Plants for pollinator gardens
A personal, photographic guide to the flowering and host plants that have helped turn Rachel’s small Trinidad garden into a haven for hummingbirds, butterflies and other wildlife.
A blue-chinned sapphire visits the nectar-rich flowers of Erythrina x bidwilli
Introduction
Around 2014, I began transforming my small backyard in Diego Martin, which was then mostly lawn and hedges. My first intention was simple: to attract hummingbirds. Plant by plant, the garden grew into something far richer: a welcoming haven where hummingbirds feed, butterflies lay eggs, caterpillars grow, and a surprising community of bees, moths, lizards, birds and other creatures find food, shelter and refuge.
My love of gardening and nature began in early childhood, when I spent many happy hours tending to and playing in our garden in England, surrounded by a wide variety of plants and creatures. Wherever I have lived since then, I have continued to grow plants and encourage the wildlife that finds its way into my garden.
When I moved to my new home in 2014, the garden was immaculately tended but offered little food or habitat for birds, pollinators and other creatures so I immediately started hanging hummingbird nectar feeders. A magnificent mango tree was a focal point for birds and I was delighted to discover a mother copper-rumped hummingbird and her two fledglings sheltering under the branches one day. Over the years I added more hummingbird feeders and pollinator plants, most of them gifted by friends whose own gardens already attracted pollinators.
Soon, the single copper-rumped family became several hummingbird species enjoying the feeders and visiting the nectar-rich plants that were beginning to flourish. The first glimpse of a Ruby Topaz was a joyful moment, and the first visit from a Tufted Coquette (the first I had ever seen in real life!) two-years in felt like a true cause for celebration. I have now recorded 12 of Trinidad and Tobago’s 18 hummingbird species in the garden and I’m always watching and listening for the next one to appear.
As the garden became more welcoming, many other species began to visit too. Even as hummingbird numbers ebb and flow through the year, there is always something to discover: a new butterfly, a tiny snake, a tarantula, a squirrel, a vagrant forest bird, a pygmy owl or Pearl Kite, or a sociable flock of parakeets passing through to feast on the Pride of Barbados seeds.
The garden has become a peaceful sanctuary for wildlife and humans alike.
More than flowers: making useful habitat
A successful pollinator garden is not based on a single plant, but a wide variety of plants, ‘weeds’ and habitats, nurtured in a way that supports a diverse population of pollinators and other fauna. Nectar-rich flowers in different shapes, colours, heights and plant forms provide food for visiting hummingbirds, butterflies, bees and other pollinators, while native host plants feed native caterpillars and allow butterflies to complete their life cycles. Shrubs, vines, small trees and less-managed corners add essential habitat, and simple practices such as composting, mulching and cut-and-drop help return organic material to the soil. Just as important is what is left out: broad-spectrum pesticides and herbicides are avoided wherever possible, and a few nibbled leaves, insects and untidy patches are accepted as signs that the garden is becoming a living habitat, not just a tidy display.
A wild corner has replaced lawn and neatly trimmed borders. A variety of plants and shrubs at different levels provide habitat and food for a variety of hummingbirds, butterflies, iguanas, anole lizards and the occasional heron and egret.
Plants for the hummingbirds
Vervine (stachytarpheta jamaicensis) has several colours and is always a big hit with pollinators
A young green-throated mango made a surprise visit and was spotted among the vervine and ixora flowers
A ruby topaz dances among vervine flowers
A rare blue-tailed emerald (female) takes a quiet sip in the vervine bush
Antigua Heath (Russelia equiseiformis, Firecracker plant) also has several colours and is another pollinator garden staple
A blue-chinned sapphire enjoying these cream Antigua Heath flowers
Firespike (Odontonema sp.) can be found in red and pink/purple: it is another great plant for pollinator gardens
A ruby topaz enjoys the Firespike in a planter by the garage
A white-necked jacobin finds lots of nectar in this red firespike
Bottlebrush (Callistemon) is a showy tree that is irresistible to nectar lovers. A fully flowering tree is a-buzz with life, especially bees!
A female blue-chinned sapphire can’t resist the sweet bottlebrush flowers
Coral Bean plant (Erythrina x Bidwillii) is a stunning red-flowering shrub that attracts all kinds of pollinators – birds, bees and butterflies
The Erythrina is a particular favourite with blue-chinned sapphires
Pride of Barbados (Caesalpinia pulcherrima, several colours) is very common all over the Tropics and is an essential plant to include in your pollinator garden: so many hummingbirds, bees, butterflies and parrots will thank you!
White-eyed parakeets visit regularly to munch the seeds and get buzzed by resident monarch butterflies
Monkey brush (Combretum rotundifolium) is hugely popular with garden pollinators. A wild version of this vine grows in Chaguaramas and can be seen providing food for the monkey population! In the garden, hummingbirds, bananaquits, tanagers, orioles, butterflies, anoles all line up to get a feast at the flowers which drip with nectar.
A female black-throated mango flies in for a sip
A beautiful male black-throated mango has just scared off an anole to help himself to nectar
Heliconias (lots of varieties) are particularly popular with hermit hummingbirds but a variety of others will also visit, including anoles with a sweet tooth.
A young blue-tailed emerald finds a great spot to perch and drink on this tall heliconia
Lantana camara no pollinator garden is complete without at least one lantana bush. It provides nectar for hummingbirds, bananaquits, butterflies and bees and tasty berries for blue-grey tanagers, palm tanagers, saltators and orioles.
Tufted coquettes love lantana and its always a special treat to see them in the garden
Wild canna lilies are a very easy way to add nectar to the garden. Readily propagated from seeds and hummingbirds love the flowers. The more showy garden hybrid canna lilies do not have the same appeal to the pollinators.
A male black-throated mango visiting wild canna lily flowers
Duranta erecta is a firm favourite with tufted coquettes. It needs good light to produce lots of flowers and berries for the pollinators and birds.
A male tufted coquette coming to feed on duranta erecta flowers in the late afternoon
Flowers for butterflies and other visitors
A mating pair of White peacock – Anartia jatrophae – butterflies among lantana flowers
Host plants: feeding the next generation
Nectar plants feed adult pollinators, while host plants support the next generation. These are the specific plants where butterflies and moths lay their eggs and on which their caterpillars feed as they grow, pupate and eventually emerge as adults. Female insects actively search for the right host plants — such as milkweed for monarchs — because newly hatched larvae depend on those leaves and tissues for essential food and, in some cases, protective chemicals. Many butterflies are specialists, relying on a particular plant family or species to complete their life cycle.
Monarch butterflies (Danaus plexippus megalippe) use tropical milkweed and the sturdier Giant milkweed in Trinidad and Tobago (both members of the genus Asclepias) as their host plants
Starting your own pollinator garden
Starting your own pollinator garden does not have to mean transforming an entire yard at once. Begin with what you have, even if that is only a few pots, and choose two or three dependable plants that offer nectar for hummingbirds and/or butterflies. Cuttings, plant exchanges and gifts from other gardeners can help the space grow gradually and affordably and you can collect valuable growing tips along the way.
As you add plants, think in layers, using different heights, flower shapes, colours and textures to invite different visitors and create places for small creatures to feed, rest and hide. Then watch what arrives before deciding what to add next. As far as possible, grow native plants which are well suited to the local environment and essential to support local pollinators.
A useful pollinator garden is built as much by observing as by planting, and that includes learning to accept a little natural untidiness: nibbled leaves, caterpillars, insects and the occasional predator are often signs that the garden is feeding a wider web of life, not just looking pretty.
Next steps
If you have enjoyed this article and would like to see more plants for pollinator gardens, you can check the photo album on my Land of the Hummingbird Facebook page.
