Have you ever walked through the garden and wondered why some flowers draw in bees while others seem to be hummingbird favorites? Or why so many native flowers are yellow, lavender, or purple, while fewer are red, and almost none are green or brown? The two questions are related.

Flowers and pollinators have co-evolved in a mutually beneficial partnership. Over millions of years, flowers developed their colors, shapes, and scents to attract the right pollinators. Each pollinator brings different abilities: they vary in size, tongue length, food needs (nectar, pollen, or both), and how they see or smell the world.