Spring is springing! Gardeners thumb through seed catalogs. Visions of flower beds and fresh veggies dance in their heads.

How can you get your garden started off right? You want to be sure pollinators will enjoy your plants!

First, check your plant hardiness zone before buying seeds. You can find a hardiness zone map online. People who live in places with long winters like Minnesota (zone 3) wait until late April to plant cool weather plants like snap peas. Folks farther south in spots like Oklahoma (zone 7) can plant snap peas in mid-February.

Plant most seeds about two weeks after the last winter frost. The ground needs to be warmer for many seeds to grow. Seeds that can’t handle cooler weather must be planted in late spring or early summer.

Plan ahead to make a pollinator paradise. Buy flowers that bloom at different times. Then bees, hummingbirds, and butterflies have a year-round buffet.

Make it easy for pollinators to spot floral treats. Select flowers with bright colors like red, purple, orange, and yellow.

Easy access to nectar and pollen help. Look for flowers with wide openings. Think daisies and trumpet-shaped daffodils and lilies.

Seek a range of floral scents. Butterflies savor sweet smells (like strawberry blooms, lavender, asters, and black-eyed Susans). Spicier plants (cilantro and dill) draw helpful beetles like ladybugs. Ladybugs eat aphids—and pollinate while they do!

Consider planting evening primrose. It blooms as dark falls. Hawkmoths will thank you. They fly and snack at night.

Pray: Thank God for providing sunlight, soil, rain, seeds, and pollinators for our good and His glory.