Imagine your garden as an oasis for hungry bees and butterflies, a vacation for starved pollinators. After all, pollinators support our nation’s food and agriculture. We can all do our part to encourage pollination to better our planet’s health and give back to the hard-working little guys.
Putting Pollinators First
Most of the time, scientists studying pollination only look at how pollinators can bring more flowers or fruit. Few scientific studies have explored the ways in which flowers can bring about more pollinators.
Our study puts the pollinator first and investigates the factors that encourage pollinator visitation. These small changes delve deeper than the usual advice of simply planting more flowers.
2. Visitation Study
We investigated the relationships between pollinator visitation and flower patches in landscaped areas like Chico State Campus. We looked at variables like…
Flower Density
Canopy Cover
Flower Shape & Size
Mixed Flower Species vs Single Flower Species
3. Study Results
Our findings showed that pollinators not only love more flowers, but…
Pollinators prefer large patches that only have one type of flower.
Advice:
Plant lots of the same flower rather than planting a diverse cafeteria of flowers.
When a flower can give to a diverse range of pollinators, there tends to be more visitation.
Advice:
Plant flowers that welcome many types of pollinators, like Lupine, Lavender, or Blue Blossoms.
4. Why Encourage Pollination?
Pollination makes the world better for you!
More fruit and flowers for next year!
Food production and agriculture will be more stable
Nurturing the survival of endangered species like bees and butterflies makes you a good person!
You get to live on Earth longer!
Bella Manoff & Mianna Taylor ~ Copyright 2026