U of I’s Parma Research and Extension Center adds pollinators’ paradise

Armando Falcon-Brindis has noticed a few newcomers buzzing around University of Idaho’s Parma Research and Extension Center ever since he helped build a garden of flowering plants to accommodate pollinators.

Falcon-Brindis, research faculty and Extension specialist in entomology, never saw hummingbirds at the research station center last year, when the landscaping included just roses, grasses and some yucca plants. Now, he routinely spots them hovering beside their favorite plants in the pollinator garden. Likewise, bumblebees have been lured by the 4,500-square-foot garden and several species of ground-dwelling native bees are gaining a foothold within it.

Falcon-Brindis and his collaborator on the project, UI Extension Educator Brad Stokes, Canyon County, believe their new pollinator garden will serve several important functions, including supporting native Idaho pollinator species, raising awareness about the important role pollinators play in agriculture, demonstrating to the public which pollinators benefit from specific flowering plants and testing which plants thrive in southwest Idaho. Local landowners and farmers have expressed increasing interest in learning how to attract pollinators to their yard, and the Extension researchers anticipate observing the garden will help them offer better guidance.

“It is going to be an important bridge between U of I and the public, and I think this will be a great opportunity to increase our exposure as a center,” Falcon-Brindis said. “It’s also educating people on pollinator behavior, pollinator-plant interactions, irrigation options, mulching options and showing ideal habitats for pollinators.”

Building the garden

The project received a $10,000 UI Extension Innovative Projects grant, and Idaho Master Gardeners from Canyon County helped prepare the site, install a drip irrigation system and plant the garden.

Efforts to prepare the soil and clear the bed commenced in April 2025. The plot was blooming by late June 2025.

It contains more than 50 species of flowering plants, about 80% of which are native. Some of the plants were donated by Steve Love, a U of I emeritus horticulture professor. Mike Thornton, also a U of I emeritus professor, donated funds to get the garden established. With that, the team was able to cover the construction of a shed for storing garden tools.

The researchers hosted a pollinator garden ribbon-cutting celebration and lunch, attended by about 50 people, on Aug. 28, 2025.

The goal is for their plants to flower in constant succession throughout the growing season. The garden includes signs identifying each plant species, and the researchers plan to add signs identifying native pollinator species. Falcon-Brindis and Stokes want to write an Extension bulletin based on trial and error in the garden offering tips for planting a backyard garden.

Essential for food supply

Pollinators are essential to agriculture. In Canyon County, farmers rely on pollinators to produce about 60 different types of seed crops, including alfalfa, carrot, onion, bean and even echinacea.

Pollinators also allow the production of fruit such as apples, cherries, plums and peaches in regional orchards. Moreover, many homeowners across Idaho require pollinators each year, especially those growing small fruits and berries in their backyards. A few area bean farmers have told the researchers they would like to see more research on adding pollinator strips and will pay close attention to the pollinator garden in the coming years.

“Pollinators and bees are responsible for one in every three bites of food we eat,” Stokes said. “I think it’s so important to relate this pollinator garden to agriculture and horticulture.”

Research in the garden

Falcon-Brindis plans to use the pollinator garden to support a few informal research projects. He intends to test designs for bee hotels, which accommodate cavity-nesting native bees, and will host workshops at the garden to teach the public how to build them.

He’s also experimented with different types of mulch — spreading compost in one area and tree bark in another, while leaving bare soil in a third section. Compost seems to support the most vigorous plant growth, while both compost and tree bark are effective at controlling weeds. He, nonetheless, advises leaving a small area of each pollinator garden uncovered, as he’s seen evidence of native bees and wasps burrowing into this bare soil.

Idaho is home to more than 700 species of native bees, and most of their populations are declining.

“If people start putting in more pollinator gardens, there will be more chances to keep the environment healthy for pollinators,” Falcon-Brindis said. “We have turned a forgotten place into something that is changing the entire composition of bugs and definitely attracting more pollinators.”