While Mountain Mint (Pycnanthemum muticum) is indisputably the favorite of pollinators, it is another month before it begins flowering. So, what flowers do pollinators depend on until that time?

Today, the answer is a single Oakleaf hydrangea (Hydrangea quercifolia, above and below) beside the koi pond patio. There are several more oakleafs in the garden, but all are more shaded with fewer blooms and bees rarely venture into the shaded parts of the garden.

This oakleaf is huge, probably fifteen feet across, and loaded with flowers. The activity around the hydrangea is evident from a distance, but it is not the showy blooms they’re after. The nectar is in the many tiny flowers beneath the white flowers.

Certainly, there will be a day when pollinators find the ‘Annabelle’ smooth hydrangea (Hydrangea arborescens ‘Annabelle’, below) in part sun in the lower rear garden. Its fertile flowers are not as easily accessed beneath the mophead bloom, but pollinators find a way.

A newly planted Invincibelle Sublime (below) is loaded with flowers but in part shade it’s questionable if pollinators will find it. Oh well, some flowers are for me.