Download Our Top Ten Bee-‐Friendly Plants For Urban Gardens

 Our Top Ten Bee-­‐Friendly Plants For Urban Gardens Whether you have a garden, an allotment, a terrace or a windowbox, you can grow plants which support honeybees, bumblebees, butterflies and other important pollinators. By doing so, you are making a difference. We’ve chosen our Top Ten for all sorts of different qualities – some are edible, some provide late season forage – but mainly because they are good looking, easy to grow and low maintenance: Perfect for a wide range of different planting situations and rewarding for beginners and experts alike. If you are looking for more shrubs and trees, see our Country Garden planting guide. If you would like to explore pollinator-­‐friendly garden plants in more detail, the Royal Horticultural Society has great lists online at www.rhs.org.uk. for more information on our bees visit bermondseystreetbees.co.uk 1. Snowberry Beautiful throughout the year, this shrub has masses of flowers and berries. Hardy and happy in a wide range of soil types. Attracts bees, butterflies, birds and small mammals. Full sun or partial shade. The berries are good for birds but are poisonous to humans, so steer clear of this if you have small children. 2. Helenium Dense, daisy-­‐like flowers in orange, red and yellow. Flowers for weeks in late summer and autumn. Some newer varieties will flower earlier. An essential in bee-­‐friendly planting. Known as Sneezeweed because its leaves were a Native American remedy for hay fever. Height 3 – 5 ft , but shoots can be pinched out to grow lower. Happiest in full sun with its roots in moist soil. 3. Mahonia Evergreen shrub with yellow scented flowers through much of the year, as well as showy berries and changing leaf colour interest. Many varieties available; choose one with an ideal height. Grows well in virtually any soil type as long as it is well drained. Happy in full sun, semi-­‐shade or shade. Some Mahonia Japonica varieties have edible berries. (Check with your plant supplier if you want an edible variety.) 4. Musk Mallow Edible leaves, flowers and seeds This is a hardy, upright and very pretty make Musk Mallow a great plant cottage garden plant with pink or for productive gardens. Grows to white flowers in July & August. Easy 3ft.+ tall. Best in shade or semi-­‐
shade with well-­‐drained, moist to grow and magnetic to bees! soil. 5. Lavender Grows anywhere from window boxes and planters to garden borders. Lavender comes in countless different sizes and shades of purple. Highly scented, easy to grow and an all round winner. A sun worshipping plant which prefers well-­‐drained soils. It makes a great addition to a herb garden. Buy a culinary varieties if you want to use it in cooking. (Lavender and dark chocolate are made for each other!) An invasive species, so choose the right type/ size for your garden and keep it trimmed. Holly berries are intensely bitter and mildly toxic, so not a good choice if you have small children. 6. Climbing Ivy From September, climbing ivies produce dense clusters of flowers with a sticky nectar which bees seek out to lay down winter stores. The berries then feed hungry birds in the winter. Ivy grows well in planters on a supporting frame. 7. Scabious Also called the pincushion flower, this Likes dry, sunny places. Group is a nectar-­‐rich species which grows several plants together to get wild on chalk downs. Small low-­‐ maximum visual impact. growing Scabious can be very pretty in as part of mixed planting in windowboxes and pots. 8. Woodland Sage Fabulous green foliage with dramatic purple spikes. Grows brilliantly in sunny windowboxes, containers or garden borders. Blooms from early summer to late autumn. A staple for hungry bees & butterflies. A low maintenance plant which grows in sun or part sun and is drought tolerant. Deadheading will extend the flowering period. Note: this is not a culinary sage. 9. Borage A quiet beauty in decorative terms, but one of the most bee-­‐friendly plants around. There is almost nothing better to plant for pollinators to feed on. 10. Saffron Crocus An autumn flowering bulb providing a shot of colour in windowboxes, gardens or allotments and plenty of late season pollen for bees. The stamens provide the valuable saffron crop. Borage is one of the great herbal remedies. Its bright blue flowers are perfect for decorating summer puddings and the leaves and flowers are a great garnish for Pimms. Growing it amongst tomatoes helps deter pests. Yes, they do grow in this country and yes you can have your own saffron harvest! You just need a good sunny place to plant them and a well drained soil.