Cultivating Native Plants for Pollinators by Helen Yoest ~ a Review

by Donna Huber

Spring is here, and since it is Easter weekend, I can start putting out plants in my area, as we are past our last freeze date. However, if you are in a cooler clime, you may still be dreaming of the summer garden. If that is the case, then this book will give you information that you can put to use as the ground thaws.

Amazon affiliate links are used on this site. A free book was provided for an honest review.

April 2026; Creative Homeowner; 978-1580116206
ebook, print (196 pages); gardening nonfiction

Soon after I moved to my home, I realized I didn't have a lot of pollinators. I live in a subdivision, but it is an older one, so we aren't quite filled with monoculture lawns. But I don't think many of my neighbors were gardeners. That is slowly changing as new people move in. I've been working hard on my own yard.

I can't attract as many pollinators as I would like because my yard is mostly trees, and finding plants that thrive in full shade is difficult. Yet, last summer, I saw my first swallowtail butterfly on my mountain mint!

I'm always looking for information to up my game, which is why I picked up Helen Yoest's new book. 

I was a little disappointed with the book. From the title, I really thought it would be focused on the plants, maybe how to lay out your garden. I was looking for information on companion plantings and maybe tips for less-than-ideal spaces - arid, shady, etc.

The first chapter was good. It gave a lot of information on getting started on a pollinator garden. But then the next 3 chapters were all about the pollinators that you might be able to attract. These chapters are basically taxonomic summaries. If you have a good field guide for identifying butterflies, hummingbirds, and bees, then you will have all the same information. 

The final chapter is finally about plants, but again, if you have a field guide to native plants, then you probably already have the information. 

If the book was more like the first chapter, I would have found the book more useful. If you want to learn more about the pollinators you can attract and don't have field guides, then this book would be useful for you.

Buy Cultivating Native Plants at Amazon

Donna Huber is an avid reader and natural encourager. She is the founder of Girl Who Reads and the author of how-to marketing book Secrets to a Successful Blog Tour.

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