Kim Stoddart on a new Welsh scheme to help pollinators
What a year of extremes it has been, the wettest February since records began in 1862, followed by the sunniest spring. Dismal, depressing, autumn-like temperatures in July and a heatwave and tropical storms in August. Whatever next? All this in a year that has seen us endure long months of lockdown, from which we have only just emerged into a strange, new, rather limited world.
Our gardens and the plants and wildlife within them have been a sanctuary during this time. A silver lining to lockdown in Britain has been the way that so many of us have had our eyes truly opened to the natural world – and the resulting massive surge of interest in growing vegetables and plants.
Now more than ever is the time to think about the greater connection made with wildlife in our gardens. Pollinating insects have long been at threat (and in dramatic decline) owing to a perfect storm of factors including habit loss, climate change, insecticide use and lack of floral diversity.
Much as they have brought us joy over the previous few months, they really could do with our help if we are all to weather the storm ahead.
Yet there has been a strong degree of controversy in recent years over what constitutes a pollinator-friendly plant. In particular, the research done by Dr David Goulson of Sussex University in 2017 revealed that many of our wellintentioned beefriendly plant purchases were harbouring a potentially damaging cocktail of pesticides.
So, when buying plants, how do you get the reassurance you need and know that you are helping, rather than damaging these precious insects?
The National Botanic Garden of Wales has been working with garden centres across Wales to offer a stamp of approval on genuinely bee-friendly plants.
I spoke to Head of Science, Dr Natasha de Vere, to ask her advice on the best plants to work with. A dedicated beekeeper with a passion for pollinators, she has spearheaded the Saving
Pollinators Assurance Scheme, which uses the first real evidence-based research on the plants that various bees, hoverflies, and butterflies frequent. Previously, such lists have been backed by observation rather than scientific data.
“I’m a botanist by background and through my work I started to see the decline in pollinators on plants, which made me realise the scale of the issue,”
The National Botanic Gardens of Wales can help you choose
De Vere says.
“Our scientists use
DNA barcoding to find out which plants pollinators actually visit. We have spent 17 years building up a library of research through looking at the pollen on the bodies of pollinators, or honey samples, to find out for sure which plants they actively use.”
The scheme has developed a logo (below) and also guarantees that plants given the logo are pesticide- and peat-free.
If you want to raise your own plants, all of the following are on the Saving Pollinators Assurance List and can be sown in late August/September in bare soil: Rhinanthus minor (yellow rattle); Knautia arvensis (field scabious); Succisa pratensis (devil’s bit scabious) and Silene
and (red and white campion).
So many of us have had our eyes truly opened to the natural world
For more plant choices in a downloadable booklet, visit botanicgarden.wales.
For growing advice, visit growwilduk.com. Also, look out for the Saving Pollinators logo on plants for sale.
Kim Stoddart is the editor of magazine and author of