How to Fill Your Garden with Buzz and Beauty
If you love a garden full of colour and life, helping our pollinators is a wonderful way to create a beautiful and buzzing outdoor space. Bees, butterflies and other beneficial insects rely on nectar-rich flowers, and with a few well-chosen plants, your garden can become their perfect haven.
Why Pollinators Matter
Pollinators play a vital role in our ecosystem and in gardens. Without them, many plants wouldn’t set seed or produce fruit. Sadly, many pollinator populations are under threat, so by planting with them in mind, you’re doing your bit for nature — and your garden will thank you with plenty of vibrant blooms.
What Pollinators Love
Pollinators prefer single, open flowers that are easy to access, with a range of shapes, colours, and long flowering seasons. Grouping plants in clumps also helps bees forage efficiently. Avoid pesticides to keep your garden safe for wildlife.
Top Plants for Pollinators in Our Plant Area
Here are some of the best-loved pollinator-friendly plants you can find at our garden centre right now, with prices to help you plan your planting:
Perennial Salvias:
Salvia ‘Purple Bloom’ — £5.99
Salvia nemorosa ‘Marvel Blue’ — £7.99
Salvia Salgoon ‘Lake Flamingo’ — £8.99
These salvias are brilliant for their long flowering periods and vibrant colours that bees adore.
Potentilla (Shrubby Cinquefoil):
Miss Willmott (dark, scented cherry pink flowers) — £8.99
Kobold (bright yellow) — £17.99
Pretty Polly (soft pale pink) — £17.99
Abbotswood (crisp white) — £17.99
Potentilla are sturdy, low-maintenance shrubs that provide nectar throughout summer.
Dwarf Buddleia (Butterfly Bush):
Butterfly Candy Little Pink — £11.99
Butterfly Candy Little Purple — £11.99
These compact butterfly magnets are perfect for smaller gardens or containers.
Nepeta:
Nepeta ‘Whispurr Pink’ — £12
Nepetas are loved by bees and butterflies and add lovely soft colour to borders.
And don’t forget, our plant area is also full of lavender, foxgloves, delphiniums, agapanthus, and many other pollinator favourites, ready to fill your garden with colour and life.
Pollinator-Friendly Tips
Plant in groups or drifts to help pollinators find your flowers easily.
Avoid double-flowered varieties, which can be hard for insects to access.
Provide a water source, such as a shallow dish with pebbles.
Let parts of your garden grow a little wild or leave leaf litter for insects to shelter.
We have plenty of foxgloves, delphiniums, lavender & herbs. Don’t forget alliums like chives, onions and garlic are all loved by bees. Mine Welsh Onions are smothered!
There are so many pollinator-friendly plants. By all means do a little more research especially if you are looking to encourage more wild birds too. Take a look at further advice from the experts here:
The Wildlife Trust https://www.wildlifetrusts.org/actions/best-plants-bees-and-pollinators
The Woodland Trust https://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/blog/2020/07/attract-birds-to-your-garden
By choosing the right plants and gardening with wildlife in mind, you’ll be rewarded with a garden buzzing with life and colour throughout the seasons.
👉 For more inspiration and tips, check out our ‘A Space to Share’ blog
