Pollinator Garden

The pollinator garden was constructed in the Spring of 2018 by Standley Lake Park Ranger, Tyler Dunsmore, in partnership with the Butterfly Pavilion who is partially responsible for garden maintenance. Originally, the garden was not enclosed and plant growth was challenging as newly planted seedlings were an excellent snack for cottontail rabbits. Westminster Open Space assisted Tyler and several seasonal rangers in a complete remodel of the garden including a fence to keep pesky critters out. Removal of the invasive grass, smooth brome, was required to install the plot of land now filled with flowers.

In Colorado, there are over 900 native bees who are responsible for the health and balance of native flora throughout the varying ecosystems of the state. Many of these bees not only prefer, but require native flowers in order to retrieve pollen and nectar as a food source. On the flipside, many native plants are shaped in ways specific to certain species of insects, and are unable to be pollinated unless those species make a visit to the flower. The pollinator garden was built to assist our native pollinators as much possible. If you sit on one of the benches and wait, you’ll see a large variety of buzzing bugs visiting the plants in the garden, including many of the honey bees that call the Standley Lake hives home.

As many pollinating insects arrive at the park at varying times of the summer months, it’s important to have plants that bloom as early as April and as late as September. The Butterfly Pavilion and City of Westminster Greenhouse have provided numerous plants that flower throughout the season. Within the garden, you can spot Penstemons with bright purple flowers growing on one side of the stem, bright red and yellow Gaillardia, a sunflower that provides both nectar and pollen for pollinators, golden columbines which are a hummingbird favorite and many more that all provide unique benefits to insects.

A honeycomb structure filled with sticks, pinecones, mulch and reeds can be found in the pollinator garden as well. A small number of bees found in Colorado are considered “social” meaning they have a hive similar to a honeybee hive. The rest are typically solitary, finding shelter in crevices, burrowed in wood, or under leaves. The hexagonal structures are a rooms in a bug hotel, where insects and arachnids big and small can protect themselves from the elements.

We encourage those who visit the pollinator garden to take some time exploring the numerous native plant species and consider that beneath your feet there are likely hundreds of beneficial insects that help provide balance to the ever changing ecosystems of the Front Range.