PLANTS FOR POLLINATORS

The importance of Plants for pollinators

Get your garden buzzing by growing a wide range of our plants for pollinators.

Here is a quick link to our flowering plants.

There is evidence that populations of bees and other pollinators are less healthy and abundant than they have been.

If action is not taken, pollinator declines will have serious implications for biodiversity, food production and the ornamental garden.

Plants for Pollinators

The importance of insects for pollinators

Did you know that Bees provide us with every third mouthful of food we eat?

Without Bees, we would be unable to grow lots of our favourite foods!

Almost any insect that visits flowers can carry out pollination, and therefore classed as a 'pollinator'.

Very conservative estimates suggest we have over 1500 pollinating insect species in Britain, though the true figure is likely to be much higher.

This includes bees, social and solitary wasps, adult parasitoid wasps, hoverflies and other flies, butterflies and moths and some beetles.

Occasionally other insects such as lacewings and some true bugs may also be found on flowers.

It is thought that climate change will affect the geographic ranges which are suitable for many species, this in combination with habitat loss means that some species will decline.

Bumblebees and solitary bees have specific requirements for nest sites.

Many other pollinators such as hoverflies, butterflies and moth have specific habitat requirements for their larvae.

The loss and fragmentation of suitable habitats reduces nesting and breeding opportunities.

Gardens can provide suitable breeding places for many pollinators.

To see butterflies in your garden, you need to entice them with the right flowers.

Adult butterflies feed on nectar that they will take from a wide variety of wild and garden flowers, particularly those growing in warm sheltered places.

Butterflies can be encouraged to visit gardens by growing a range of suitable flowers from March, until the frosty weather ends the season in October/November.

Now is the ideal time to start planning your 'pollinator garden'.

Here is a list of some of our pollinating plants:

Browse through our new arrivals and flowering plants and start planning for Spring.

Inner City Gardens

In a city insects like bees, butterflies and hoverflies, can flit from one garden to the next and by doing so ensure they find food whenever they need it.

Although traditionally regarded as ecological wastelands, urban landscapes can support diverse pollinator populations.

The urban garden produces some 85% of the nectar found in a city.

Research conducted at the universities of Bristol, Cardiff, Edinburgh, Northumbria, Reading and the Royal Horticultural Society, investigated the nectar production in different urban areas to see how they compared with one another and with rural habitats.

They found that urban areas are not so bleak after all. They offer comparable resources to rural habitats, with gardens providing nectar-rich oases to support our pollinating insects.

Contact Us.

We hope you have found our guide to Plants for Pollinators.

Please give us a call if you would like to see what applicable plants we have available.

Interesting fact

Plants for pollinators

The Difference between Honey Bees and Bumblebees

One of the main differences between bumblebees and honeybees is their appearance.

Bumblebees are larger and rounder than honey bees and they have a fuzzy appearance due to their dense hairs.

Bumblebees also have a more varied colouration, with black, yellow, and brown being the most common colours.

Honey bees, on the other hand, are smaller and slender, and they have a smooth, shiny appearance due to their lack of hair.

Honey Bees are also typically more uniform in colour, with shades of yellow and brown being the most common.