Welcome To Your Garden In a Box - Native Pollinator Kit
Welcome to Your Pollinator Box!
We’re absolutely thrilled that you’ve chosen to join us. Thank you for trusting us to bring you a product we’re truly proud of. After nearly a year of research, testing, and selecting reliable, resilient native species, we’re confident these 12 plants are the perfect place to begin.
This list is just the beginning!
What can we expect?
We’re considering everything a successful curated garden needs. A combination of flowering perennials, grasses, and evergreens. We chose native plants that have varying traits, whether that be texture, color, and type of pollinator host it attracts.
Keep scrolling to learn which pollinator’s are attracted to your native plants!
What to expect?
Your kit includes:
- A labeled scale drawing (Note: The design shows plant size at 10 years of growth)
- 40 native plants, labeled and locally sourced/grown 4″ pots and/or “snails” — bare root plants tucked into rolled construction paper with soil, with multiple plants in one roll. There will be tags noting the plant type and quantity, so even if things look a little unusual at first glance, rest assured everything should be there. If you have further questions see our FAQ below (variety and plant size may be subject to replacement, due to nursery availability).
- A plant handout as well as an interactive online plant map (as seen below).
- A Getting Started Guide: site prep, planting, ongoing maintenance, communication instructions
You have received three handouts. Here are the downloadable versions. We have also included some helpful resources to get you started:
- Welcome Handout
- Getting Started Guide
- Design PDF
- Individual Designs (Horizontal, Vertical, Curved)
- Top 15 Weeds to Watch For
What does our ongoing communications look like?
Monthly check-ins
- We will email you a short questionnaire each month via email
- We may ask:
- What new things did you observe
- What’s thriving?
- What’s struggling?
- What surprised you?
- Photo Request
- We recommend taking photos to document your garden’s progress!
- It can also be easier to send photos when you have questions.
Site Visits
- Three site visits to view site conditions, progress, and provide immediate feedback.
- We will schedule these as soon as possible
Support
- Join our SSG Garden In a Box Facebook Group for accountability, community support, and real time photos!
- We encourage you to participate and we will be doing more regular check-ins in the group.
What makes this Garden In a Box different?
This is more than a box of plants. It is a small, place-based garden designed to support native pollinators and help us be better stewards of our tiny bit of land.Inside, you’ll find 12 different species of native plants carefully selected from the Puget Sound lowland ecoregion — plants that evolved alongside local pollinators, birds, soils, and seasonal rhythms. Many of our native pollinators are under increasing pressure, and planting with their needs in mind is one meaningful way to help.This garden is designed for narrow, awkward, and often-overlooked spaces — places people may not know what to do with, or may not think are worth planting. Ecologically speaking, those spaces matter. They can become forage, habitat, beauty, and connection.Small patch. Big ripple.
Hover over the (+) sign to learn more about which pollinators are attracted to these keystone host plants!
Goldenrod Hooded Owlet Moth
❊ Food: Feeds on the leaves
❊ Fun Fact: Several other moths rely on this plant
Painted Lady Butterfly
❊ Food: Feeds on the flower nectar
❊ Fun Fact: Moths & beetles use yarrow as a larval host
Milkweed Tussock Moth
❊ Food: Flower Nectar
❊ Fun Fact: Host plant for the Monarch butterfly
❊ Season: July/August
Blue Orchard Bee
❊ Food: Pollen
❊ Fun Fact: Also primary pollinators for tart cherry, apple, and almond trees
❊ Season: Early spring
Umber Skipper Butterfly
❊ Habitat: Larvel Host
❊ Fun Fact: Seeds of Deschampsia species eaten by indigenous Californians
❊ Season: Mar.-May, Sept.-Oct.
Western Bumble Bee
❊ Food: Pollen
❊ Fun Fact: Currently vulnerable. You can identify it by the white rump and yellow head.
❊ Season: March-October
Syrphid Fly
❊ Food: Nectar & Pollen
❊ Fun Fact: Also known as the hoverfly or flower fly. Easily mistaken for a bee, which have two sets of wings, where flies only have one set of wings.
❊ Season: March-October
Mardon Skipper Butterfly
❊ Habitat: Larval Host
❊ Fun Fact: They do not migrate, inhabiting sites year around
❊ Season: Late Spring - October
Azure Blue Butterfly
❊ Food: Nectar
❊ Fun Fact: They are also a host to many other native species, dogwood's & madrone's to name a couple
❊ Season: Early Spring
Western Leaf Cutter Bee
❊ Food: Pollen
❊ Fun Fact: They cut leaves to create nursery cells for their eggs
❊ Season: Summer
Woodland Skipper Butterfly
❊ Habitat: Larval Host
❊ Fun Fact: Essential larval host plant for several butterfly species. It is wind pollinated.
❊ Season: Late Spring - Early Summer
Silvery Blue Butterfly
❊ Habitat: Larval Host
❊ Fun Fact: Also attracted to vetch, peas, sweet clover, and alfalfa.
❊ Season: Mid-March - Early September
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Frequently Asked Questions:
What happens if one of my plants die?
While we typically do not guarantee replacement of plants included in your box, we understand that special circumstances may arise and are glad to review any concerns individually. If you’d like to make additions to your order, please contact us at info@shootingstargardens.com
I noticed my order didn’t include only 4" pots. Could you help me understand the different packaging?
Due to plant availability, some of our plants were prepared as bare-root “snails” rather than being individually potted in 4″ plastic containers. This approach also helps reduce plastic waste.
We generally recommend planting native plants as bare-root stock, as it can improve transplant success. We understand this may not have been what you expected—this pilot program is helping us determine which methods work best for both plant health and customer experience.
If you experience any plant loss, please don’t hesitate to reach out—we’re happy to help however we can.
Who do I reach out to with questions?
info@shootingstargardens.com
How will I receive my monthly check-ins?
Email. We will send a monthly check-in on the first of every month for the next 12 months.
How can I schedule my in-person check-ins?
We will reach out via email 6-8 weeks before your next site visit. There will be three on site visits.
The initial one will take place 6-8 weeks after box pickup, one in fall, and then one in early spring.
Why do I have to wait three years for my plant to fill in?
Plants spend their first year focused on building strong roots—especially when they’re young. For native plants, success is often higher when you start with smaller sizes. That’s why we chose bareroot plants where we could; they tend to develop stronger root systems than many natives sold in 4″ pots.
Whether native or ornamental, the same principle holds true: first year they sleep, second year they creep, third year they leap. You’ll still notice progress along the way, but it’s a great reminder that patience is one of the most important tools in gardening.
Why do some of my bareroot snail plants look dead?
It is still early yet for some of the native grasses to start growing. The essential first step is gettign your plants in the ground and watering them deeply.
You may not notice a lot of change at first, but we encourage you to keep up the watering and weeding while your plants establish. If you notice nothing changing, reach out!
What is in my box?
Aspen Fleabane
❊ Scientific Name: Erigeron speciosus
❊ Plant Type: Perennial Forb
❊ Bloom: July – Sept.
❊ Height: 1-2.5′
❊ Pollinator/Fun Fact: Butterflies, native bees, moth larvae. Long bloom keeps skipper butterflies visiting all summer!
❊ Benefit: Mid–late nectar in sunny sites
Big Leaf Lupine
❊ Scientific Name: Lupinus polyphyllus
❊ Plant Type: Perennial Forb
❊ Bloom: May – July
❊ Height: 3-5′
❊ Pollinator/Fun Fact: Bees & butterflies. Supports specialist bees, like Mason Bees! Roots fix nitrogen; improves soil health
❊ Benefit: Can reseed aggressively; short-lived perennial.
Canada Goldenrod
❊ Scientific Name: Solidago canadensis
❊ Plant Type: Perennial forb
❊ Bloom: Aug – Oct
❊ Height: 2-6′
❊ Pollinator/Fun Fact: Bees, wasps, beetles, butterflies, syrphids. Not the allergy culprit you see on the side of the road! (ragweed)
❊ Benefit: Late-season keystone; fuels declining fall pollinators
Common Yarrow
❊ Scientific Name: Achillea millefolium
❊ Plant Type: Perennial forb
❊ Bloom: Apr – Sep
❊ Height: 1-3′
❊ Pollinator/Fun Fact: Solitary bees, sweat bees, syrphid flies, small butterflies. Flat umbels are easy landing pads for tiny bees.
❊ Benefit: Continuous summer forage buffer for pollinators
Douglas Aster
❊ Scientific Name: Symphyotrichon subspicatum
❊ Plant Type: Perennial Forb
❊ Bloom: Jul – Oct
❊ Height: 1-4′
❊ Pollinator/Fun Fact: Bumblebees, honey bees, syrphid flies, butterflies. Can flower through October in mild years!
❊ Benefit: Vital late nectar for rare bumblebees & hoverflies.
Great Camas
❊ Scientific Name: Camassia leichtlinii
❊ Plant Type: Perennial bulb
❊ Bloom: May – Jun
❊ Height: 2-4′
❊ Pollinator/Fun Fact: Bumblebee queens, mason bees. Pairs well with sedges for matrix plantings!
❊ Benefit: Extends camas window for queens. Taller spikes than common camas; same summer dormancy.
Idaho Blue Eyed Grass
❊ Scientific Name: Sisyrinchium idahoense
❊ Plant Type: Perennial forb
❊ Bloom: Apr – Jul
❊ Height: 6-18″
❊ Pollinator/Fun Fact: Bumblebees and sweat bees. It is also a known nectar source for the rare Mardon skipper butterfly.
❊ Benefit: Consistent food source and versatile in our wet climate.
June Grass
❊ Scientific Name: Koeleria macrantha
❊ Plant Type: Perennial
❊ Bloom: Apr – Jun
❊ Height: 1-2′
❊ Pollinator/Fun Fact: Wind. Often used for wildfire protection, it does not produce much heat, and helps limit fire spread.
❊ Benefit: Provides nesting space for ground-nesting bees and shelter for other beneficial insects, like grasshoppers, and butterfly larvae.
Roemer’s Fescue
❊ Scientific Name: Festuca roemeri
❊ Plant Type: Perennial
❊ Bloom: May – July
❊ Height: 1.2 – 3.5′
❊ Pollinator/Fun Fact: Wind. Backbone grass for drier bioswale edges.
❊ Benefit: Larval habitat in dry urban sites & skipper larvae shelter/host.
Showy Milkweed
❊ Scientific Name: Asclepias speciosa
❊ Plant Type: Perennial forb
❊ Height: 3-5′
❊ Bloom: Jun – Aug
❊ Pollinator/Fun Fact: Bees, butterflies, beetles. Unique pollinia mechanism for pollen transfer.
❊ Benefit: Supports declining bumble bees (e.g., Western Bumble Bee)
Tufted Hairgrass
❊ Scientific Name: Deschampsia cespitosa
❊ Plant Type: Perennial bunchgrass
❊ Bloom: Jun – Aug
❊ Height: 4′
❊ Pollinator/Fun Fact: Wind. Airy seedheads feed birds into winter
❊ Benefit: Grass host critical for declining meadow butterflies.
Woolly Sunflower
❊ Scientific Name: Eriophyllum lanatum
❊ Plant Type: Perennial/short-lived forb
❊ Bloom: May – Aug
❊ Height: 1-2′
❊ Pollinator/Fun Fact: Native bees, butterflies. Silvery foliage reflects heat—great for curb strips.
❊ Benefit: Dry-site nectar in urban heat islands and moth larvae habitat.