Gardening for Pollinators and Biodiversity

Why garden for pollinators and biodiversity?

Biodiversity is the variety of all living things and their interactions.
Human population growth threatens wild creatures and a variety of plant species by shrinking their habitat. As plants disappear, so does biodiversity.
Plants and wildlife have evolved together and depend on one another for survival. Placing native plants and other wildlife-supporting plants in the landscape helps support biodiversity.
Pollinators and pollination are vital to our food supply. Many food crops require pollination to produce fruit. If we lose pollinators, we lose 80-90% of all plants and 1/3 of our crop species.
Creating a food web with diverse species in your garden plays a key role in maintaining healthy ecosystems.

How to Attract and Maintain Pollinators in Your Garden

University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources produced this incredible resource complete with a list of pollinator plants that are successful in most California gardens.

Potted Plants for Pollinators

Resources for an easy DIY project to stay connected to nature at home, nurture a mix of interesting plants, and do your part to help maintain healthy and diverse pollinator populations.

Brochure of 10 Bees and 10 Plants on a wooden surface.

Introduction to California's Native Bees

Click here to download the 10 Bees and 10 Plants They Love brochure for an introduction to California's native bee population. FYI...there are over 1600 species of California native bees and none of them make honey or live in hives!

More on California's Native Bees: Visit the "10 Bees" blog page | Visit the "10 Plants" blog page

Bee Campus USA

Designed to marshal the strengths of educational campuses for the benefit of pollinators, UC Davis joins more than one-hundred-fifty other cities and campuses across the country united in improving their landscapes for pollinators.

Hummingbird flying near fuchsia plant with the text "Pollinator Plant List Hummingbirds" above it.

Hummingbird Plant List

Interested in attracting hummingbirds to your landscape? Download the list of plants our horticulturists recommend for bringing these bejeweled pollinators to your garden!

Hummingbird photos: Shakuntala Makhijani (on Flickr)