Kentucky Native Plants as Pollinator Hosts: What a Wonderful World!

Red Admiral Butterfly
(Its host plants are Stinging Nettle, False Nettle, and Hops)

  As we develop more intimate connections with native species in our home gardens, we learn about how these plants have co-evolved with certain butterflies, moths, and skippers. It's as if, over the eons, they have become best friends, one supporting the other for the mutual benefit of survival. Therefore, as we're building out biodiversity in our areas, we are also attracting a diverse range of new pollinators. Here is a short list of some of our more common Kentucky native species and the caterpillars that depend on them for food. We learn not to freak out, but to be excited, when caterpillars are munching holes in the leaves of some of our favorite plants. That is how we know we are going to have a plethora of new pollinators visiting our spaces. The wider the range of different native species we grow, the more butterflies, bees, moths, skippers, etc., we attract. If you are new to native planting, please consider purchasing the book "Let the Earth Breathe: Gardening with Native Plants" . You can also purchase this book on Amazon in hardback, Kindle, and paperback here: Let the Earth Breathe Book
Anne Milligan,
February, 2022