Dragonflies in the Garden: More Than Mosquito Hunters

7) Water mint

Why it helps: Attracts lots of small insects, which dragonflies hunt.
Why gardeners like it: Fragrant and useful in wet spots.
Tip: It can spread, so plant where you can manage it.

8) Bogbean or other shallow-water flowering bog plants

Why it helps: Helps build a layered pond edge with stems and cover.
Why gardeners like it: Adds texture and flowers to the shallow zone.

B) Flowers near the pond (indirect attractors, but very useful)

These won’t replace pond plants, but they help build the insect-rich environment dragonflies love.

1) Coneflower (Echinacea)

Why it helps: Attracts bees, small flies, and other insects.
Why gardeners like it: Long bloom season, drought-tolerant once established, very popular.

2) Black-eyed Susan

Why it helps: Supports lots of insect activity in sunny borders.
Why gardeners like it: Easy, bright, and reliable.

3) Bee balm (Monarda)

Why it helps: Draws many insects and creates dense summer growth near water or in moist beds.
Why gardeners like it: Bold flowers and excellent wildlife value.

4) Joe-Pye weed

Why it helps: Tall, airy flowers attract abundant insect life; the height also gives dragonflies nearby perching/flight structure.
Why gardeners like it: A standout native-style garden plant, especially in damp soil.

5) Asters

Why it helps: Late-season blooms support insects when many flowers are fading.
Why gardeners like it: Great fall color and strong wildlife value.

6) Yarrow

Why it helps: Flat flower clusters attract many small insects.
Why gardeners like it: Easy to grow and long-blooming.

7) Verbena (especially tall or native types)

Why it helps: Strong insect attractor and good in sunny areas around a pond.
Why gardeners like it: Long flowering period and airy texture.

8) Clover and simple wildflower mixes

Why they help: Open, nectar-rich flowers bring in the tiny prey insects dragonflies feed on.
Why gardeners like them: Easy way to create a wildlife strip without a formal flower bed.

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My 9-year-old daughter baked 300 Easter cookies for the homeless — the next morning, a stranger showed up at our door with a briefcase full of cash. My daughter, Ashley, has always had a heart too big for her chest. Since my wife died, we’ve barely been making ends meet. We spent everything we had trying to save her from cancer. But when Easter came this year, Ashley told me she’d been saving up her own money to buy ingredients. “For the homeless,” she said. Her mom used to be one of them. She was thrown out by her parents when they found out she was pregnant with Ashley. When I met her, she had nothing — but she had the brightest smile and the sharpest mind I had ever seen. I fell in love with her. I took her and Ashley in. And from that moment on, Ashley became my daughter in every way that matters. So when Ashley said she wanted to help people like her mom once was… I didn’t stop her. For three nights straight, after school and homework, she baked. Her little hands worked nonstop. She found her mom’s old cookie recipe. She rolled every piece of dough herself. She decorated every cookie. She made three hundred cookies. On Easter, she handed them out one by one. She looked people in the eyes. She wished them a Happy Easter. Some of them smiled. Some of them cried. I stood there thinking it was the proudest moment of my life. I thought that was the end of it. The next morning, I was washing a mountain of dishes when the doorbell rang. I opened the door. An older man stood there in a worn-out suit, holding a scratched aluminum briefcase. His eyes were locked on Ashley. Before I could ask anything, he set the case down and opened it. I froze. Stacks of hundred-dollar bills — more money than I had ever seen in my life. “I saw what your daughter did yesterday,” he said, his voice shaking. “I want to give all of this to her.” My heart skipped. Then he added: “But you have to agree to ONE CONDITION.” My chest tightened. “What condition?” I asked. He stepped closer. He lowered his voice. And what he asked for in return made my blood run cold.