Add color and attract beneficial visitors with these pollinator-friendly pond plants.
- Pickerel Rush – Striking purple blooms that thrive in shallow water and keep pollinators active all summer.
- Iris – A pond-edge favorite that attracts a wide range of pollinators with elegant, showy flowers.
- Swamp Milkweed – A monarch magnet, this native variety offers nectar and a nursery for caterpillars.
- Arrowhead – Recognized by its distinct leaf shape and white blooms, bees love its nectar-rich flowers.
- Cardinal Flower – Bold red blossoms make this a hummingbird favorite.
- Bog Bean – Crawls along the pond’s edge and attracts bees, hoverflies and butterflies.
- Blue Moneywort – Low-growing and spreading, its tiny blue flowers attract hoverflies and bees.
- Water Lilies – A pond classic, these floating blooms welcome beetles, moths and bees.
- Lotus – Eye-catching blooms that draw in bees and beetles, adding drama and ecological value.
Pollinator Fun Facts – Small Creatures Big Impact
Pollinator-friendly plants attract some amazing creatures. Learn more about these small but impactful animals, primarily insects and birds, that move pollen from one flower to the next.
- A single honeybee can visit up to 5,000 flowers in one day.
- Monarch butterflies migrate as far as 3,000 miles to overwinter in Mexico.
- Some pollinators, like moths, are active at night.
- Hummingbirds can flap their wings over 50 times per second.
- Beetles are among the oldest pollinators on Earth.
- Swamp milkweed serves as both nectar source and nursery for monarch caterpillars.
- Hoverflies mimic bees and wasps—but don’t sting.
- Some water lilies trap pollinators overnight, releasing them the next day coated in pollen.
- Hummingbirds remember which flowers offer the most nectar—and return often.
- Solitary bees may build ground nests near ponds and prefer open, undisturbed soil.
Read more: Learn how to attract pollinators to your water garden.
About the Author
Emily Lane discovered her passion for gardening while attending college, which led her to working in horticulture after graduation. Emily manages the aquatic nursery at Milford Farm for Fitz’s Fish Ponds and works with the Fish Health team.
