Earlier this month, I had a chance to return to Russian River Rose Company in Healdsburg (Russian-river-rose.com) for their last public open-weekend talk, which focused on birds, bees, and butterflies.  The one theme I came away with is that it’s all about habitat—creating that hummer friendly garden, or that prize bee and butterfly haven.

Besides the obvious Butterfly Bush (Buddleja, many varieties), Zinnias were touted to be one of the best attractants, besides looking great in gardens.  There are many varieties available, ranging from dwarf styles with daisy-like flowers to the tall ‘State Fair’ mix.  Dwarf fuchsias are great attractants, and there are many mite resistant varieties to choose from.  Any of the Salvias are also good, the one featured in their garden was (S. ‘Indigo Spires’).  And not to be forgotten are Pincushion Flowers (Scabiosa stellata), which are also known for being Lady bug havens.  My favorite is a fairly new (to me) ‘Gold Flame’ variety of Honeysuckle (Lonicera x heckrottii), which is hardy and vigorous plant with clusters of coral pink and yellow flowers.  (See photo.)

Crucial to establishing a friendly habitat is that it be pesticide free, which is a no- brainer.  But it should also be remembered that even some of the organic pesticides could be toxic to the beneficials you are trying to attract and should be used with caution.  Also a source of water is a must, which is why water features can work well, their small pumps keeping the water moving to foil would-be mosquito larvae.

So, I’m going to continue experimenting to create a friendly habitat in my own garden.  How about you?