I love colourful geraniums but I don’t think they are pollinator friendly are they? I wonder if there is a similar colourful flower which would be pollinator friendly? I have an east west exposure and partial sun. Thank you.
Thank-you for consulting Toronto Master Gardeners with your question about geraniums. As you note, geraniums (Pelargonium spp.) are not pollinator-friendly. Actual geraniums (Geranium spp) do attract pollinators. While many perennials do not flower over a long season, some cultivars, such as ‘Rozanne’, flower all summer providing nutrition throughout the season.
There are many resources on creating a pollinator-friendly garden and some useful lists of plant choices. The Toronto Master Gardeners has a Gardening Guide on Pollinator Garden which lists some key elements to creating a pollinator garden along with a list of native and some non-native plants. Selecting Plants for Pollinators along with Pollinator Plants for Great Lakes Region are two excellent resources which list plants along with the pollinator that they attract.
Whether you are creating a garden plot or a container, you can also consider including pollinator-friendly plants along with your colourful geraniums (pelargoniums). The resources above focus more on establishing a long-term garden, but if your focus is on a smaller scale, annual plant based container, you could look at adding common nursey plants such as Alyssum, Catmint, Lantana or Verbena to your mixture.
Another good resource on this topic is found at:
https://landscapeontario.com/pollinator-friendly-garden
Enjoy your plants and your bees and butterflies!