I have a complete mixture of flowers for all times of year and my garden has been full of bees and butterflies, but some flowers are better than others.
Here is a list from the RHS of flowers for bees, it has bulbs on it too. A lot of the flowers in my garden and many in my list above are on the RHS list.
Dordogne and Norfolk. Clay in Dordogne, sandy in Norfolk.
Berrying shrubs hawthorn, phyracantha, seed plants such as teasles, echinops and sunflowers , Really best bet is a balance of plant types across the seasons which suit the size, aspect, shade and soil type/acidity of your garden. Start slowly and build up as you go on. Sow loads of annuals for next spring going mainly for plants with open flat blooms . Study the seed catalogues most give you plant sizes, season and if they attract pollinators. Build on this by adding perennials which grom well in your area Have a nosy in other peoples gardens and see what grows well.
A mummy hare had 4 babies in my big herbaceous border a few years ago! And the deer ate all my roses. Is that what you mean, Jim? Oh, and a badger died in the lean-to, but from the look of it I think it was old age.
Dordogne and Norfolk. Clay in Dordogne, sandy in Norfolk.
now's a good time of year to get cheap perennials - join the crowds of canny GW forum members hanging around the "plant rescue" stands at garden centres and look for things like Pulmonaria, hardy geraniums and so on. They can cost a lot of money when in full flower, but now they are dying back and getting ready to hibernate and garden centres sell them off to clear space. I buy most of my perennials like that to keep the cost down. Check that there is a healthy root system and don't worry too much about what the leaves look like. You might also be able to get several plants out of one pot - if there are several crowns you can divide them up and plant the divisions and you'll get even more plants.
I recommend Pulmonaria - there are lots of different varieties, but I grow Trevi Fountains in my shady border and Raspberry Splash in the sunnier border. They flower very early and bees adore them, then when the flowers go over, you have very attractive foliage.
Check the plants are hardy perennials though - I have seen dying annuals and biennials for sale, and these are just good for the compost heap!
Got to agree with Ginglygangly some great bargins in the discount clear out bed. Do watch out for one which appear to have multiple crons even better value. Check for slugs and vine weevils ther bargain plants don't get looked after as well as they could.
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I am assuming you're talking about to benefit wildlife since you're posting in this section?
I have a complete mixture of flowers for all times of year and my garden has been full of bees and butterflies, but some flowers are better than others.
Here is a list from the RHS of flowers for bees, it has bulbs on it too. A lot of the flowers in my garden and many in my list above are on the RHS list.
Don't forget there's more to wildlife then pollinaters.
Berrying shrubs hawthorn, phyracantha, seed plants such as teasles, echinops and sunflowers , Really best bet is a balance of plant types across the seasons which suit the size, aspect, shade and soil type/acidity of your garden. Start slowly and build up as you go on. Sow loads of annuals for next spring going mainly for plants with open flat blooms . Study the seed catalogues most give you plant sizes, season and if they attract pollinators. Build on this by adding perennials which grom well in your area Have a nosy in other peoples gardens and see what grows well.
Good luck and have fun
UW
A mummy hare had 4 babies in my big herbaceous border a few years ago! And the deer ate all my roses. Is that what you mean, Jim? Oh, and a badger died in the lean-to, but from the look of it I think it was old age.
now's a good time of year to get cheap perennials - join the crowds of canny GW forum members hanging around the "plant rescue" stands at garden centres and look for things like Pulmonaria, hardy geraniums and so on. They can cost a lot of money when in full flower, but now they are dying back and getting ready to hibernate and garden centres sell them off to clear space. I buy most of my perennials like that to keep the cost down. Check that there is a healthy root system and don't worry too much about what the leaves look like. You might also be able to get several plants out of one pot - if there are several crowns you can divide them up and plant the divisions and you'll get even more plants.
I recommend Pulmonaria - there are lots of different varieties, but I grow Trevi Fountains in my shady border and Raspberry Splash in the sunnier border. They flower very early and bees adore them, then when the flowers go over, you have very attractive foliage.
Check the plants are hardy perennials though - I have seen dying annuals and biennials for sale, and these are just good for the compost heap!
Good luck! you'll get hooked in no time
Got to agree with Ginglygangly some great bargins in the discount clear out bed. Do watch out for one which appear to have multiple crons even better value. Check for slugs and vine weevils ther bargain plants don't get looked after as well as they could.
UW