7 Flower Seed Types For Pollinators For First-Year Success

You’ve tilled a new patch of ground, the soil is waiting, and you have a vision of a garden humming with life. But the wall of seed packets at the local store can be overwhelming, each promising a perfect garden. The secret to a successful first year isn’t trying to grow everything; it’s about choosing reliable seeds that deliver results with minimal fuss.

Disclosure: As an Amazon Associate, this site earns from qualifying purchases. Thank you!

Choosing Easy Seeds for a Buzzing First Season

Starting a pollinator garden is about building momentum. A few early wins will fuel your enthusiasm for years to come, while a patch of failed seedlings can be deeply discouraging. That’s why we focus on seeds that are forgiving—they don’t need perfect soil, precise watering, or a complicated indoor starting setup.

Most of the seeds on this list are best sown directly into the garden after your last frost date. This eliminates the hassle of grow lights, seedling trays, and the delicate process of hardening off plants. You’re working with nature’s timing, not fighting against it. An "easy" seed is one that germinates reliably in garden soil, tolerates a bit of neglect, and produces a lot of flowers without demanding constant attention.

Your goal for year one is simple: get flowers in the ground that pollinators will actually visit. This isn’t the time to experiment with fussy, rare varieties. It’s about creating a reliable, season-long buffet that will attract and sustain bees, butterflies, and other beneficial insects. Success this year builds the foundation for a more complex and diverse garden next year.

Cosmos ‘Sensation Mix’ for Season-Long Blooms

Cosmos are the definition of a workhorse flower. They grow quickly from seed, produce an abundance of blooms, and thrive in average soil that you haven’t fussed over. In fact, they bloom more in soil that isn’t overly rich, which is perfect for a new garden plot.

The ‘Sensation Mix’ gives you a beautiful spread of pinks, whites, and magentas on tall, airy stems. This height adds structure to a new garden bed without casting dense, heavy shade. They are also a "cut and come again" flower. The more you cut them for bouquets, the more they branch out and produce new buds, ensuring a continuous food source for pollinators from mid-summer until the first hard frost.

The main tradeoff with cosmos is their tendency to get leggy and flop over, especially after a heavy rain or strong wind. You can mitigate this by planting them in a dense patch so they support each other or by providing some simple twine-and-stake support. Don’t overwater them; a little bit of stress encourages sturdier stems and more flowers.

Zinnia ‘California Giant’ Attracts Butterflies

If you want to see butterflies in your garden, plant zinnias. It’s that simple. The ‘California Giant’ variety offers huge, flat-topped blossoms that act as perfect landing pads for large butterflies like Monarchs and Swallowtails.

Zinnias are incredibly easy to grow from seed and absolutely love summer heat. They are the plants that will look their best in the blazing sun of August when other flowers might be starting to fade. Their stiff, sturdy stems also make them a fantastic cut flower, and just like cosmos, cutting them encourages more blooms.

The one thing to watch for with zinnias is powdery mildew, a white, dusty-looking fungus that can coat the leaves, especially in humid weather. The best defense is prevention. Give your zinnia plants plenty of space for air to circulate between them—don’t crowd them. Water the base of the plant, not the leaves, to keep them as dry as possible.

‘Mammoth Grey Stripe’ Sunflower: A Bee Magnet

Nothing says "pollinator garden" quite like a towering row of sunflowers. The ‘Mammoth Grey Stripe’ is the classic variety for a reason: it’s incredibly easy to grow, produces a massive flower head, and serves two key functions in the farm ecosystem.

First, the enormous flower is a beacon, drawing in bees from all over. You will see dozens of bees covering the flower face at once, collecting huge amounts of pollen and nectar. This single plant can dramatically increase the pollinator traffic to your entire garden. Second, after the flower fades, the head fills with heavy seeds that are a favorite of birds like goldfinches and chickadees, providing a crucial food source into the fall and winter.

The primary consideration here is size. A ‘Mammoth’ sunflower needs full, direct sun and space to grow, as it can easily reach 8-12 feet tall and cast significant shade. Plant it on the north side of your garden beds so it doesn’t block the sun from smaller plants. Its size also means it needs protection from strong winds, so planting along a fence line or building can provide necessary support.

Borage (Borago officinalis) for Happy Honeybees

Borage is one of the most functional and underrated plants you can have on a small farm. Its brilliant blue, star-shaped flowers are an absolute favorite of honeybees and bumblebees. The plant produces nectar continuously, so bees will visit the same patch all day long.

What makes borage so valuable is its self-sufficiency. It’s an annual that acts like a perennial because it readily self-seeds. Plant it once, and you’ll likely have it returning year after year. This can be a huge advantage for a low-maintenance pollinator strip, but it’s something to be aware of. If you don’t want it everywhere, simply pull the young seedlings in the spring where they aren’t wanted—they are easy to identify and remove.

Beyond pollinators, borage is a useful companion plant in the vegetable garden. Its hairy leaves deter some pests, and its deep taproot can help draw nutrients up from the subsoil. The young leaves and flowers are also edible, with a fresh, cucumber-like flavor, adding another layer of utility to this easy-to-grow plant.

Marigold ‘Crackerjack’ Mix for Pest Control

Marigolds have a reputation for being old-fashioned, but their utility is timeless. While their ability to repel every garden pest is often overstated, they play a definite role in an integrated system. The strong scent can help confuse pests looking for your vegetables, and certain types release a substance that can suppress root-knot nematodes in the soil.

The ‘Crackerjack’ mix is a great choice because it’s a tall, bushy African marigold that creates a substantial border. More importantly, its simple, open flowers are accessible to a wide range of beneficial insects. You’ll find them attracting hoverflies, ladybugs, and parasitic wasps—the very insects that help control aphid and caterpillar populations in your garden.

They are incredibly easy to start from seed and are tough as nails, tolerating poor soil and hot, dry conditions. Plant them around the border of your vegetable garden or intersperse them among your tomatoes and squash. They provide a pop of orange and yellow color all season long while quietly working to support a healthier garden ecosystem.

Purple Coneflower for Goldfinches and Bees

While most of this list focuses on annuals for first-year impact, including one reliable perennial is a smart long-term investment. Purple Coneflower, or Echinacea purpurea, is the perfect candidate. It’s a native powerhouse that is drought-tolerant, low-maintenance, and beloved by pollinators.

From seed, coneflower may only produce a few blooms in its first year, but it’s establishing a deep root system for future growth. By the second year, it will be a multi-stemmed clump that produces a profusion of blooms from mid-summer into fall. The large, sturdy cones provide a great platform for bees and butterflies.

One of its greatest values comes after the petals have dropped. Don’t deadhead your coneflowers. Leave the seed heads standing through the winter. They provide crucial structure in the winter garden and are a favorite food source for American Goldfinches, who will cling to the stalks and pick out the seeds.

Calendula ‘Pacific Beauty’ for Early Blooms

Calendula is the flower for the impatient gardener. It thrives in the cool weather of spring and fall, often being one of the first flowers to bloom and one of the last to succumb to frost. This extends your pollinator season, providing a vital food source when little else is available.

The ‘Pacific Beauty’ mix offers a cheerful array of orange and yellow shades on sturdy stems. Calendula is another plant that often self-sows, but it’s never aggressive. The seedlings are easy to manage, and a patch will sustain itself year after year with minimal effort.

Often called "pot marigold," calendula also has a long history of use in herbal salves and culinary dishes. The petals can be sprinkled on salads or used as a natural food dye. This multi-purpose nature makes it a perfect fit for a productive hobby farm where every plant should ideally serve more than one function.

A successful pollinator garden isn’t about complexity; it’s about consistency. By choosing these seven reliable, easy-to-grow flowers, you’re guaranteeing a season full of color and life. You’re building a foundation that feeds the bees, attracts the butterflies, and sets you up for even greater success in the years to come.