Photos by Debbie Roos, Chatham County Cooperative Extension

Cooperative Extension’s Pollinator Paradise Garden

In late 2008, I planted a demonstration pollinator garden at Chatham Mills to provide forage habitat for pollinators such as honey bees, native bees, butterflies, flower flies, hummingbirds, beetles, and other beneficial insects. The garden features over 170 unique species of perennials, 85% of which are native to the North Carolina piedmont. The garden is a great teaching tool that I use to conduct workshops and tours for hundreds of folks each year. It has taught me so much and I enjoy sharing this knowledge with others.

Over the years I have taken thousands of photos of the garden and its inhabitants. I post photos weekly on my facebook page and created a slide show of over 150 photos of the garden throughout the seasons and years that will allow you to take a virtual tour. I just updated the slide show with some new photos.

Below is a sampling of photos showing the diversity of insects and other critters that enjoy visiting the garden. You’ll see native bees and honey bees, wasps, beetles, butterflies, spiders, reptiles, and much more!

I give free monthly tours of the pollinator garden, and the last tour of the year will be Wednesday October 21.

For more information:

Pollinator Paradise Garden website

Slide Show of Pollinator Garden: Take a Virtual Tour!

What’s in Bloom in the Pollinator Garden – updated bi-weekly!

Debbie’s List of the Top 25 Pollinator Plants for the North Carolina Piedmont

Carolina anole on butterfly weed.

Bumble bee on red milkweed.

Mason wasp on golden alexander.

Daring jumping spider.

Two bees visiting beard tongue: a small sweat bee up top and a bumble bee in flight.

Sweat bee on gayfeather.

American bumble bee enjoying the wild indigo.

American snout butterfly on rattlesnake master.

Honey bee on Maryland golden aster.

A black swallowtail caterpillar leaves behind its shed skin on a bronze fennel stem.

A goldfinch snacks on tall tickseed.

Bumble bee foraging on downy wood mint.

Praying mantis feeds on a hummingbird moth.

Female tiger swallowtail (black form) on threadleaf ironweed.

Soldier beetles on buttonbush.

Spicebush swallowtail caterpillar on spicebush.

Slaty skimmer on blazing star.

Green lynx spider on red milkweed.

Sweat bee on American clasping aster.

Ambush bug nymph on threadleaf ironweed.