Your neighbors might be overlooking important tiny pollinator superhighways. These little highways could mean the difference between the wildlife in your neighborhoods flourishing or experiencing spring silences. Most gardeners just plant whatever flowers they think look nice, without knowing which plants actually help the butterflies and bees. However, savvy wildlife supporters are better. They understand the importance of planting specific species of flowers that create movement corridors that support entire lifecycles and important migratory pathways.
Bring Hummingbirds Right To Your Window!
Check PriceThese plants do not just look nice. They make your yard a part of a continental wide wildlife rescue operation as a strategically planned partnership. Unlike friendly flowers that look nice, a true wildlife highway gives our native, and often overlooked, plants the opportunity to support the more complex events of the wildlife life cycle, such as egg laying, migrating, and winter survival.
Save this article for later so you don't lose it. Enter your email and I'll send it to you now—plus you'll get my favorite backyard birding tips delivered to your inbox.
The Importance of Autumn Native Planting for Wildlife Corridors
Autumn is when the best gardeners in the world, Nature included, begin a new cycle of planting. The native plants that you plant now will use the winter as their training ground for root systems, which will be up to 3 times stronger than those planted in the spring. Their drought tolerance is greatly improved, and they bloom earlier and have an increased production of nectar just when stressed wildlife needs it most.
The timing benefit does not only relate to the health of the plants. Native plants that have been planted in the fall will bloom in early spring. This is a crucial resource for queen bees that have just woken from their winter hibernation, as well as, early season butterflies before any other sources of nectar are opened up.
1. Milkweed (Asclepias speciosa) – The Best Monarch Highway
This is not simply monarch food; it is also their nursery, a rest stop along the highway, and an entire survival system wrapped up in one plant. While adult monarchs lay eggs on milkweed leaves, they also take the opportunity to fuel up on the plant's nectar. Each milkweed plant has the capacity to host over 40 caterpillars, supplying the entire lifecycle needs of these caterpillars. This includes the specialized diet needed by the caterpillars, and the high-energy nectar that is required by the adults during their extraordinary migratory journey.
2. Purple Coneflower (Echinacea purpurea) – Magnet for Multiple Species
Goldfinches, monarch butterflies, bees, and hummingbirds all rely on various parts of this native powerhouse. Each summer through fall the nectar serves as food for adult butterflies and bees. Goldfinches’ families feed in winter on the seed heads. For the most wildlife impact plant in clusters of 5 to 7.
3. Joe-Pye Weed (Eutrochium maculatum) – The Fuel Station For Migration
When autumn migration occurs, desperate Monarchs and other butterflies need high-energy nectar for their long journeys. This late-blooming giant provides them with the energy source they need. Monarchs and other butterflies will gather by the dozens to help support massive flower clusters. This creates an exceptional wildlife viewing experience right in your own backyard.
Get our free Hummingbird Attraction Guide! Plus, we'll send you our best tips for attracting more birds to your yard.
4. Wild Bergamot (Monarda fistulosa) – Headquarters of the Hummingbirds
Compared to any feeder, even one with bee balm, the native bee balm plants will be a greater draw. The tubular flowers allow their nectar to be accessed by only the smallest of pollinators. The structure of the plant provides ideal perching spots. The leaves of bee balm are an attractive draw to beneficial insects that will assist in controlling aphids while also deterring the garden pests that are a nuisance.
5. New England Asters (Symphyotrichum novae-angliae) – The Final Call Diner
These nectar-rich beauties bloom when most other sources are shutting down for the season. For migrating monarchs facing their final opportunity to fuel up before crossing the Gulf of Mexico, native asters can mean the difference between life and death. Additionally, native asters support over 100 species of moths and butterflies throughout their entire lifecycle.
6. Black-Eyed Susan (Rudbeckia hirta) – The Year-Round Worker
Summer nectar for butterflies turns into winter seed buffets for goldfinches, chickadees, and other songbirds. This dependable native self-seeds to fill gaps in your wildlife highway and requires no maintenance once established. The joyful flowers also draw in helpful insects that manage pests.
7. Wild Columbine (Aquilegia canadensis) \- The Specialist's Choice
Sphinx moths and special bees have long tongues that allow them to reach nectar from the unique spurred flowers. Other flowers cause more feeding challenges for these pollinators, and as a result, the spurred flowers attract a greater variety of these long-tongued pollinators. This increased variety of food sources creates a more complex food web that supports the rare pollinators, and the birds that depend on them.
8. Goldenrod (Solidago species) – The Most Underrated Plant
Although many people think that goldenrod causes allergies (it's actually ragweed), the reality is that goldenrod is an essential nectar source. More than 100 species of butterflies and moths depend on different goldenrod species. Monarchs fuel their migration south from Canada and the northern US on goldenrod. The late-season pollen is also relied on by native bees who are getting ready for winter.
9. Wild Lupine (Lupinus perennis) – The Endangered Species Rescuer
This beautiful blue and purple spike is the only host plant for the endangered karner blue butterfly, as well as many other specialists. Its deep taproot helps improve soil structure and its nitrogen-fixing ability enhances the entire plant community around it. This enriches the conditions for all of your wildlife highway plants.
Smart Positioning with the Most Benefits to Wildlife
The best practice for success with wildlife highways is clustering instead of scattering. For each species, create groups (or drifts) of 3-7 plants so that visual 'targets' are created for pollinators that can be seen from further away. Place the early bloomers next to late bloomers to allow for consistent nectar flow from March to November.
Build layers of differing heights with Wild Lupine and tall Joe-Pye Weed at the back, medium Coneflowers and Bee Balm at the center, and lower Black-Eyed Susan and Wild Columbine at the front. This builds diverse levels of habitat structure with opportunities for feeding and nesting, supportive of the complete food webs.
De geheime voordelen die de meeste tuiniers niet ontdekken
In addition to aiding wildlife, these native plants form underground interconnected networks of their roots that communicate and share resources with one another. This means improved drought tolerance, increased pest resistance, and an overall enhancement in soil structure that benefits all of your garden's plants.
Most natives will attract beneficial insects for natural pest control. That means less garden problems. You'll even spend less time on maintenance while enjoying a more beautiful and productive landscape!
When your wildlife highway is in its second year of maturity, it is quite common to see whole families of butterflies completing their life cycles in your yard, birds that stop regularly in your yard to rest, as well as all of the wonderful insects that support your garden. With a little planning and time, the reward will support local and migrating continental ecosystems for years to come!
