Creating a garden that attracts pollinators is a great way to help the environment and your local ecology. Pollinators, such as bees, hummingbirds, and other beneficial insects, are essential for the growth of flowers, trees, and crops. If you live in Conroe, Texas, there are several steps you can take to make your garden a haven for these important creatures. To start, it's important to keep the area free of garbage and animal waste that may attract insects harmful to pollinators.
This will help ensure that the pollinators you attract will be beneficial to your garden. Additionally, planting trees is a great way to provide an excellent source of food for bees. Did you know that half of our global agriculture depends on wild insects to pollinate crops? By providing a happy habitat for birds and insects in the Richmond, Sugar Land and Houston area, you will be doing a great service to your community. Not only will attracting pollinators help your garden flourish, but it can also reduce the need for chemical insecticides.
Why not work with our local ecology and support it when everyone benefits?
Hummingbirds
Hummingbirds begin arriving in Texas in mid-March to establish territories and begin their nesting season. Few flowers bloom this early, so even the slightest amount of color during the month of March in your garden will easily attract these hungry early arrivals. The autumn migration begins in August and the specimens can be seen until mid-November. In the weeks before their flight south, hummingbirds gorge themselves on nectar to increase their volume for their long journey.During August and September, you may see unusually large numbers of these birds buzzing around feeders and flowering plants. Trumpet Creeper may be the most famous hummingbird attractor. Not only are their large, striking red flowers a pleasure to behold, but hummingbirds will enter them when the fall migration begins. Lantana will bloom intermittently throughout the growing season, from early spring to mid-fall. This low woody shrub will grow about 3 feet tall, but can be 5 or 6 feet wide.
Autumn Sage has one of the longest bloom ranges on this list; some individual plants will bloom profusely in spring, others in autumn. If they bloom in fall, this plant is a good choice for hummingbirds heading south for the winter.
