A Year of Pollinators in Your Garden - Tates of Sussex
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Gardeners around the UK are all so mindful now about choosing plants, not just because they look good or fit a particular set of conditions in their gardens, but because they support wildlife and pollinators.

What do Pollinators Need?

Different pollinators visit our gardens at different times of the year and for different reasons. The most well known pollinators are bees, but of course everyone loves butterflies. Moths, hoverflies and beetles are all important pollinators too. Personally, I have a lot of affection for the stripy Marmalade Hoverflies, which look like wasps but without the sting or annoying high-pitched buzz.

Flowers hold two rewards for pollinators:

🐝 Nectar is the sugary juice that insects use to power their flight. Honeybees also use this to make honey.

🐝 Pollen is a package of proteins which bees collect to take back to the nests to feed the developing larvae. Some pollinators eat this nutrient rich food themselves.

Some flowers are sterile, this means that they do not produce pollen. It was thought that sterile flowers were of no benefit to bees, however many of them still produce nectar, which is essential for providing energy. Erysimum Bowles Mauve is a good example. It is very good at attracting pollinators and flowers almost all year in mild areas.

Bee hotel with holes filled in by leaf cutter bees.
Bee hotel with holes filled in by bees.

Leaf cutter bees also love roses. They use the leaves to create cells within their nests.

Wool Carder Bees love collecting the woolly leaves of plants such as Stachys for their nests. If you grow this silver drought tolerant plant, known as lambs ears for its soft downy leaves, make sure to grow the flowering variety rather than the non-flowering one, as the flowers are important forage for bees.

Encouraging Butterflies and Moths

Butterflies and moths need more than just pollen and nectar as their caterpillars are very fussy about what plants they will eat. We need to provide the right host plants for them.

Stinging nettles may not be attractive to people, but they will attract Peacock, Red admiral, Comma and Small Tortoiseshell butterflies and also a range of moths. If you have an allotment or an out of the way corner in your garden, perhaps grow a small clump of nettles, but manage the area, so they don’t take over. In your garden you could also try related species such as Lamiums.

Caterpillars of the Peacock Butterfly eat nettle leaves.
The caterpillars of the Peacock Butterfly eat nettle leaves.

Holly Blues love holly (of course) in spring but switch to ivy and other plants to lay their eggs on later in the year. Cabbage white caterpillars are well known for their love of brassicas, but did you know they also like nasturtiums? The magnificent Elephant Hawk Moths love hardy fuchsias.

Many native trees like oak, willow, birch, hawthorn and my namesake – Hazel are fantastic for supporting many different caterpillars. We may not have room to grow oaks in our gardens, but if there are native trees nearby the adult moths and butterflies will visit our gardens for nectar.

Providing Shelter and Nesting Sites

Pollinators don’t just need food; they also need shelter, nesting and hibernation sites. Good examples can include dense vegetation, such as mature ivy, tussocky grasses and mature trees. Mining bees like sunny slopes and dry ground. Log piles and insect hotels are used by a wide variety of bees, butterflies, moths and beetles. Hollow stemmed plants that are left to stand through the winter, make good hibernation spots for insects. Don’t tidy these up until spring, when you can see the new growth coming through.

Why do We Need Pollinators?

We know what pollinators get, but what do we get by providing a nectar and pollen rich buffet for insects in our gardens? Firstly, they pollinate our food crops and ornamental flowering plants. This allows seeds, berries and other fruits to be formed. Not only do humans eat or use these, but multitudes of wildlife also need them. They are the base of the food chain. Many birds for example, rely on these fruits and seeds to survive the winter.

We also get pest control services, as many pollinators and/or their larvae munch on aphids and suchlike. They in turn become food for birds and small mammals. It is part of the great circle of life, but with 50% of bee species and 60% of UK wildlife being in decline, we need to play our part to keep it turning.

How do Pollinators Feed?

If we want to attract pollinators of course we need flowers! There is a wide variety of flowering plants available to us from garden centres and nurseries. But before we think about which flowers are best for pollinators, we need to consider how they feed.

A butterfly using its proboscis to drink nectar.
A proboscis is used like a straw to suck up nectar.

Bees and butterflies have a long tongue called a proboscis, for sucking up sweet nectar. Think of it being like a drinking straw. The longer the tongue the better they can feed from tubular flowers like salvias.

Insects with shorter tongues require open single flowers such as daisies or flat topped clusters of small flowers like achilleas.

Buff-tailed Bumblebees, which have short tongues, have found a way around accessing nectar that they can’t reach. They bite a hole in the base of the flower to reach the nectar. Although this means that they don’t access the pollen or help with pollination on those flowers.

Hoverflies have simple mouthparts, but don’t have a long tongue. They prefer flowers with easily accessible nectar and pollen. This is why it is essential to provide a varied range of flowers in our gardens and green spaces.

Double flowers, like this rose ‘Princess Alexandra of Kent’, are bred to grow extra petals. While they may delight us, they do this at the expense of producing nectar and pollen. So not only is it harder for pollinators to reach the centre, but there is less for them to feed on when they get there. If you love a beautiful double-flowered dahlia or rose don’t panic! It is fine to include them in your garden. Balancing these with open single flowers will allow us to have a beautiful and pollinator friendly space.

Bees can't get to the nectar in this rose because there are so many petals.
Rose ‘Princess Alexandra of Kent’
Bee smothered in dandelion pollen.
Bee smothered in dandelion pollen.

Set out below is a month by month list of suggestions for supporting pollinators in your gardens. Although many native wildflowers such as dandelions are fantastic choices for pollinators, this article focuses on ornamental plants and herbs that are easy to source and easy to grow at home in borders or pots. It mostly includes perennials with a few shrubs, small trees and some annuals that can easily be grown from seed.

January

Viburnum bodnantense. Flowering from autumn to spring with sweetly scented flowers, this is a valuable shrub for the winter garden. It provides important forage for bees emerging on warmer autumn and winter days.

  • Clematis cirrhosa ‘Freckles’ & ‘Wisley Cream’
  • Galanthus (Snowdrops)
  • Hamamelis
  • Helleborus
  • Lonicera fragrantissima
  • Lonicera x purpusii
  • Mahonia: Winter flowering varieties such as ‘Winter Sun’
  • Sarcoccca
  • Viburnum tinus

February

Crocus are fabulous bright and cheery bulbs perfect for naturalising through grass and full of pollen for queens when they are just emerging from hibernation.

  • Corylus (Hazel)
  • Eranthis hyemalis
  • Erica carnea & Erica darleyensis
  • Galanthus (Snowdrops)
  • Hamamelis
  • Helleborus
  • Mahonia: Winter flowering varieties such as ‘Winter Sun’

March

Pulmonaria attracts social and solitary bees. It is an excellent early spring nectar resource for hungry queen bumblebees with  long tongues like this Common Carder Bee

  • Crocus
  • Erica carnea & Erica darleyensis: Particularly popular with early-emerging queen bumblebees.
  • Erysimum (wallflowers)
  • Salix caprea (Pussy Willow)
  • Skimmia
  • Stachyurus praecox

March is really the start of the year for bees. Most queen bumblebees and some solitary bees wake up from hibernation in late March or early April. It is the temperature which wakes them up from their slumbers. A warm day in February could wake them up before their usual food plants have flowered, leaving them vulnerable.

The most notable winter flowering plant for bees are winter flowering Mahonias (see December listing). Providing plants like those listed under December, January and February, could be crucial to enable their survival as climate change makes our weather more unpredictable.

April

Salix caprea (Pussy Willow) attracts huge queen bumble bees and several early species of solitary bee.

  • Aquilegia: Visited by long-tongued bees – mainly  Garden Bumblebees – but also robbed by short-tongued bees such as Buff-tailed Bumblebees.
  • Berberis
  • Euphorbia
  • Erysimum (wallflowers)
  • Lamium
  • Malus
  • Pieris
  • Prunus: Flowering cherries with single flowers not doubles are best.
  • Pulmonaria
  • Ribes sanguineum
  • Skimmia

May

Symphytum officinale (Comfrey) is often grown on allotments for making a liquid plant feed and attracting pollinators, but it is ideal for the garden border too.

  • Allium ‘Purple Sensation’ and other early varieties including chives are much loved by short-tongued bees.
  • Aquilegia
  • Berberis
  • Ceanothus
  • Cerinthe major – This annual, produces huge amounts of nectar.
  • Crataegus (hawthorn): One of the best native trees for wildlife all year round.
  • Erysimum (perennial varieties)
  • Ilex aquifolium (Common Holly)
  • Malus: Apples are a good source of forage for queens in April and May.
  • Prunus
  • Rosemary Wisteria

June

Achillea: These flat topped flowers are loved by all pollinators especially short tongued insects like hoverflies.

  • Antirrhinum
  • Digitalis: Foxgloves are loved by long-tongued bees such as Common Carder Bumblebees.
  • Escallonia
  • Euphorbia
  • Iris pseudacorus -A pond marginal.
  • Lupin
  • Nepeta (Catmint) is extremely popular with bumblebees, and flowers from early summer to autumn.
  • Rosa: Open flowered varieties are best for pollinators.
  • Symphytum (Comfrey)
  • Thyme: Attracts hoverflies and honeybees in abundance.

From spring to early summer the garden comes alive with insects flitting and buzzing between flowers and plants. This when you can expect to see a wide variety of bumblebees, solitary bees, butterflies, moths and hoverflies. The first solitary bees to appear are the mining bees. They often look very similar to honeybees but without pollen baskets on their hind legs. All solitary bees are excellent pollinators and are harmless to people and pets. The males have no sting and the female’s sting is usually too weak to penetrate skin.

One of the most obvious mining bees is the Tawny Mining Bee which is active from March to June. It has dense orangey-red hair on its thorax and nests in south-facing tunnels with short vegetation including lawns. Red Mason Bees are also common. They have orange-haired abdomens and nest in holes in masonry or bee hotels.

July

Phacelia tanacetifolia is an easy-to-grow annual, flowering in 8-10 weeks from sowing. Being incredibly nectar rich, bees adore it.

  • Achillea
  • Agastache
  • Allium sphaerocephalon
  • Alstroemeria
  • Campanula
  • Caryopteris x clandonensis
  • Coreopsis
  • Dahlias (open flowered varieties
  • Escallonia
  • Foeniculum vulgare (Fennel)
  • Lavandula
  • Phlomis
  • Rosa (open flowered varieties)
  • Salvias
  • Scabious
  • Stachys byzantina
  • Thyme

August

Helianthus (Sunflowers) These iconic annuals produce spectacular flowers that attract many pollinators, including bumblebees, honeybees and hoverflies. 

  • Alcea: (Hollyhock) You will need to buy these in March-April as they won’t be available in shops by the time they are ready to flower. Very popular with Buff-tailed Bumblebees.
  • Allium sphaerocephalon
  • Alstroemeria
  • Brachyglottis
  • Campanula
  • Coreopsis
  • Cosmos
  • Dahlias (open flowered varieties)
  • Foeniculum vulgare
  • Hebe
  • Lavandula
  • Liatris
  • Origanum vulgare (Marjoram)
  • Perovskia
  • Phacelia tanacetifolia
  • Phlomis
  • Salvias
  • Scabious Verbena

September

Buddleja davidii: A wonderful nectar source for butterflies and also popular with bumblebees who like to fatten up on this before going into hibernation in autumn.

  • Actaea
  • Alcea
  • Anemone hupehensis  (Japanese anemones)
  • Caryopteris x clandonensis
  • Dahlias (open flowered varieties)
  • Fuchsia
  • Hebe
  • Hedera (Ivy)
  • Hebe
  • Helianthus
  • Liatris
  • Mahonia ‘Soft Caress’
  • Origanum vulgare (Marjoram)
  • Perovskia
  • Salvias
  • Sedum spectabile: The flat topped flowers are loved by both bumblebees and butterflies.
  • Symphyotrichum (Asters)
  • Verbena

Marmalade hoverflies hibernate in the UK in winter. Their summer populations are also boosted by a mass immigration flying over from France. People sometimes mistake these as swarms of wasps. Hoverflies however are entirely harmless and their larvae gobble up aphids, so they are very welcome in my garden!

October

Salvias: Popular with long-tongued bees, but Short tongued bees will bite holes to rob the nectar. Shrubby salvias usually flower right up to the frosts so are brilliant garden plants for pollinators over a long season.

  • Actaea
  • Anemone hupehensis (Japanese anemones)
  • Arbutus unedo
  • Buddleja davidii
  • Calluna vulgaris
  • Cosmos
  • Dahlias (open flowered varieties)
  • Fuchsia
  • Hedera
  • Mahonia ‘Soft Caress’
  • Nepeta
  • Sedum spectabile,
  • Symphyotrichum (Asters)

November

Hedera: Ivy flowers produce a lot of pollen and nectar making them very attractive to a wide range of pollinators, including honey bees, hoverflies and late season butterflies like the Red Admiral. Nearly 90% of the pollen collected by honey bees in the autumn comes from ivy.

  • Arbutus unedo
  • Buddleja davidii
  • Calluna vulgaris
  • Fuchsia
  • Salvias

December

Mahonia media ‘Winter Sun’. Mahonia has become one of the most important forage plants for bees that are active through winter. Mahonia is particularly good as it has hundreds of flowers clustered together in a small space and flowers over a long period. The flowers are also followed by berries which birds love eating.

  • Clematis cirrhosa ‘Freckles’ or ‘Wisley Cream’
  • Lonicera fragrantissima
  • Lonicera x purpusii
  • Viburnum tinus

Some pollinators, like the Ivy Bee, specialise in autumn flowering plants. The Ivy Bee is relatively new to the UK, being first recorded in 2001. It emerges in September to coincide with ivy plants flowering.

Common Carder Bees and Buff-tailed bumbles can be active into November, but only two bee species might still be foraging from December to January in Sussex. Buff-tailed Bumble Bees and Honey Bees may take advantage of the milder winters brought about by climate change and the abundance of nectar from winter flowering plants.

Honey Bees require temperatures above 10’C and will actively forage at temperatures above 14°C. Buff-tailed Bumblebees can forage with temperatures almost down to freezing. They just need a safe nesting site, mild weather, like we get in urban areas, and a reliable source of food.

 Due to the lack of native flowers in bloom in winter, colonies are likely to be reliant on non-native plants such as Mahonia. So providing a buffet year round is becoming more important as our climate changes. Encouraging pollinators in our gardens benefits not just us but provides support for a key part of the food web and cycle of life.

Pollinators Commonly Recorded in Sussex

Data from the iNaturalist App highlights these commonly seen species:

  • Western Honey Bee – Nests in hives and can be active on mild days in winter and early spring.
  • Common Carder Bee – Active March to November.
  • Buff-tailed Bumble Bee – One of the earliest to emerge and can be active all year round.
  • Garden Bumblebee – Has the longest tongue of any UK bee.
  • Red Mason Bee – Nesting in masonry and bee hotels.
  • Tawny Mining Bee – One of the first solitary bees to appear in early spring.
  • Red Admiral Butterfly – Primarily lays eggs on nettles
  • Meadow Brown Butterfly – Feeds on nectar from a range of wild flowers and garden plants including Origanum and Scabious
  • Marmalade Hoverflies – Significant and abundant pollinators
Hazel Still Tates of Sussex Garden Centres
By our resident horticultural expert

Hazel Still

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