Insectary Garden: The Best Plants to Attract Predator Insects

Why create an insectary?

Attracting an assortment of good bugs to aid in pest control helps reduce work in the garden by managing destructive invaders and hopefully eliminating the need for chemicals. By planting with diversity in mind, you are providing food and shelter for beneficial creatures, including migratory birds of prey. When your plants mature and resident populations move in for good, your garden will become a more balanced and healthy environment. The other excellent benefits include lower water use because you will be embracing drought tolerant native plants, better flower and crop production, and lastly, healthy plants not affected by pests and disease can sequester carbon more effectively.

How do you create an insectary garden?

An insectary garden is a long-term commitment, as the results are cumulative and not instantaneous. It can be as large or as small as your garden space allows, just as long as your plot can hold about eight varieties of plants with different or overlapping bloom times. Use only organic fertilizers—never toxic chemicals—cover with mulch, and add compost when needed. Corey Welles, Sustainability Manager at Lotusland shares, “The recipe Lotusland uses for homes, botanic gardens, or large estates is basically: 1: pure natives strategically placed in hedge rows around a property (major cost savings and huge ecological services). 2: 50/50 natives and select non-natives closer to the house. 3: fancy-schmancy ornamentals carefully clustered for focal points or other ornamental elements. This recipe can be customized for any size house.”

What plants are good for an insectary?

Vitex agnus-castus: According to Corey, “Although it’s not a native California plant, Vitex brings in all the best butterflies and beneficial insects. It’s tough, takes radical pruning, plus likes deep and infrequent water.”

Borage: This multitasking plant attracts beneficial bees and wasps and adds trace elements to the soil. Bonus: The blue flowers are edible. Borage is an annual but readily reseeds itself so you will definitely have more next year.

Achillea: This favorite sunny border plant attracts all sorts of helpful flying friends, from butterflies to lacewings and ladybugs. Tall, flat flower clusters are also great in fresh or dried arrangements.

Cosmos: A charming flower that attracts lacewings, hoverflies, and parasitic wasps.

Cilantro: If you let this herb go to flower, you will witness a plethora of predators visiting this plant.

Sunflower: This stately flower attracts beneficial aphidus, pirate bugs, and parasitic wasps. Did you know that you can plant sunflowers to lure aphids away from other plants? Ants will pack up and move their colonies to sunflowers with little to no damage.

Members of the mint family: Sages and lavender have short nectar-producing flowers that make them more accessible to pollinators with short mouthparts such as native bees.

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