Heather Holm on Pollinators and Native Plants (#54)

About this episode

Heather Holm discusses the relationship between native bees, wasps, and the plants that support them, revealing surprising insights about pollinators and gardening.

In this month's episode of The Plantastic Podcast, I sat down with Heather Holm, author, photographer, and pollinator researcher based in Minnesota, to dig into the world of native bees, wasps, and the plants that support them. Heather shares some genuinely surprising information including why bee diversity is actually highest in arid, stressed landscapes rather than lush ones, and why many insects we casually call pollinators, including the monarch butterfly, may not be completing the pollination process at all. We discuss the fascinating mechanics of how female bees strategically provision their nests and why the stems you cut back this winter can become a 12-month bee nursery. On the practical side, we talk about what hemiparasitic plants like Pedicularis canadensis (wood betony) are doing in healthy ecosystems that our gardens are missing, why the mosquito spraying service knocking on your door is likely selling something toxic to every pollinator in your garden, and how soft landings under your oak tree can transform turf into habitat. This conversation will change the way you look at your garden. I know it did for me! Enjoy the show!

People in this episode

Host: Jared Barnes

Guest: Heather Holm

Topics covered

• pollinators
• native plants
• bee diversity
• gardening
• ecosystems
• insect behavior

Keywords

• pollinators
• native plants
• bee diversity
• gardening
• ecosystems
• insects
• hemiparasitic plants
• mosquito spraying

Mentioned in this episode

Books & works: Pedicularis canadensis

Places: Minnesota

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