Open your kids’ eyes to the wonders of the insect world by attracting butterflies, skippers, moths, bees, and hummingbirds into your yard! These native pollinators have coevolved with native flowering plants—and the same could be said about bugs and kids! 

Insects have always fascinated young minds, and they just so happen to have plenty in common. Both are attracted to bright colors, both like to play in messy places, and both are small (yet crucially important)! 

Give your kids a learning opportunity while helping to restore the ecosystem, all at once, with these pollinator-friendly plants that kids can grow.      

General Guidelines 

Native plants in your yard are the best magnets for bees and butterflies. Since they are adapted to local conditions in Maryland and Virginia, these species are usually hardy and easy-to-grow, which means they’re excellent plants for junior gardeners. Like growing a vegetable garden for kids, you can set up a small plot of their own, mix them among your perennial border, or simply set up their own flower pots. To accommodate the immense diversity of pollinators out there—we have 19 species of native bumblebees alone!—you can plant a variety of flower shapes and colors. It’s better to plant in clumps so bees can easily find the plant they need. The key is to cultivate different plants that bloom through each part of the season, so pollinators always have nectar and pollen to eat. 

Early Season 

Blueberry: Consider a native variety, like the Highbush Blueberry, and start with a starter plant rather than planting from seed. Their pink and white blossoms are some of the first to nourish bees in the spring and will reward your little ones later with their tasty fruit. 

Mid Season 

Bee Balm: The native flower is a favorite of hummingbirds, hawk moths, and bumblebees. Blooming mid-season with purple flowers, the leaves have an oregano-mint fragrance that you can use for tea, potpourri, or as spicy leaves in the kid’s salad.  

Joe Pye Weed: Although it’s called a weed, don’t let the name dissuade you from letting these pink, mid-season flowers attract a pollinator party to your kids’ garden.

Milkweed: The most famous of butterfly magnets, their orange blossoms attract the monarch butterfly during its long, seasonal migrations—from Mexico to Canada and back. It’s also a host plant for the monarch caterpillar who will gobble up its leaves before spinning a cocoon.    

Liatris: Also known as Marsh Blazing Star, this mid-to-late, purple bloomer supports monarchs, skippers, swallowtails, and sulphurs.  

Late Season 

Aster: A native, such as the New England Aster, is one of many vivid flowers of this species that will support honeybees and queen bees preparing for hibernation.  

Goldenrod: These will dazzle your kids with golden blossoms and sweet scent during the dog days of summer as they prepare to go back to school. 

Host Plants for Caterpillars and Larvae 

If you’re serious about creating pollinator habitat, you can teach your kids the full life cycle of butterflies with plants that support caterpillars and larvae. Fragrant members of the carrot family, like dill, parsley, and fennel, can double as food for you and insects. If you let these plants flower, your kids will have fun looking for butterfly larvae, hungry caterpillars and cocoons. 

Keep Your Yard Messy

Bees and other pollinators need things to be a little messy to form nests, lay eggs, and overwinter. This shouldn’t be a problem if you have kids. They don’t have to throw your whole yard into disarray, but the insect world will benefit from an untidy corner of brush, bolted vegetable flowers, and some mud or a water feature where they can drink. Pesticides, even organic ones, can harm the insects, so it’s best to keep those away if you want your kids to have success.   

Like the caterpillars emerging from their cocoons, the bright fragrance of a pollinator garden can inspire your kids to emerge from the indoors and transform them into keen gardeners by summer’s end. You don’t have to create a full native meadow. Even a few potted flowers will leave lasting memories in their minds, and so will the exquisite butterflies, moths, skippers, hummingbirds, and bumblebees that they encounter.