Forum home› Wildlife gardening

Pollinator recommendations

pete2112pete2112 Posts: 5
in Wildlife gardening
I'm fairly new to gardening and would like your advice please. I have a border to a lawn 5 metres long that runs north/south on the west side of a tall beech hedge, so only getting sun after midday. I want to fill this border with colourful pollinating plants. I want these to put on a good show asap and through the summer. Your suggestions please.
Trying to bring more wildlife into the garden.

Posts

  • Pete.8Pete.8 Billericay, EssexPosts: 6,110
    A photo of the area would probably help us get an idea of what you're working with.
    Pollinators are flowers, single flowers or semi-doubles will let bees get to the pollen, fully double flowers make it difficult for bees to get to the pollen.

    Great pollinators in my garden include
    Veronicastrum - so overrun with bees the tops bend and the bees even seems to sleep on the flowers.
    Cotoneaster - in summer there are so many bees on the flowers it sounds like an electricity sub-station
    Agastache, salvias, sunflowers, heliopsis, helianthium - there's an almost endless list depending on what you want from your garden
    Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit.
    Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.
  • johnpaulhigginsjohnpaulhiggins Posts: 6
    This is my first year even growing legal flowers :wink:  Except last year I helped my parents in their garden and made it look the best it ever has done. I'm growing pollinators to attract bees as well as look good. Phacelia is supposed to be a good one which attracts lots of bees. They grow it in vineyards to attract bees and it's an annual kind. I'm growing echinops as well which is a perrenial and also attracts lots of bees too by the seems of it.

    I'm a newbie too basically. Are you after something small or big? Annual or perrenial? How much sun and space do you have etc?
  • pete2112pete2112 Posts: 5
    Thanks for your suggestions. :)
    Here is a photo of the area mentioned, looking very boring at the moment. I will cut out a strip of turf in front of the beech hedge and want to fill this area with insect, bee and butterfly attracting plants up to about a metre high. This area will be about 5 to 6 metres long and extending half a metre or so in front of the hedge. This strip at the end of the garden runs north to south so only gets sun in the afternoon. A variety of perrenials, annuals or both, whatever is best to bring the garden to life and makes it more interesting to look at. I have other areas in the garden that get more sun where I have already planted RHS recommended pollinator attracting plants. This coming weekend I plan to install a small wildlife pond and bog garden.

    Trying to bring more wildlife into the garden.
  • ObelixxObelixx Vendée, Western FrancePosts: 22,270
    The RHS is keen to help people identify good plants for pollinators and has produced lists you can download for easy reference as well as advice on how to go about it.

    Have a look here - https://www.rhs.org.uk/science/conservation-biodiversity/wildlife/plants-for-pollinators and then look further on the RHS site for more info on the individual plants listed to see which will suit your conditions best.
    "We don't stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing." - George Bernard Shaw
  • LynLyn DevonPosts: 16,579
    The best in my garden are Echiums, Echinops,  Salvias, Agastache, Borage, Cerinthe. 
    Gardening on the wild, windy west side of Dartmoor. 

Sign In or Register to comment.