Bee Balm (Monarda didyma), a Pennsylvania native flower, is a low-maintenance pollinator attractor that would be a good addition to a pollinator garden plan.

Promoting pollination is the focus of a program announced Thursday by the state Department of Transportation.

A news release from PennDOT District 10 invites groups or individuals to adopt a pollinator garden to increase public awareness of the critical role that flower gardens play in reversing the declining number of pollinators in Pennsylvania.

The program is an extension of PennDOT's Adopt and Beautify program, in which groups or individuals adopt and plant flower beds at an approved PennDOT right of way, county facility, rest stop, traffic island or gateway to a borough, said Ryan Succheralli of PennDOT District 10.

“The adopt a pollinator garden project serves as a way for the public to take care of local areas they care about and to help to keep them clean,” said Joseph Dubovi, District 10 executive. “By creating these gardens, we can also help to revive the health of pollinators across Pennsylvania.”

Those who adopt an area for a pollinator garden would provide the plants and flowers for the site, Succheralli said.

PennDOT would provide gloves and other basic supplies.

All potential program participants must submit an application and have their site approved by PennDOT, he said.

Groups can decide which flowers and plants will go into the garden to attract pollinators, such as butterflies and bees.

According to the state Beekeepers Association, beekeepers in Pennsylvania lost 52 percent of colonies in the winter of 2016-17.

Pesticides and parasites are the main reasons given for the declining pollinator population.

More information on the pollinator garden program, plus applications, are available at www.penndot.gov/about-us/RoadsideBeautification/Pages/Adopt-and-Beautify.aspx.