Getting started on your own Pollinator Garden!
If you would like assistance in addition to the information below, the Partners Program with the Fish and Wildlife Service is always happy to help with pollinator projects!
Email Callie McMunigal and Nick Millett at the West Virginia office!
Building your own pollinator habitat can be broken down into three steps:
Site preparation
Start with a smaller plot in a flat area with full sun
Prepare your site using one of the methods found in this guide
Seed planting
Select a variety of species with different bloom times, flower shapes and flower colors
Maintenance
If possible, weed once a week for a year to give your native plants time to establish themselves
Site Preparation
Site preparation is the most important step for a successful pollinator garden. The first step in this process is to choose a spot to install your pollinator garden! Ideally, your space will be on level ground with full sun throughout the entire day. Additionally, as maintenance later becomes crucial for long term success, we recommend starting with a small plot that can be easily maintained and monitored. West Virginia is one of the few states that still provides free soil sampling, so if you want to ensure that your location has adequate nutrients, send your soil sample to the WVU Extension Office - further instructions can be found here. Additionally, if you don’t want to send in a soil sample, the USDA’s Soil Survey has an interactive map (found here) where you can get an estimate of the quality of the soil in your area!
The next, and often most difficult step, is to remove any plant material that is currently in your pollinator garden space. This step is also the most effective in the fall, which means that in order to prepare for spring planting, you need to start the process of killing and removing any unwanted species early. One of the most effective and popular organic methods of small-scale site preparation is solarization. The other is herbicide application, again a process that is best if started in the fall.
There are so many places in West Virginia set up to support you with site preparation! The Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) is a free resource that can support you with deciding on a location and specifics for site preparation in your garden. Feel free to select your county and contact your local office here for any questions with your sit preparation! If you decide to proceed with herbicide applications, the WVU Extension Office in your county can again help you with the proper pesticide and timing of application.
Seed Planting
The NRCS recommends buying native pollinator mixes. Some common companies that supply native seed mixes and that are available to West Virginia landowners are Ernst, Roundstone and Ohio Prairie Natives. Additionally, the WV Division of Natural Resources is in the process of creating seed mixes for the wide variety of ecotypes in West Virginia - so stay tuned!!
When selecting native seed mixes, you want to choose a mix with a high diversity of species. This is important because a variety of flower sizes, colors and bloom times will ensure that you 1) provide nectar resources for pollinators throughout the spring, summer and fall and 2) that your garden provides nectar for as many pollinators as possible! This is because butterflies, bees, beetles, moths, flies, bats and hummingbirds are all attracted to different flower colors and sizes.
Find native seed mixes with a high diversity of plant species. Ernst Seeds has partnered with the Xerces Society, a science-based conservation organization, to provide native pollinator seed mixes that can be found here when you select “Pollinator Favorites”.
Plant selection:
Select all native plants, as they are already adapted to the local climate and soil conditions and will be more likely to survive and require less maintenance.
Select a seed mix with a variety of native plants. It is important to include a varied selection of flower shapes, colors and sizes to attract a variety of pollinator species. This is because bees, moths, flies and butterflies can all have different preferences when it comes to flowers (bees usually prefer purple, violet, yellow, white, and blue flowers, butterflies usually visit the same colored flowers as bees, with the addition of red, and flies usually prefer white and yellow flowers).
Additionally, selecting species that bloom at different times during the spring, summer and fall ensures that pollinators will have nectar resources throughout the seasons.
The West Virginia Planting Tool from the WV Department of Environmental Protection recommends common native plants with high documented pollinator value for hummingbirds, butterfly nectar, honeybees, native bees, pollen, or as butterfly larval hosts.
Site Maintenance
Ideally, for the first year after planting you want to weed once a week to ensure your native wildflowers don’t have competition! This is why a small plot is often the best way to start, because it is easier to maintain and ensure the long-term success of your garden. Eventually, your habitat won’t require any maintenance because the native plants will be adapted to local climatic conditions. Additionally, once established, the native plants are more competitive than invasive species because they are specifically adapted to the region, which means that once they are established, there will be barely any maintenance required!
Support resources mentioned above:
The Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) can assist with site and plant selection and can be reached via email. Contact the NRCS office closest to you by selecting your county on this map.
The Web Soil Survey interactive map is found here (for general information on the soil in your area).
The WVU extension office can be found here (for assistance with soil samples and herbicide treatment).
Callie McMunigal and Nick Millett with the Partners for Fish and Wildlife are available to assist landowners with pollinator habitat projects on private lands. They can be contacted at callie_mcmunigal@fws.gov and nicholas_millett@fws.gov.
*information sourced from the West Virginia Pollinator Handbook
