Play · Grades 1–5 · Grades 6–12 · Adults · about 6 min
📅 Bloom Calendar Builder
A pollinator garden fails quietly when it has gaps. Choose up to eight Long Island natives and try to keep something in bloom from April through October, with a milkweed for caterpillars and a fall bloomer for the migration.
Your garden
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Gold: plants in bloom. Red: a gap in the April–October season pollinators need covered.
Pick plants from the list to fill the calendar. Try to cover every month from April to October with no more than eight plants.
- Bloom gap in Apr, May, Jun, Jul, Aug, Sep, Oct
- A native milkweed for monarch caterpillars
- Spring bloom for emerging queen bumble bees
- Fall bloom for the monarch migration
- A native grass for skippers and winter structure
- A shrub or tree for caterpillars and birds
Bloom months are typical for Long Island. When you have a garden you like, the Native Plant Finder can check each plant against your zip code’s zone and soil.