We are currently closed while we propagate and grow plants for fall.
We’ll reopen on October 1 for the next planting season
Desert Pollinator Gardens
Creating beautiful habitats with native plants in the California deserts.
Pollinator gardens are some of the most alive and dynamic spaces we can create in the landscape. More than just a collection of flowering plants, they are living habitats that support native bees, butterflies, hummingbirds, moths, beetles, and countless other species that help ecosystems function.
Regardless of where you live, the basic components of a pollinator garden remain the same. What changes are the plants you use to support the wildlife native to your region.
What is a Pollinator?
animals that visit flowers → move pollen → plant reproduction
Nectar vs Pollen
Nectar provides carbohydrates and energy.
Pollen supplies protein and nutrients.
Different pollinators rely on these resources in different ways, which is why plant diversity matters in a healthy habitat garden
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Nectar is the reward.
Pollen is the purpose.
What Is Pollination
Unlike animals, plants cannot move from place to place. In order to reproduce, they rely on outside forces to move pollen between flowers. Sometimes that happens through wind, but many plants depend on animals to do the work while feeding on nectar or collecting pollen. Pollinators allow plants to make seeds, berries, fruits, nuts, etc. Without pollinators, ecosystems would lose many of the plants that produce seeds, berries, fruits, and nuts that countless animals - including us - rely upon.
Bees are the pollinators most people recognize, but they are far from the only ones. Butterflies, moths, flies, beetles, hummingbirds, bats, mosquitoes, and many other animals also play important roles in pollination - each interacting with plants in different ways.
Why Native Plants Matter Here
A native plant is simply a plant that was here before humans. Over time, these plants co-evolved with the other plants, animals, fungi, insects, and even the soils that shape the ecosystems around us.
Because of those relationships, native plants support far more wildlife than most non-native ornamentals. Not all plants provide the same ecological value. Native plants support relationships that many non-native plants simply cannot - from specialist native bees and caterpillars to birds and other wildlife that evolved alongside them.
While many flowering plants can provide nectar, native plants frequently support the entire life cycle - providing host plants for caterpillars, pollen for specialist bees, seeds and berries for birds, shelter, nesting material, and seasonal resources timed to the rhythms of the desert.
Plants and animals do not recognize geographical or political boundaries the way humans do. Desert ecosystems blend and transition into one another naturally, especially in areas where the Colorado Desert, Mojave Desert, chaparral, and mountain habitats meet. Choosing plants adapted to your local climate and surrounding ecosystem helps create gardens that are more resilient, more water-wise, and more supportive of local wildlife.
Biodiversity Supports Biodiversity
Understanding Different Pollinators
Not all pollinators use the landscape in the same way. Some are attracted to shallow clusters of flowers, while others rely on deep tubular blooms, night-blooming plants, specific host plants, or seasonal food sources.
In the desert, these relationships can be surprisingly specialized. Some native bees rely on only a handful of plant species for pollen, while butterflies and moths may need very specific host plants to reproduce successfully.
Butterflies & Moths
Butterflies and moths need more than nectar alone. A healthy pollinator garden includes both nectar plants for adults and host plants where caterpillars can feed and develop. While butterflies often receive the attention, moths are among the desert’s most important nighttime pollinators.
Native Bees
Native bees rely on flowering plants for both nectar and pollen. Adult bees use nectar for energy, while pollen is collected to feed developing larvae. Some native bees are generalists, while others depend on only a small group of native plants.
Hummingbirds
Hummingbirds are especially attracted to tubular flowers in shades of red, orange, and pink, but nectar is only part of the story. Hummingbirds also rely heavily on insects and spiders for protein, especially while raising young, making healthy insect populations an important part of habitat gardens.
Other Pollinators
Pollinators include far more than bees and butterflies alone. Flies, beetles, wasps, mosquitoes, and many other insects may move pollen between flowers while feeding, sheltering, or simply crawling through blooms. Some of these relationships are ancient, with beetles and flies pollinating plants long before bees evolved. Male mosquitoes feed only on nectar and may also contribute to pollination within desert ecosystems.
Seasonal Bloom
A healthy pollinator garden provides resources in every season. In the desert, bloom cycles shift throughout the year, creating changing waves of color, fragrance, nectar, pollen, seeds, and habitat resources. While spring is often the most dramatic season, many native plants continue supporting pollinators well into summer, fall, and even winter. By planting for seasonal succession, gardens become more resilient and ecologically functional - supporting wildlife beyond peak bloom season.
Even during the heat of summer, carefully selected native plants can continue providing nectar, pollen, shelter, and host plants for desert-adapted pollinators.
Winter gardens may appear quieter, but seed heads, shelter, evergreen structure, and winter-blooming plants continue supporting wildlife through the colder months.
Spring is the busiest season in many desert pollinator gardens, with wildflowers, penstemons, brittlebush, milkweeds, and flowering shrubs supporting migrating butterflies, native bees, hummingbirds, and countless other insects.
Fall bloom helps support monarchs, late-season native bees, and other pollinators preparing for cooler weather and winter activity. In the desert, fall can be an important season for nectar and renewed plant growth after summer heat.
Habitat Matters
Pollinator gardens are about far more than flowers alone. A truly functional habitat also provides shelter, nesting sites, water, seed, shade, leaf litter, and places for wildlife to rest, hide, reproduce, and overwinter.
Even small urban gardens can become important habitat corridors, helping reconnect fragmented landscapes one yard at a time.
Creating habitat does not mean abandoning beauty or thoughtful design. Some of the most vibrant gardens are the ones that balance ecological function with intentional planting, seasonal structure, and a strong sense of place.
Shelter & Nesting
Many pollinators need more than nectar alone. Hollow stems may shelter native bees, while leaf litter, brush, and seed heads provide cover, nesting material, and overwintering habitat for insects, birds, and other wildlife.
Water & Puddling
Water is important for far more than drinking alone. Pollinators and other wildlife may use shallow water sources for bathing, cooling, hydration, and regulating body temperature - especially during extreme desert heat. Even small water features, shallow dishes, or damp areas can become important habitat resources.
Many butterflies also rely on shallow damp soil or mud for a behavior known as puddling, where they absorb minerals and nutrients from the earth rather than open water alone.
Foodwebs & Living Soil
Pollinator gardens also support larger food webs. Insects feed birds, reptiles, amphibians, and other wildlife, while soil organisms, fungi, insects, and burrowing animals help cycle nutrients and maintain healthy living soil through processes like bioturbation.
Planting Design
Planting in groups or drifts makes flowers easier for pollinators to locate and allows them to forage more efficiently while conserving energy. Repeating plant species throughout a landscape can also help create habitat connections across neighborhoods and urban spaces.
Threats to Pollinators
Human activity is one of the biggest threats facing pollinators today. Habitat loss, pesticide use, invasive species, large expanses of turf grass, urban development, and shifting bloom times linked to climate change all make it more difficult for pollinators to find food, reproduce, and move across the landscape.
More than 85% of flowering plants rely on animal pollinators to reproduce.
Even products marketed as “safe” or “organic” can harm pollinators, caterpillars, beneficial insects, and the larger food web surrounding them.
We cannot conserve one species at the expense of another.
Most of us are not going to save whales or tigers by what we choose to plant in our yard. But we can have a real impact on native bees, butterflies, moths, hummingbirds, and other pollinators by creating habitat where we live.
Featured Pollinator Plants
Pollinator gardens are most successful when they combine a diversity of bloom shapes, colors, flowering seasons, and habitat resources. The plants below are some of our favorite natives to the Coachella Valley and surrounding deserts for supporting pollinators while also creating beautiful, resilient landscapes.
Beyond Pollinator Gardens
Pollinator gardens are often the first step toward creating a more complete wildlife habitat. As gardens mature, they begin supporting far more than bees and butterflies - providing food, shelter, nesting space, shade, cover, and seasonal resources for birds, reptiles, beneficial insects, and countless other species.If you're ready to move beyond nectar plants and begin creating a more fully functioning habitat garden, explore our Wildlife Habitat Gardens page.You don't plant for pollinators - you build habitat.