Pollinators / Food in summer

"Life alone is not enough, said the butterfly, one must also have sunshine, freedom, and a little flower." Hans Christian Andersen (1805-1875)

95% of the summer bloomers, spices, and herbs we produce serve the purpose of feeding pollinators in the summer. It becomes difficult when the media constantly insists on how "bad" geraniums are for bees. Many journalists emphasize the "bogeyman" of geraniums and criticize poinsettias at Christmas. In my view, these journalists are fundamentally uncritical. They demonize geraniums and claim that petunias offer nothing for bees. Geraniums have been the most popular balcony plant for generations. The flowers of the familiar hanging geraniums on old farmhouses are not full and thus provide food for bees. Bees may be the best-known pollinators, but they are not the only ones. A lack of food for bees cannot be attributed exclusively to the popularity of geraniums. There are many other triggers. It is worth taking a closer look at the plants discredited by the media. Instead of reporting on what really helps insects, they focus on geraniums. Single-flowered geraniums lose their petals, creating work for their owners and leaving stains on the ground. To create beautiful plants that require little care and don't lose petals, breeders bred out the aforementioned stamens, resulting in double flowers. Generally speaking, all flowers with double flowers don't provide any food, as the inner petals are transformed stamens. Petunias, for example, have funnel-shaped flowers, which means that plump bumblebees and bees can't reach the pollen. Nevertheless, there are many other pollinating insects besides bees. Funnel-shaped flowers are popular with butterflies and hummingbird hawk moths, so they too have their place. The fact that these summer bloomers are not native doesn't bother the pollinators. The nectar gap can be filled with these flowers until frost. In doing so, they are doing nature a favor. A change in thinking is taking place among garden and balcony owners, which is definitely a positive thing. A garden with summer bloomers that attracts pollinators is an exciting feast for the eyes. We're always happy to help.