations were discovered in 1968 by a Vanderbilt University biology professor. One of the first plants to be placed on the Federal Endangered Species List this close relative of the more common Purple Coneflower is endemic to only a handful of cedar glades in Davidson, Rutherford and Wilson counties. 
You would think that this coneflower would be difficult to grow with such a restricted geographic range but our planting has done very well this year blooming consistently from early June until September. Goldfinches seem to love the seed just as much as other Echinaceas as we see them every morning tearing the cones apart. Plants grow to 24" and spread about 18" and have been remarkably carefree this first year in the ground. We have recently noticed rabbits munching the foliage but so far they have not completely destroyed any plants. Fairly easy to grow from seed or look for plants at local nurseries.