Today is National Gardening Day! So, I am going to combine my love for gardening with my love for native plants and pollinators, especially bumblebees, mason bees, leaf cutter bees, sweat bees, monarch butterflies, black swallowtail butterflies, and red admiral butterflies. Below are two drawings of plants that attract pollinators. These two plants will be added to the painting of native plants and pollinators that I am planning. These drawings are studies and are not designed to be perfect. I’m just trying to draw a basic image of these plants.
The common name for this plant is beardtongue, and the scientific name is penstemon digitalis. Bees and hummingbirds especially like to pollinate this plant. It is a perennial, and it’s also deer resistant. This plant is found in prairies, fields, open forests, and along roads and railroad tracks. These plants grow to five feet (1.52 meters). It blooms for about a month in late spring or summer. They can grow in USDA zones 3-8. Grand Island and nearby communities are Zone 6B, so beardtongue is well suited for the climate.
The common name for this plant is yarrow, and the scientific name is achillea millefolium. It’s a flowering plant in the family asteraceae. It produces fernlike leaves and tiny leaves in compounds. Some people think that it’s a weed, but it’s really a native plant species that attracts butterflies and bees and other insects with its strong smell. It’s a very useful plant. It can be used as an astringent to stop bleeding and assist in healing cuts. It can provide relief for cold and flu symptoms, and it can help relieve digestive spasms and assist in pain relief associated with mestruation. Its strong smell is considered pleasant and the plant can be used as an essential oil.
Happy gardening and check back for more native plant drawings!
