The prairie at Black Barn Apiary is humming right now — bees, butterflies, moths, and beetles moving from bloom to bloom like its rush hour in the meadow. Every wingbeat reminds us why National Pollinator Week is our favorite time of year: you don’t need acres of land to make an impact. A single yard, roadside berm, or perennial border can become meaningful pollinator habitat right here in Elkhorn, Wisconsin.
When we committed to restoring and replanting the depleted fields, we sought planting advice from an experienced friend, Deidre Toner at DT Design, in Lake County, Illinois. Together, we crafted a diverse mix of native Midwest plants designed to feed pollinators from early spring through late fall. Some of the many plants included in our land restoration project include Figwort, Pasture Thistle, Purple Prairie Clover, Common Milkweed, Swamp Rose Milkweed, and Wild Indigo — each selected for its ecological role in supporting native bees, monarch butterflies, and a wide range of beneficial insects.
Equally essential are our native prairie grasses, including little bluestem, prairie dropseed, Canada wild rye, June grass, Dudley’s rush, and side-oats grama. These grasses form the structural backbone of a healthy prairie ecosystem. Their deep and fibrous root systems stabilize soil, improve water infiltration, and enhance carbon sequestration over time. Species like Canada wild rye and June grass provide early-season growth that protects soil and offers habitat structure, while side-oats grama and little bluestem contribute warm-season resilience and drought tolerance. Dudley’s rush plays an important role in moisture regulation and microhabitat diversity. Together, these grasses rebuild soil health, reduce erosion, and create a dynamic, layered biome that supports pollinators and plant diversity year after year.
Our favorite Wisconsin prairie plants include:
Early Bloomers: Wild columbine, golden alexanders, prairie phlox, June grass, Canada wild rye.
Mid-Summer Anchors: Purple coneflower, wild bergamot, butterfly weed, prairie dropseed, purple prairie clover, wild indigo, side-oats grama
Late-Season Lifelines: New England aster, rattlesnake master, little bluestem, rough blazing star, pasture thistle, common milkweed, swamp rose milkweed, Dudley’s rush
Each of these species plays its part — feeding native bees, sheltering butterflies, and keeping the hum of life moving through the landscape long after the honey flow slows.
The Flavor of the Prairie
Here in Elkhorn, our restored prairies do more than provide habitat — they shape the taste of our honey. The flowers pollinated by Black Barn Apiary’s Carniolan honeybees give rise to distinct flavor profiles specific to our fields. Spring and summer blossoms add notes of wild bergamot that lends herbal depth; coneflower and aster contribute gentle sweetness; prairie dropseed adds a subtle grassy warmth. Each jar captures a fleeting moment in bloom — an edible expression of the season, the soil, and the native flowers our bees return today after day. Star Thistle Crème Honey drizzled over a fresh blueberry crepe paired with jasmine tea sweetened with Prairie Flower Crème Honey - the perfect way to celebrate a Sunday morning in June...(perhaps even Father’s Day. 
How to Create a Pollinator-Friendly Garden
You can start small and still make a difference. A few simple choices can turn any patch of ground into vibrant native habitat:
Plant clusters of native flowers instead of single plants so pollinators can forage efficiently.
Plan for continuous bloom with early, mid, and late-season species.
Skip pesticides whenever possible; even organic ones can harm bees and beneficial insects. Make sure that the plants and seeds you purchase were not produced with Neonicotinoids, devastating most insect life, especially pollinators.
Leave bare soil, hollow stems, and leaf litter for nesting and overwintering sites.
Add a shallow dish of fresh water with stones or marbles so bees, butterflies and other pollinators can safely drink.
This National Pollinator Week, we’re celebrating every gardener who tucks prairie plants into their beds, lets clover bloom in the lawn, trades a strip of turf for wildflowers and shuns pesticides and herbicides.
When we plant with intention, even a few square feet can echo the richness and resilience of the Wisconsin prairie — supporting bees, biodiversity, and the land we all call home.
Learn more
The Value of Pollinators? Priceless. ~ Humane Gardener www.humanegardener.com
Wildflowers of the Tallgrass Prairie by Sylvan T. Runkel & Dean M. Roosa (ThriftBooks)
Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer (Milkweed Editions)
The Xerces Society www.xerces.org
Prairie Moon Nursery www.prairiemoon.com