Plants for Pollinators

A lively garden is full of perennials that attract butterflies and bees. By doing so, you help butterflies, bees and other beneficial insects. The best way to attract butterflies to the garden is with nectar plants. Your garden could provide a habitat to around 20 species of diurnal butterflies.

Especially during warm days, there may be lots of butterflies enjoying your garden. Familiar species such as day peacock, atalanta, the lesser fox and whitefly, but also uncommon butterflies such as the cockchafer aurelia will be lured to your garden.

There are many more moths than diurnal butterflies, examples are the night peacock and the striped pintail. Some flowers will hardly have a scent during daytime, but as soon as dusk falls, lovely scents will be released, attracting butterflies and moths from great distances. Put perennials near the terrace to indulge butterflies (and yourself) with the scent and nectar. Flowers that will release (stronger) scents in the evening are evening primrose (Oenothera), flame flower (Phlox), soapwort (Saponaria) and spur flower (Centranthus).

Little bees that dwell in the garden are doing a great job; they pollinate your flowers. Would you like to enjoy this spectacle? Then plant a variety of flowering perennials in the garden. This way, you will provide the bees with plenty of choice to do their work and the garden will be more beautiful too! Flowers that contain plenty of nectar include bee balm (Monarda), cardoon (Cynara), goldenrod (Solidago), sage (Salvia) and hemp agrimony (Eupatorium). Honey bees are best known, but there are even more species of wild bees. Solitary bees like to nest in a bee house or insect hotel.

Only have a small garden or balcony? Not to worry, as bees and butterflies will visit your garden even with just a few amount of pollinator plants. Plants for pollinators will look lovely in borders and beds, but they also grow well in pots and containers.