Sharing our space with others — pollinators

There are many ways to make a positive impact on our local ecosystems to ensure our own health, stability and happiness in the future. We all know we need pollinators for our well-being. We can make a conscious, logical, deliberate decision to support Earth’s life systems. One of the best things we can do for ourselves is to create habitat and nectar for the insects that help pollinate our food plants. Let’s cooperate with the systems in place to sustain us and quiet our rebellion against Mother Nature.

Pollinators need food in the form of nectar and pollen, which only flowers can provide. Native flowers are the best host plants for local insects.

Many native flowering plants are easy to grow. The Spanish needle is not the most attractive plant, and it has a bad reputation for dispersing hitchhikers, but local pollinators love it. It will volunteer to grow in your yard every day, year- round. This is one you will recognize as the plant you have been weeding out of your yard. This unassuming plant has the distinction of producing one-third of the nectar in Florida. It is not only a pollinator attractor, but it is a nutrient-dense wild plant, boasting a nutrient profile similar to kale. Its young leaves are good in a salad and the dried leaves also make a good tobacco substitute. I let it grow on the edges of my yard or in patches in the side yard out of the way.

Two native vines that grow well and attract pollinators are the passionflower and the coral honeysuckle. The passionflower vine dies back in the winter but the coral honeysuckle can survive cold Northeast Florida winters. Coral honeysuckle also attracts hummingbirds. Other native plants that draw pollinators include native milkweed, sabal palm flowers, bee balm, goldenrod, salvia, fire bush, dune sunflower and beautyberry. When the muscadine grape vine flowers, it is a favorite for native flies and bees.

I have observed pollinators enjoying some nonnative plants like flowering English ivy, lantana, nonnative milkweeds, blueberries, citrus trees, cilantro flowers and most garden herb flowers.

The University of Florida Nassau County Extension office is holding a plant sale today, Oct. 3, 2026, from 9 a.m. to noon. These plant sales are typically biannual, held in the spring and the fall. The sale will have a wide variety of locally grown native plants, Florida-friendly selections, and unique species propagated by master gardeners from our area. The sale will take place at 85831 Miner Road, Yulee, and will be cash or check only.

When I grow flowers for pollinators, I have a reason to go outside each day. I appreciate the beauty of the scene and I marvel at the body designs of the pollinators — technology we cannot come close to duplicating. I believe watching plants grow and interacting with them is good for the soul. The beautiful flowers and visiting insects are a little daily entertainment. It is very satisfying to see the development of an area when you plant natives. I find that highly manicured landscapes devoid of native plants are also devoid of pollinators. I personally take pride in the fact that I am providing food and habitat for wild organisms — boy do they need it!

Humans are now considered a hyper-keystone species because we affect so many different ecosystems globally. We are in a category all our own in terms of how much we can change other animals' livelihoods. We have the power to take away natural habitats. We also have the power to create habitat for wildlife within the spaces we are now claiming.

I have a designated corner in my yard. It has a little fence, and it needs a little sign that says “Pollination Garden” because sometimes it is a little messy, and I want my neighbors to understand that I am feeding my friends, the pollinators. If I don't provide a little space for nature, who will?

If you spray poison to rid your lawn of insects, you are destroying songbirds’ food source. Eliminating insects directly collapses local songbird populations. Pesticides kill pollinators the planet needs to produce food to feed the world. We disrupt the food web in a massive way when we decide insects aren't important and view them only as pests. They are a much-needed component of an ecosystem that supports us and could collapse if we cannot begin to appreciate their value.

As the seasons turn, designating a few areas in your yard to share with wintering insects is crucial. Woodpiles and leaf litter support native solitary bees and other insects. Leaf litter harbors many organisms that are close to the bottom of the food web and is therefore very important. What areas of your yard could you share with nature?