Habitat assessment by AlyaSerpens for My Pollinator Garden

AlyaSerpens's picture
Assessment results
Answer givenOur advice
Are there bee nesting blocks?: 
No
Supplement your habitats with nest blocks. Learn how to build them here.
What is the main type of vegetation in the area you are evaluating (park, garden, yard, farm...)?: 
Mix of native and non-native plants
Increase the amount of native plants in your yard.
How much of the whole yard, park, farm or green space is garden space or wild/natural vegetation?: 
Some. Between 21-40%.
Consider expanding your gardens and wild spaces and reducing your lawn.
How much of the garden is planted with flowering annual or perennial plants (including shrubs, vegetables and trees)?: 
Some (25-50%)
Consider supplementing your garden with some native, pollinator friendly plants and converting some lawn!
How many flowers in your garden bloom in fall?: 
7-9
Add 2-3 more fall flowers to support fall bees.
How many flowers in your garden bloom in summer?: 
4-6
Add 2-3 more types of summer flowers to support summer bees.
How many different pollinator counts will your contribute this year?: 
Five or more.
We'd love to see pollinator counts from any of the plants in your garden as many times as you can contribute. Thanks!

Score: 179 (out of a possible 210)

This is my pollinator garden created in the spring (March-May) of 2019. Main plants are 5 Salvia sylvestris 'May Night', Meadow sage; 5 Aquilegia chrysantha v. chaplinei 'Little Treasure', dwarf yellow Columbine; 2 Monarda fistulosa, Wild Bergamot; 1 New Jersey Tea plant (should be 2, but one died), 1 Asclepias Tubrosa, butterfly weed (should be 3, but 2 died); and 3 Tiarella cordifolia 'Pink Skyrocket', Foam Flower (all 3 died); 2 lemon thyme and 2 sweat mint plants. Also a blue Wisteria vine that has not bloomed yet. Under a big Palo Verde tree and a Silver Texas sage bush trained as a standard (small tree). Also annuals of Lobelia, Sweet William, Alyssum, marigolds and zinnias. The annuals may not always be these as I'll see what works best in future. Other features are a birdbath and a hummingbird feeder. So far this year the garden has been home to a pair of Lucy's Warblers, I believe it's the same pair that lived there in the spring of last year. They claim a Terra cotta jar 10' up the Palo Verde tree and build a nest in it. I could never tell if they had any offspring, though. They are only seasonal (spring) residents to my garden. Also 3 kinds of hummingbirds visit the feeder. Only one of which I have a positive ID on and it is an Anna's Hummingbird. Many unidentified small butterflies and/or moths. Hummingbird moths, Sulfurs (dark yellow like a yield sign), a white butterfly with a black spot on its forward wing tip and little pale lavender butterflies. A lot of bees, they love the salvia as well as the trees. Lots of lizards, mostly when the soaker hose is on. All kinds of flies.

Which garden or space are you describing?: 
How large is your yard?: 
1 210.00
square yards
Are there areas with bare ground and very few plants?: 
Yes
Are there areas with sandy loamy soil?: 
Yes
Are there low traffic areas where the soil is not turned over, tilled or plowed?: 
Yes
Are there areas dead wood, brush piles or snags present?: 
Yes
Are there areas with pithy twigs (elderberry, cane fruit, sumac, etc…)?: 
Yes
Do you have native bunchgrasses?: 
Several areas or one large area.
Are the flowering plants that you have pollinator friendly?: 
Most (more than 75%)
How many flowers in your garden bloom in spring?: 
10 or more
Are flowers planted in clumps?: 
Yes.
How much mulch is on the ground?: 
None.
Is there fresh, clean water always available with a perch that bees could stand on and drink?: 
Yes
Does the garden use herbicides?: 
No.
Are pesticides used in the garden?: 
No