SALT LAKE CITY — Are you thinking about starting your own pollinator garden, featuring Utah-native, drought-tolerant plants?
The Utah Department of Agriculture has something called the pollinator program. You apply online, show where your garden is going and how you’ll water the plants, and agree to a 3-year commitment.
If you get the grant, and before the plants hit your yard, they begin as seedlings in a greenhouse at the Utah State Prison.
Amanda Giles applied for the grant last year and is now seeing her plants come to life. Showing us her backyard, Giles said you could call her a proud plant parent.
“This is the native meadow, and there are approximately 50 native plants in here," she said.
Giles is a California transplant who moved into her Kearns home a few years ago. She said she did not want to water or mow a lawn.
“I was raised in the drought in the 1980s and ‘90s in California, so the drought is part of my vocabulary," she said. "So I started planting just what I liked, and I really love a lot of flower, a lot of color.”
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Then she heard about a state program, started by her local representative, Ashlee Matthews.
Five years ago, Rep. Matthews (District 37) sponsored the bill that created the program.
“The bill passed in 2021, my first session, actually the first bill I ever passed as a legislator," she said.
A Utah native with strong roots in her community, Matthews said she and her husband became beekeepers a few years ago. They then watched as their trees, plants and vegetables blossomed.
Matthews said that’s when the idea of a pollinator program was planted.
“Not only could we be supporting our native pollinators — I mean, we’re the Beehive State, right? We've gotta do our part," she said. "While it seems like a pretty basic — 'let’s just plant some pretty flowers' — it really is a much bigger deal and touches more areas, more aspects of the state than just the people enjoying their beautiful yards and the pollinators that come to visit.”
Giles applied last spring and said that by summer, she received her kit.
“90 plants, and now it’s so exciting in the spring to see those little baby plants starting to grow. It’s awesome," she said.
Giles said she had blue stem grass, goldenrod, penstemon and more.
“I’ve also got a currant bush, that’s another Utah native that’ll make beautiful jam in the future," she said.
If you’re interested in Utah’s pollinator program, applications at the Department of Agriculture website are open until April 15.
Matthews said it’s getting more popular every year.
“Get your seeds, get your plants, have your own pollinator garden this time next year," she said. "Good for the bees, good for the plants, good for the lake, good for everyone!”
