For The Tribune

We all like to get the most from our dollar.

Pollinators like to get the most, too, from a well-constructed pollinator garden that meets many of its habitat needs. If you’re thinking of planting a pollinator habitat at your home this spring, you might be wondering what to plant and how to arrange the plants.

Below are my top five strategies for providing the most pollinator habitat needs to small gardens.

Plant natives rather than cultivars. Native plants do not require as much tender loving care as cultivars, so I can spend more time doing other things. Natives also are naturally adapted to our soil and climate. No need to amend the soil. Their roots run deep and therefore can withstand summer droughts. They do appreciate watering their first year while they’re getting established, like any plant.

Finally, our native pollinators and birds have co-evolved with these plants and can recognize them as a food source or other habitat need. Native plants support the butterflies and birds we all enjoy seeing.

Arrange the plants in groups of three or five. Some pollinators are attracted to plants by sight, and some are attracted by smell. Concentrate the sight and smell signals by grouping the same type of plant in groups of threes or fives.

Make the groupings act like billboards to attract customers to your habitat. It saves a pollinator a lot of energy when their food needs are in the same “aisle” at the store rather than having to navigate all over the garden store looking for what they need.

Space the plants closer than recommended on the planting guidelines. Closer plantings provide shelter for pollinators and other friendly garden visitors. Shelter provides hiding spots, shade, protecting from inclement weather and nesting sites. Additionally, providing plants with varying heights adds to the shelter components.

Add a shallow water source. Many pollinators and their predators require water, just as we do. Bees use water to help cool their hives in the summer. It doesn’t matter if the water source is on the ground or above, it must be shallow so that bees and butterflies can get in and out. You can add rocks to the water source to provide landing pads for foot holds. Bees seem to have a preference for a little algae in their water, so no need to keep it clean like you would for the birds.

Have at least three different types of plants blooming at any given time throughout the season. Pollinators require a specific flower shape for their pollinating needs, but they also need to have access to food during the pollinator season. Look at the bloom times for your native plant selections so you can plan to provide pollinators with nonstop food supplies. Add annuals for a continuous bloom time between perennial bloom periods. Sunflowers are great annuals to add to any garden with their copious amounts of pollen that seem to act as an immune booster for bees.

Have fun designing your garden and look forward to sitting back and enjoying the beauty of your native pollinator habitat.