Let the garden hum with life
Pollinators are nature’s quiet workers. Bees, butterflies, moths, hoverflies, beetles, birds, and even tiny native wasps carry out the essential task of pollinating flowers, ensuring fruit set, seed production, and biodiversity.
Without them, our food forests fade. Our flowers fall silent. The web of life unravels.
🌼 A pollinator pathway is a living invitation
It’s a garden designed not just for humans, but for the wild creatures that make it thrive. By planting the right species and creating connected pockets of flowering food and shelter, we form a corridor—linking one safe zone to the next across paddocks, neighbourhoods, and townships.
🦋 How to build your own pollinator pathway
Start with three layers:
- Groundcovers – e.g. Dichondra repens, native violets (Viola hederacea)
- Shrubs – e.g. Grevillea lanigera, Westringia fruticosa, Correa reflexa
- Trees or tall support plants – e.g. Eucalyptus leucoxylon (yellow gum), Callistemon viminalis (weeping bottlebrush)
💡 Top tip: Choose species that flower at different times of the year to ensure a continuous supply of nectar and pollen.
🛑 Avoid heavy use of hybridised varieties with little pollen or scent, and skip chemical sprays altogether—especially neonicotinoids, which are harmful to bee populations.
🌾 Local natives are key
Many Australian pollinators have evolved alongside specific plants. A native blue-banded bee is far more likely to favour a Hardenbergia than a fancy imported daisy. By selecting local indigenous species, you not only feed them—you keep their populations strong.
🐝 Don’t forget water and shelter
Shallow dishes with pebbles for bees to land on, hollow logs, sunny resting spots, and small rock piles all add valuable habitat.
🌸 At Greenstead, we weave pollinator-friendly zones through every bed—from the orchard understory to the herb spiral by the kitchen porch. It’s not just about productivity; it’s about aliveness.
A pollinator-rich garden isn’t just beautiful. It feels alive. And in that hum of wings, you’ll find something else too: hope.
