As you’re poring over The Whole Seed Catalog this winter, be sure to plan for the pollinators! Just like us, they need food, shelter, and an occasional change of pace.
Baker Creek has exciting new offerings for 2026 that will generate serious buzz among your neighborhood pollinators.
Agastache
Agastache is a fragrant favorite for tisanes and culinary creations, not to mention its heavenly presence in the garden. Sun loving, perennial, drought-tolerant, and unfussy about soil fertility.
Astello Indigo earned the Fleuroselect Gold Medal in 2012, and while pollinators don’t care much about accolades, they will really dig its minty indigo blooms brimming with nectar. Astello Indigo grows to nearly two feet tall but stays put in neat clumps and blooms from summer through fall.
Sunset Yellow is more diminutive, growing 10 to 12 inches tall and wide, but its blooms are no less enchanting, drenched in sunny yellow. It is perennial in zones 6 to 10 and grown as an annual elsewhere.
Celosia
Celosia is a Baker Creek favorite for its densely colorful, diverse blooms, delicious edible leaves, and usefulness for making tisanes and dyes. Also, the pollinators love it.
Autumn Glow Mix celosia is the result of years of meticulous work by Japanese flower breeder Hajime Matsunaga, and we are so honored for the opportunity to present his exquisite work to gardeners outside Japan. At first, Mr. Matsunaga sought to control the genetic variation in the flowers but in the end chose to embrace the unique and diverse coloration! The result is flowers displaying as many as three colors in a single bloom!
Gaillardia
Gaillardia, or blanket flower, is an absolute champ in low-water or wildflower gardens. Butterflies love the colorful blooms of this hardworking perennial that can also be grown as a hardy annual.
The colors of Arizona Apricot gaillardia evoke a desert landscape at twilight, with soft golden shades fading into pink. The compact plants grow about one foot tall and gracefully drape a blanket of color across the garden. A stellar selection from seed company Ernst Benary of America.
Arizona Red Shades gaillardia, another Benary selection, is perennial in zones 3 to 10. The 3- to 3.5-inch, cherry red flowers grow on foliage that forms foot-tall, tidy clumps.
Lewisia
Lewisia, also known as bitterroot, is a resilient North American native plant that grows as a perennial in USDA hardiness zones 4 to 9. Named for 18th century explorer Meriwether Lewis, who documented the genus on his famous expedition with William Clark, Lewisia thrives in rocky spots and tucked away in crevices where little else will grow. Baker Creek introduced five new varieties for 2026, including the charming and bright Elise Mix, which brings together all the shades of Lewisia – pink, red, violet, and gold.
Sunflowers
Sunflowers stand tall among the pollinator flowers for their beauty and utility as a source of food, dye, and traditional medicine. There is truly a sunflower for every taste and garden space!
Carousel sunflower is a new RareSeeds offering for 2026. With its classic sunny disposition and compact size, Carousel brings sunflower power into smaller spaces such as borders and raised beds. The 4- to 6-inch blooms grow on multibranching plants just three to four feet tall!
“Planting with intention” is predicted to be a big new garden trend in 2026, and with these flowers, giving back in the garden has never been more beautiful.
Key Takeaways
- 'Planting with intention' is predicted to be a garden trend in 2026.
- Planting for pollinators is a mutually beneficial act for people and pollinators.
- Baker Creek has many new varieties for 2026 that will nourish the bees and butterflies and rejuvenate the soul.
About the Author
Michelle Johnson wears many hats at Baker Creek -- writer, editor, researcher, occasional tour guide, and whatever else needs doing.
