Make Every Day Earth Day with a Garden + DIY Easy Pollinator Container

Create a DIY Pollinator Container to welcome bees, butterflies and hummingbirds to your garden with plants they love. An easy and fun way to celebrate Earth Day and brighten your patio or deck, while making a positive impact on the environment.

Happy Earth Day!

Earth Day comes around every year to remind us about the importance of conservation

so we can do our part to help our planet stay healthy!

If you’re a gardener, every day is Earth Day when you go out

to dig in the dirt, cultivate and care for nature’s gifts.

Never underestimate the power of your backyard to help the planet and pollinators!

Whether it’s tending a window box of flowers, a patio container of tomatoes,

or planting shrubs or trees, you’re nurturing plants that absorb carbon dioxide

as well as air pollutants, which in turn, produce clean oxygen that we all need to breathe.

 Your garden can provide a safe haven for bees, butterflies, birds as well as

 other pollinators who play crucial roles in maintaining the local ecosystem.

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Many pollinator populations are in decline attributed to a loss in feeding and nesting habitats.

Pollution, the misuse of chemicals and changes in climatic patterns

are all contributing factors in shrinking and shifting pollinator populations.

Somewhere between 75% and 95% of all flowering plants on the earth need pollinators.

Pollinators provide pollination services to over 180,000 different plant species

and more than 1200 crops. That means that we should be grateful for pollinators,

as we have them to thank for 1 out of every 3 bites of food we eat.

Maintaining your landscape in a sustainable, environmentally-friendly way

ensures that the soil, air, and water that native wildlife, pollinators

(and people!) rely upon, stay clean and healthy.

Welcome the bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds to your garden with plants they love. . .

the more pollinators that visit, the larger your harvest of veggies, fruit, and flowers!

Creating a DIY Pollinator Container is an easy and fun way to celebrate Earth Day

Here’s an easy recipe to build a container to attract pollinators!

Adjust this recipe to the plants available at your garden center,

the size of your container and your gardening zone; choosing the

 plants of your choice that attract bees, butterflies and hummingbirds.

You’ll need an area that gets 4 – 6 hours of sun a day (or

according to your plant tag recommendations), for the most blooms.

Start with a good quality potting mix.

I’ve had great success with Miracle-Gro Potting Mix, which feeds your container up to 6 months.

To conserve water, you may want to try a moisture control potting mix.

I tried Moisture Control Miracle-Gro a few years ago, but found it kept my plants too wet and caused root rot.

To help with drainage and to take up some space in the bottom of my planter,

I added some pinecones, which there is no shortage of thanks to an

Eastern white pine tree in our yard. :)

My container is 16 x 20 inches. I filled the bottom a quarter of the way up with pinecones.

Alternatively, reuse your empty plastic garden pots turned upside in the bottom of your container to help provide drainage and use less potting mix.

I selected some pollinator favorites and thrillers, fillers and spillers from the garden center:

Salvia ‘May Night’ (Meadow Sage) /  thriller

Salvia ‘Red Lipstick’  / thriller

Lantana ‘Bandolist Mango’ / filler

‘Superbells Holy Smokes!’ Calibrachoa / spiller & filler

Asparagus Fern / spiller

I left some empty space in the center of the container for the plants to spread and grow.

Once your container is planted, water it thoroughly,

until you see water draining out of the bottom.

Let your potting mix dry to the touch between waterings.

I used a pot trivet /stand to elevate the pot for better drainage and to allow air circulation.

You can also use pot feet to elevate your container, which also helps protect the wood surface

of your deck or porch.

In the heat of the summer, my containers require daily watering.

If in doubt, use a 3-in-1 Soil Meter, that allows you to test for soil moisture level,

as well as pH value and sunlight levels.

Salvia ‘May Night’ (Meadow Sage) is a perennial.

After a season in the container, I’ll move it to the garden to join others we have planted.

It thrives in full sun with the deep purple flower spikes attract bees and butterflies and are deer resistant.

Deadheading and a little extra watering help ensure re-blooming.

Fun fact: Bees actually see color in the blue-violet spectrum better than other hues

so growing blue flowers is the best way to attract them.

Lantana is butterfly magnet!

Lantana blooms throughout summer, can take the heat and is drought-tolerant.

It comes in a variety of colors and also attracts hummingbirds.

Salvia is ideal source of nectar for hummingbirds with their tubular shape blooms.

Salvias with red, pink or orange flowers are particularly alluring to hummingbirds.

Hummingbirds eat every 10-15 minutes and have to consume 50% of their body weight

every day to keep up with their active metabolisms. With wings beating up to 80 times per second,

hummingbirds will visit between 1,000-2,000 flowers daily; from dawn until dusk.

Read more: Keep Calm and Hummingbird On: Fearless Flyers and Winged Beauties

Calibrachoas, also known as million bells, resemble mini-petunias.

The have a trailing growth habit, ideal for hanging baskets and containers.

and attract hummingbirds and bees.

They’re also available in a variety of colors.

If your calibrachoas start to get leggy as they tend do by mid-summer,

pinch them back to encourage branching and new flowers.

Do you have room in your landscape to sow seeds or a raised bed for planting flowers?

Consider planting a bee-friendly wildflower seed blend or Save the Bees Seed Mix,

 an affordable way to provide food for bees.

‘Cut and Come Again’ Zinnias live up to their name. . .the more you cut, the more flowers they produce.

They don’t require any attention other than daily watering for the seeds to germinate

(and protecting the tender seedlings from hungry rabbits in your garden!)🐰

Growing zinnias from seed is *sow* easy!

Wait until the last frost has passed before directly sowing zinnia seeds outside.

Direct sow them into your soil following the package directions,

planting the seeds only about ¼-inch deep. You’ll see seedlings sprout in four to seven days.

Zinnias love the sun and heat, blooming until frost,

which November in our zone 7b garden  . . .

They attract bees, butterflies and hummingbirds . . . a pollinator trifecta!

Ways to Conserve Water in Your Garden:

🌱 Mulch planting beds with newspaper, leaves, bark, or wood chips.

Mulches retain soil moisture and improve soil quality.

🌱 Water your plantings with a soaker hose or a drip irrigation system.

Less water evaporates this way than with a sprinkler, and you target your watering.

🌱 Use a timing device with any watering system.

🌱 Use “wasted” water for your plants. A rain barrel or cistern that captures

rainfall from your roof is a great garden reservoir.

Avoid using harmful pesticides and herbicides that can harm pollinators

and the environment.

Instead, use natural alternatives such as neem oil,

soap sprays and beneficial bugs like ladybugs and praying mantises

 to help deter pests.

Gardeners are encouraged to create pollinator-friendly habitats

that supply pollinators with nectar, pollen, as well as host plants.

Select old-fashioned varieties of flowers whenever possible,

since breeding has caused some modern blooms to lose their fragrance

and/or the nectar/pollen needed to attract and feed pollinators.

🐝 Bee Kind to Pollinators:

🐝 Reduce or eliminate the use of pesticides. If you must use them, use the most selective and least toxic ones and apply them at night
when most pollinators aren’t active.

🐝 Plant in clusters to create a “target” for pollinators to find.

🐝 Plant for continuous bloom throughout the growing season from spring to fall.

🐝 Select a site that has shelter from wind (by trees and shrubs), has at least partial sun, and can provide water.

🐝 Allow material from dead branches and logs remain as nesting sites; reduce mulch to allow patches of bare ground for ground-nesting bees to utilize; consider installing wood nesting blocks for wood-nesting natives.

Not only is gardening good for the environment, it’s good for your mental health!

Gardening can be a great stress reliever, especially during these uncertain times. . .

unplug, go outdoors and enjoy the fresh air and sunshine.

Not only is the physical activity of gardening beneficial,

just being around nature can improve your mood and make you feel more at peace.

Gardening is cheaper than therapy and you get flowers!

I hope this inspires you to plant a container or flowers for the pollinators.

Choose your favorite bloomers, dig in and have fun brightening your outdoor garden space!

Happy Gardening. ♥

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