“The crabapple standards at the start of our walk just had to go, they had become so overgrown and had been poorly pruned when we bought the house,” laughs Natalie Selker, landscape designer. “Our landscape was boring, and we were ready for a change. I wanted to make the front of our landscape full of color and welcoming to pollinators.”
At our office, we have an expansive pollinator garden to show clients. It’s a very lush, intermingled garden. But not all clients have the room, or desire for such an extensive garden. We are not ones to say you must relinquish your lawn for a new garden. We see the value in a lawn to set off a new garden, as well as to offer kids and pets a place to play. This belief held true when Natalie added a pollinator garden to her own landscape. A balance was struck between the need for a lawn and the desire to plant for pollinators.

“The space along the street was the perfect place to add a pollinator garden. This beautiful garden greets those driving or walking our street, and it welcomes our guests as they walk to our front door,” explains Natalie. “I still have room for my two my boys and the dogs to play: it’s a perfect balance.”

Our landscapes don’t have to be all or nothing. A thoughtful landscape supports native wildlife including people. Too often the human element is taken out of the equation when discussing planting for nature.
“We are part of nature, so why shouldn’t we create landscapes that are welcoming to us as well as the birds? If landscape entices kids to play outside in the yard, we are supporting a healthy way of living. If we add to that space a garden where they can observe and learn about nature, we are really succeeding,” says Peter Wimberg.

Pollinator gardens can be acres or as modest as a collection of containers. “The same design principles are applied to an expansive garden as those applied to a simple city garden. We look to add color, textures, movement, blooms throughout the season, and winter interest,” shares Natalie. “Tiny gardens can pack a huge punch while supporting nature and enriching our lives – beautifully.”