18 Ways to Support NATIVE POLLINATORS - Ep. 130

More attention over the last number of years has turned to supporting and encouraging native pollinators in one's landscape.
There are quite a few solid tips to manage your land to encourage native and specialist pollinators, so we're rounding out our series on pollinators-(at least for this year!)-to bring you this episode on 18 Ways to Support Native Pollinators in your garden.
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[@LMLewis]

The effort you have put into that property is impressive. Mother Nature must be smiling.

[@jeanneamato8278]

Supporting this channel means supporting the earth. Thank from the bottom of my heart for this. You’ve collected a large amount of information on specialist pollinators: maybe in the future or if you ever get any downtime in winter, you could consider writing a pamphlet or small book on this important subject. You could sell it and use proceeds to go back into your property.

[@m.macdonald]

I loved your message about turning our lights out at night. What a different world we would have if more people chose to go dark at night! 🙏

[@lexicat6177]

My son and I look at areas for a home using the light saturation map. Far enough away from a big city but still access to a main roadway.

[@Tminus89]

Luckily someone pointed out early on that box stores usually have pesticides on their plants, info like this is worth it's weight in gold so keep preaching!! You have taught me so many things, like insects co evolving with natives..

[@Fabdanc]

19:20, my favorite part of the video. So many people mean well, but do not really understand the greater impact of having dense populations of European honeybees. Not only do they compete for the same floral resources, but their dense numbers can also mean spreading disease or parasites to native/specialist pollinators. Great tips! I only have a balcony at the moment, but I try to apply a lot of these techniques to my container gardening. I feel this especially important in urban areas. So much of our urban landscapes are filled with sterile ornamentals or incompatible flowers. So making little islands of floral resources is so important in our urban areas.

[@katebisek769]

Thank you, Summer, for talking about the negative impact artificial light has on night pollinators. Light pollution is something we as individuals can positively impact by selecting outdoor light fixtures carefully. The International Dark Sky Association 's website is helpful in guiding homeowners to consider fixture styles, light color and lumens when purchasing outdoor lights for their property. Moths are pollinators too. That could be another video!

[@marky3131]

Good on you for mentioning the challenge with honey bees.

[@Thewildmanwoods]

Thanks so much for sharing your great work I’m tree and wild flowers obsessed and built a lake ( just me and Parnter with a old JCB … 😂…) it’s amazing how” build it and they will come” 🌾🎋🌿sooooo much wildlife has arrived I had a little nursery here for 10 years and loved propagating the plants myself… we are very rural so it was a labour of love but difficult to sell enough , but people definitely liked the aspect of being organic and hardy I’d love to visit flock one day . Becky x

[@husstang5373]

Great videos thank you from 🇬🇧

[@RogerRiddle]

I love that you all were able to support the CSA like that.

[@samfrodo81]

Thank you for sharing, Summer! I’ve really enjoyed watching the flock videos and seeing the progress in your property. Hoping to purchase a home next year, but my partner and I made great use of our apartment balcony as a pollinator garden and by getting involved in the nursing home’s community garden next door. Thanks for inspiring us 🌱

[@samanthakincaid7111]

Couldn't agree more that Izel Plants is an incredible source of high quality, volume plugs for homeowners.

[@sandragoerlich7134]

Great vid Summer , your land is looking so beautiful helping all of those pollinators and the birds and little creatures, thanks for sharing!!!

[@pennygrimes8425]

Fabulous, thank you!

[@Hayley-sl9lm]

Thanks for bringing up the honeybee issue... One of our local ecologists calls them "the Borg" because of how efficiently they use up resources

[@Shawn-id7gc]

Almost have done a 180 on honey bees. Thanks for emphasizing native, specialist pollinators.

[@FlockFingerLakes]

Thank you for the generous tip. Much obliged!

[@besottedorchids3605]

Great information. I'm actually teaching pollinator clasees this month. Also, as to the mowing, I mow my 1.5 acre meadow in the spring for the same reasons you stated. I actually mowed it yesterday . March 29th. I use the highest blade setting.

[@AmericanaGardens]

I learn so much from this channel. Thank you!

[@naturecare6072]

Very informative. Thank you. We need to take care of our bees.

[@PlantNative]

Spring Beauty…specialist bee plant and lovely.

[@cefcat5733]

Nature keeps trying to correct what we do. The flowering fields which we explored as kids provided good smells, colors, animal encounters and tons of jumping insects and flying bees etc. Have you ever visited a bee keeper there? Won't your flowers change the taste of the honey? Yes, the honey bees should probably specialize on bushes and maybe fruit trees,provided for them. Meadow honey is delicious, however. The tiny almost unseen bees are cute but can they do the job of pollination? The butterflies are few. The State still wants things to look neat here and once empty lots, are construction sites. They sell insect houses made of bamboo etc. at the grocery stores. It seems like the insects love slender tubes of any kind/material. We had a balcony fence. Wasps, hornets, and unknown insects loved to visit in the Spring and later they were gone. Retirees have begun to plant insect friendly plants on quiet streets, as a kind of 'terrorist' attack to help the bees etc. The City can't be everywhere with their mowers. Planting flowers with big stalks right next to fences, prevents them from being mowed down by building caretakers. I see the subtle efforts of the neighborhood, working, without words, together, while the others just drive by. You have to move slower to see the show. 🌻🌼🐝🐞🦋🍁🍃🌳🌱🌿🦗🕷️🕸️🐌🦇🐾🐦🦆🦔🐿️🐿️Your meadows are beautiful!

[@dougforsyth7457]

Very usefultimately information; thanks for sharing. One point of information: "Pesticides" is a general term meaning insecticides, herbicides, fungicides, and rodenticides. When you say, "pesticides", you are automatically including insecticides, etc.

[@antisarmattidanha2873]

A very informative video, thank you so much!😊❤

[@nachig4754]

Wow, great video Summer, super informative and you have touch all the points I have learn the last couple of years. Thank you for spreading the word. and thank you to Sanders too, great photography. Cheers

[@patriciacompton7721]

Thanks!

[@BrockCombs]

If you have to keep some of your lawn consider using a reel mower. This will reduce noise and air pollution and give you a nice workout! Noise pollution is often overlooked when it comes to environmental protection. It makes communication and hunting more difficult for wildlife.

[@firstclassridenewjersey7437]

Love what you do I’m trying to do it as well on a tiny scale my property is 50 x 100 I have three little gardens and have noticed in the last few years less pollinators

[@allonesame6467]

Sheep LOVE Japanese knot weed. You can manage sheep with moveable electric fence and focus them in chosen areas via rotational mob grazing. 12 - 24 hours in one spot several times a year will overtime reduce the knot weed significantly and reseed your water way bank with grass seed, when you feed hay. Goats LOVE multiflora rose, thistles, etc. Love all that I have learned here! Thank you!

[@allonesame6467]

Or rather than you becoming a shepherd, perhaps there is a shepherd in your area that would be happy to feed their sheep at your place in exchange for something?

[@BackyardBertha]

Love your video! Thank you for sharing this important information, New Friends.

[@sharonmulligan3211]

❤ thank you Summer for all your wonderful videos for sharing!!!

[@flowerpixel]

Fantastic video. Thanks for mentioning light pollution. I feel like it's not mentioned enough

[@joezampardo9275]

Hoping that you read this comment. Super happy you mentioned the honey bees. It is a passion of mine and is a long term life goal of mine to stand up for native bees. It is super important to me to share knowledge that honey bees are not native and even though not classified as invasive, they have a lot of the same characteristics of invasive species . The worst part is people think they are doing good by supporting honey bees but they are doing the opposite. I currently do my best to share knowledge and have met with local groups that support honey bees but I do not currently have the bandwidth to take this on and keep pushing them. One day I will be able to take it on, but someone with your platform mentioning it means a lot to me. I at least want people to know what they are doing and they are harming the environment.

[@ceciliasalcedoelizondo7118]

Txs, for the info! My garden is tiny but I’m going to try this suggestions!

[@aalejardin]

Thanks for sharing some sources! Plugs are great for covering a large area and I find that it doesn't take long for the plants to "catch up" to those that were larger when planted. I am planting in areas with lots of rocks and roots so smaller plants are much easier to put in. Hate both Japanese knotweed and multiflora roses: an ongoing battle.

[@paulashaham6282]

You might like Japanese Knotweed better if you knew what an excellent medicine the root makes being a source of resveratrol…

[@janxious]

glad people are doing this at landscape scale. i do it in my small urban yard but it's hard to fight the various pollutions that are always just across the alley

[@bretfurgason7615]

Things are looking so wonderful. Love the drone footage... Bald-faced Hornets amazing pollinator's. They actually are pest control especially Yellow jackets. Make those wonderful nest. People want to freak out. But they are so common around here. The leaves are falling now. People are noticing nest 3 or 4 ft above the area they spent there whole summer. BF Hs do deserve respect. But certainly a lovely creature we can coexist with (o;

[@charlesbale8376]

I enjoyed the video and appreciated the information.

[@rebeccacook7924]

Thank you! 💞

[@judymckerrow6720]

Thanks Ms. Summer. 🍁🦃💚🙃

[@barbkrienke8400]

I am really enjoying learning about the plants and practices that support pollinators. Thank you for learning and sharing the most current best practices! A couple of times you’ve shown a wonderful close video of a bee just covered with pollen hovering over a yellow flower. If you show it again (which would be great since it’s a happy little clip), would you let us know what that flower is? I would love to plant that one!

[@susanlippy1009]

Dogs love unmowed areas. It's full of more smells and exploration. It's far more stimulating than a lawn. I've just begun on my native plant journey. Just a few plants here and there. Unmowed lawn with paths made by box and mulch. Asters popped up everywhere! Goldenrod is on my fenceline. I planted some cup plant and just stuck a couple spice bushes in, fingers crossed the tiny starts survive!

[@FireflyOnTheMoon]

Great to talk about light pollution. Turn off outside fairy lights, security lights on all night, porch lights when you aren't using them.

[@jeanniecollier6763]

Great information!!

[@Wendy-zl8kv]

Thank you for all you guys do!

[@joanfrellburg4901]

I have some Japanese Knotweed that bees love in the fall. It's not spreading for some strange reason, it's very well behaved, comes back every year and requires zero maintenance. I'm planting all kinds of native plants on half of my half acre lot and don't miss cutting grass at all. Also no fall cleanup, giving a home to any insects that require a home for the winter.

[@lovelight9164]

I've been trying to draw in pollinators where I'm at, The trouble is there are several neighbors who spray their yards, I'm afraid their spraying will contaminate the plants I'm growing.

[@erinharris2572]

Hey Summer! Great video...this gave me some great ideas to implement in my garden. A bulb suggestion for your pollinator garden would be to plant some Crocus Speciosus...they are fall blooming! I planted a few bulbs and they are blooming now in November (zone 5), and are a favorite to many pollinators 😀

[@rossmail5924]

We haven't seen in your forests for a while, I've been intrigued how they are going, a future episode?!

[@Dieppaloveplants]

Yes i plant lots of sunflowers in my yard and i to some beautiful pic of the bews in my sunflowers and i never saw so many bees

[@mfg4919]

Who's that cute bee at 2:07?

[@PartTimePermies]

My multiflora rose is groing only on our forest edge, and otherwise gets outshaded by our new growth forest. I actually harvest the hips from it every fall, and other than watching for the thornes, I don't mind it. I also have autumn olive that is on a decline because of the woods. Again, we harvest the berries for jam and snacks every fall... I'm not really concerned about our "invassives" on property. Michigan even considers black locust to be invassive and again, we harvest and eat the flowers... These aren't plants I think are worth fighting in my opinion. Everything in Michigan is actually non-native if we are going back 12K years. My opinion is that nature is not static and we will always have species that are filling voids left by other species that are dying off. It's always a succession over time.

[@mrilovetheants]

This is going to sound strange but, Honeybees do best when their hives are around a variety of different monocultures that bloom at different times. They still benefit from a diversity of flowers that together, bloom the whole year. But being around farm fields is ideal (for honey production at least). When it comes to a diverse meadow of assorted wildflowers, this is a healthier diet of pollen for the hive but they're not able to use the waggle dance to recruit all of their foragers on one particular crop. They recruit other foraging bees based on the amount and quality of the nectar. So given the choice between a monoculture and a diverse meadow, the monoculture when in bloom will get the full attention of the hive because the flowers are seemingly endless. In a backyard setting honeybees can still dominate plants such as Joe Pye Weed but it's only after enough flowers on the plant(s) have opened. Dividing, spreading out, or thinning the Joe Pye Weed plant(s) can help delude this effect as it will make the plant(s) less of a target.

[@emkn1479]

THANK YOU, thank you, thank you 🙏 for the plant/plug resource. I’ve been wishing for such a thing as I’m trying to change our large field to a meadow. Plants seem to get a better hold than seeds, in my experience. RE: leaving pithy stems… from what I understand the tops have to be broken or cut for the bees to use them, so leaving seed heads intact might favor the birds over the bees, etc. Just a thought based on what I’ve heard.

[@botanyboy5454]

👏 👏 👏 ❤️

[@rezayaseri2790]

💚💚💚💚

[@kareharpies]

I didnt get a good look at the native grass lawn. Can you post some photos of it's present state on flock's ig?

[@alliehamilton-calhoun162]

Is it necessary to cut the tops off of my currant or Elderberry stems so the bees can use them to hibernate?

[@cher-amirose7109]

💚

[@Papasqanch]

What is the purpose of mowing it? And what would happen if you didn’t mow it

[@randyganow7250]

Are you going to plant any Milkweed? Inquiring Monarchs wanna know?😃👍

[@joshualeduc7834]

Hi guys, I went to Izel Plants to see their inventory, and they barely had anything for sale. Is it just the wrong time of year and their inventory is sold out?

[@cefcat5733]

What is the purpose for mowing? What is the advantage?

[@verlenelewis9866]

What is a pollinator guild?

[@RubberDuckStyle]

Japanese knot weed is the bane of me. If it's well established its all most impossible to get rid of. You will have to tarp it for at least 6 years. This is the only way I've found to get rid of it because roots go down 6ft or more and it will grow from a piece of root the size of a finger nail.

[@country_boy_zone6b]

When are you getting chickens???? Poultry minds want to know!!! Or ducks!!!!

[@LittleSpaceCase]

Sometimes the different colors of nativars also could make it so native pollinators dont recognize the plant as one they could use

[@chucktaylor4958]

Grow your own or let nature help.

[@georgekoutsoudopoulos]

I really dislike the capitalised words in titles...like shouting in print (presumably a way to increase views). Also bored of the nativist nonsense, we should surely aim to provide for all insects in our gardens, really don't care where they come from.

[@livingonthedelta7068]

where did these people come from that they dont have bees and wasps?and im sick of hearing her talk about thing she doesnt know.besides dont mow and the weeds grow flower ans seed.and the building videos are just dangerous if the people think he knows what he is doing

[@littlewiseowl4405]

Just curious how a Spring mow will deal with the matting of thick, long, and damp, organic matter? The strategy is a great one, so what kind of mower can handle the Spring challenge? I also wonder how mantis that typically overwinter mid stem. Maybe others(?). Just wondering who is clinging to the stems….

[@nachig4754]

Thanks!

[@FlockFingerLakes]

Thank you for the generous tip. Much obliged!

[@bretfurgason7615]

Thanks!

[@FlockFingerLakes]

Thank you again for the tip :)