The document discusses creating a pollinator-friendly yard by planting native species that provide food and habitat for pollinators. It notes that native plants are easy to maintain, spread to fill areas, and add beauty by attracting birds, butterflies, bees and other insects. The document compares a pollinator-friendly yard full of diverse native plants to a conventional yard with few plants, finding that the former supports a variety of 13 bird species and butterfly/insect species, while the latter supports almost no pollinator activity. It emphasizes the importance of including plants that provide a flower-rich foraging habitat and suitable nesting sites for pollinators to thrive.

1. Creating a
Pollinator-
Friendly Yard
Stephanie Pitts

3. Natives are
Easy to Maintain
 They’re meant to grow in our
environment
 Many spread and fill in so you
need not buy as many plants

4. Adds Beauty to Your Yard
 The plants are beautiful
 They attract birds, butterflies, bees and other
insects

5. Pollinator-Friendly vs. Pollinator
Unfriendly Yards
A yard with pollinator A well-manicured lawn
friendly plants with few decorative plants

6. The Yard with Pollinator-
friendly plants:

7. 
The Pollinator-
friendly Yard
Pollinators have only a few
basic habitat requirements:
a flower-rich foraging area,
suitable host plants or nests
where they can lay their
eggs, and an environment
free of pesticides (Xerces,
2011).
This yard has a variety of
over 40 pollinator-friendly
plants.

8. During the two month study of the two yards, the pollinator
friendly results were as follows:
Thirteen bird varieties found in the yard: American robins, gold
finches, house finches, mourning doves, ruby-throated
hummingbirds, black-capped chickadees, tufted titmouse, white-
breasted nuthatch, gray catbirds, northern cardinals, song
sparrows, dark-eyed juncos, and house sparrows.
Butterfly species included: Clouded sulphurs, cabbage whites,
American coppers, commas, buckeyes, pearl crescents, little
wood satyrs, and monarchs.
Other insects found were several varieties of bees, moths, beetles,
and flies.

9. The Yard with a few decorative
plants:
There aren’t any close-ups because
after over two months of studying this
yard, only the occasional pollinator
was witnessed passing through.
There is essentially nothing for them
to eat and minimal space for even a
bird to take a break.
No food or plants = No pollinators

10. Bibliography
Brooklyn Botanic Garden. Going Native: Biodiversity in Our Own Backyards. Brooklyn, NY,
Brooklyn Botanic Garden, Inc., 1994. Print.
Brooklyn Botanic Garden. Hummingbird Gardens: Turning Your Yard Into Hummingbird
Heaven. Brooklyn, NY, Brooklyn Botanic Garden, Inc., 2007. Print.
BugGuide.net. Iowa State University. n.d. Web. < http://bugguide.net/node/view/15740 >. 27
Sept. 2012.
Burton, Robert. National Audubon Society: Birdfeeder Handbook. New York, NY, DK Publishing, Inc.,
2005. Print.
Maescapes.org. Penn State College of Agricultural Sciences Cooperative Extension. n.d. Web.
< http://www.maescapes.org > . 27 Sept. 2012.
Stokes, Donald W. and Linda Q. Stokes. Stokes Beginners Guide To Butterflies. New York, New
York: Little, Brown and Company, 2001. Print.
The Xerces Society Guide. Attracting Native Pollinators. North Adams, MA, Storey Publishing, 2011.
Print.