As a budding gardener you’ll soon learn the importance of a garden that is heavy with pollinators. Crops and flowers will thrive and bloom with the help of these flighty friends. The decline of the bee population is in sharp focus in recent years and we can all do our bit to bring this back up. Planting any of these blooms will surely be a help.
Ice plant (sedum)
They emerge early in spring with clusters of handsome foliage, developing flower heads late in the season when many other sources are drained of nectar. With a height and spread of around 45cm, they look good in the front of a border.
Tip Ice plants prefer well-drained soil that is neutral to slightly alkaline.
Buddleja (Butterfly Bush) These shrubs are a magnet to butterflies. Buddlejas grow vigorously in most soils. Keep deadheading to encourage new flowers, in late autumn prune back to 60cm above ground, while a late-spring pruning delays flowering until peak butterfly feeding season in August.
Tip For small gardens, try Buddleja davidii ‘Nanho Blue’.
Asters
Bees loves asters and Aster x frikartii ‘Jungfrau’ is a late-summer favourite. These perennials thrive in containers or dotted about herbaceous borders. Regular deadheading prolongs flowering.
Tip They like well-drained soil and sun.
Verbena bonariensis
Its stiff, branching stems show off purple flowers that are almost luminous and attract butterflies. Tip This plant likes moist, well-drained soil and full sunshine, and self-seeds readily.
Lavenders
Tidy varieties such as the popular ‘Hidcote’ are great for edging paths, while French lavenders are happy in pots. Tip Both grow best in welldrained soil and full sun.
Dahlias Open single and anemone-form dahlia flowers are best for visiting insects, because they can easily reach the central disc of pollen and nectar. Be aware that these are greedy plants and need rich soil, plenty of sun, and lots of water while the tubers are sprouting.
Tip All but the shortest bedding varieties are best discreetly supported with a couple of canes.
Coneflowers Whether pink or white, or rich red, orange or gold, they’re all loved by nectar-seeking insects. Coneflowers dislike extremes (waterlogging or drought) and cope best in a heatwave if given a deep mulch of well-rotted compost in spring.
Tip The flowers are sun-lovers, but the lower plant is happier in the shadow of surrounding plants.
Globe thistle (Blue Hedgehog) Forming broad clumps, globe thistles are perfect for adding height and interest at the back of beds and borders, among other lanky perennials, such as eupatoriums, heleniums and macleaya. Tip They prefer poor, well-drained soils, and will tolerate partial shade.
Eupatorium Among the tallest herbaceous perennials, it’s useful for the back of borders. They grow well in full sun or partial shade, preferring moist soil. Tip For smaller gardens, E. maculatum ‘Purple Bush’ is a compact variety.
Scabious Succisa pratensis ‘Peddar’s Pink’, is a perennial with pincushion flowers loved by Common Blue butterflies. Flowers from June to November. Tip A sun-lover, it grows well in damp borders.