Native Pollinator Plant Guide
Support Pollinators with Native Plants, Wherever You Grow
From balconies and containers to backyard gardens and restoration projects, every planting can provide food, shelter, and nesting habitat for pollinators and beneficial insects.
Pollinator Planting Basics:
✓ Plant a diversity of blooms from spring through fall
✓ Include flowers with different shapes and sizes
✓ Create habitat beyond nectar
✓ Choose plants suited to your site conditions
✓ Start with the space you have
Why Pollinators Matter
Pollinators do more than move pollen from flower to flower. Their relationships with native plants help support the food webs that sustain healthy ecosystems.
The seeds, fruits, and foliage produced by native plants provide food and shelter for countless species—from Pacific tree frogs and songbirds to black bears. Even decomposers like banana slugs and oyster mushrooms contribute to these connected systems, recycling nutrients and helping habitats thrive.
By supporting pollinators, we’re also supporting the broader ecological relationships that make our landscapes resilient and alive.
At a glance:
- More than 85% of flowering plants rely on animal pollinators to reproduce
- 35% of the world’s food crops depend on animal pollinators to reproduce
- Many pollinator species are struggling due to habitat loss, disease, parasites, and environmental contaminants
- Even small plantings can help fill important habitat gaps and support a more connected landscape
Native Plants & Pollinators
For millennia, native plants and pollinators have evolved alongside one another, adapting to local conditions and to each other’s needs. Because of this enduring relationship, native plants’ traits are beautifully matched to the preferences and behaviors of native insects and birds—providing ready sources of nectar, pollen, seeds, and habitat.
We encourage using native plants in pollinator gardens because they:
- Are more attractive to native pollinators than ornamental species
- Are inherently suited to the soils, pests, and climate of our region
- Require less maintenance once established
- Add beauty and biodiversity to gardens
Plant with Diversity in Mind
A diverse planting can support a greater variety of pollinators and provide resources throughout the growing season.
When choosing plants, consider including:
- A variety of bloom times: Provide nectar and pollen from early spring through fall
- A variety of flower shapes: Support a wider range of pollinators with different feeding preferences
- A variety of plant heights and structures: Create diverse opportunities for feeding, nesting, and shelter
- A mix of herbaceous plants, shrubs, and grasses: Offer resources above and below ground throughout the seasons
Seasonal Blooms
Rather than focusing on a single spectacular bloom period, aim to create a succession of blooms and habitat features that support pollinators year-round.
Quick Tips
- Include plants that flower in spring, summer, and fall
- Prioritize early and late-season blooms when food sources are often limited
- Aim for overlapping bloom periods so pollinators can find resources throughout the growing season
- Common camas (Camassia quamash)
- Pacific bleeding heart (Dicentra formosa)
- Lupine (Lupinus polyphyllus, Lupinus albicaulis, Lupinus latifolius, and Lupinus rivularis)
- Oregon grape (Mahonia aquifolium and Mahonia nervosa)
- Red-flowering currant (Ribes sanguineum)
- Common yarrow (Achillea millefolium)
- Woolly sunflower (Eriophyllum lanatum)
- Pacific ninebark (Physocarpus capitatus)
- Goatsbeard (Aruncus dioicus)
- Checkermallow (Sidalcea hendersonii and Sidalcea campestris)
- Sedum (Sedum divergens, S. lancelatum, S.oreganum, S. spathulifolium)
- Douglas aster (Symphyotrichum subspicatum)
- Penstemon (Penstemon serrulatus and Penstemon davidsonii)
- Gumweed (Grindelia integrifolia)
- Showy fleabane (Erigeron speciosus)
- Oceanspray (Holodiscus discolor)
These species help bridge seasonal gaps and provide nectar and pollen over an extended period
- Pacific Bleeding Heart (Dicentra formosa)
- Common Yarrow (Achillea millefolium)
- Sea Thrift (Armeria maritima)
- Nodding Onion (Allium cernuum)
- Western Canada Goldenrod (Solidago lepida)
- Pearly Everlasting (Anaphalis margaritacea)
- Common monkeyflower (Erythranthe guttata)
Native Plants for Every Space
Whether you’re growing in a container, a community garden, or a larger landscape, native plants can provide food and habitat for pollinators throughout the year.
Quick Tips
- Match plants to your sun and moisture conditions
- Group plants together to make blooms easier for pollinators to find
- Use the “thrill, fill, and spill” approach by combining taller focal plants, mounding plants, and trailing species
Shady Spaces
- Wild ginger (Asarum caudatum)
- Fringecup (Tellima grandiflora)
- Inside-out flower (Vancouveria hexandra)
- Bunchberry (Cornus unalaschkensis)
- Early blue violet (Viola adunca)
Try this Pairing
Create a lush, shady arrangement where delicate strawberry blossoms and fruit peek through feathery green fern fronds.
- Lady Fern (Athyrium filix-femina)—Thrill & Fill
- Woodland Strawberry (Fragaria vesca)—Fill & Spill
Sunny Spaces
- Oregon iris (Iris tenax)
- Nodding onion (Allium cernuum)
- Woolly sunflower (Eriophyllum lanatum)
- Rose checkermallow (Sidalcea hendersonii)
- Beach strawberry (Fragaria chiloensis)
Try this Pairing
Pair sun-loving penstemon, with its showy purple spikes, with five-leaved bramble, a spreading groundcover that thrives in penstemon’s dappled shade.
- Oval-leaf Penstemon (Penstemon ovatus)—Thrill
- Five-leaved Bramble (Rubus pedatus)—Fill & Spill
Container-friendly Native Bulbs
Plant the bulbs in layers to extend the bloom season:
- Camas (Camassia quamash)—deepest layer (4–6 inches)
- Fawn lily (Erythronium oregonum)—middle layer (3–4 inches)
- Tapertip onion (Allium acuminatum)—shallowest layer (1–2 inches)
As one species finishes blooming, the next takes its place, providing a longer season of color and pollinator support.
Quick Tips
- Include shrubs, flowering perennials, and grasses for a diversity of habitat
- Plant in groups to create larger patches of nectar and pollen resources
- When cleaning up your garden in the fall, leave some stems and leaf litter in place to provide nesting and overwintering habitat
Native shrubs
These species provide nectar, pollen, shelter, and seasonal food sources while adding structure to the landscape.
- Red-flowering currant (Ribes sanguineum)
- Pacific ninebark (Physocarpus capitatus)
- Tall Oregon grape (Mahonia aquifolium)
- Evergreen huckleberry (Vaccinium ovatum)
Native flowers
Help provide nectar and pollen throughout the growing season
- Douglas aster (Symphyotrichum subspicatum)
- Hall’s aster (Symphyotrichum hallii)
- Oregon checkermallow (Sidalcea oregana)
- Rose checkermallow (Sidalcea hendersonii)
- Common yarrow (Achillea millefolium)
- Woolly sunflower (Eriophyllum lanatum)
- Western Canada goldenrod (Solidago lepida)
Native sedges & grasses
The species provide nesting and overwintering habitat for pollinators and other beneficial insects.
- Roemer’s fescue (Festuca roemeri)
- Tufted hairgrass (Deschampsia cespitosa)
- Long stolon sedge (Carex inops)
Additional Resources
The Common Acre’s Bee Resource Page
Bee ID resources, citizen scientist projects you can participate in and other bee habitat resources
Earthcorps’ Pollinator Habitat Restoration Guide
Technical manual for pollinator restoration projects, but very comprehensive native plant species list for our region (pp. 36-42)
Xerces Society Pollinator Conservation Resources PNW page
Recommended plants, conservation guides, local nursery lists and bee identification resources