Why are pollinators such a big deal? There is much discussion about their importance and the choice of plants for our gardens to help support them and bring them back where they have been in decline. Pollinators carry pollen from the stamen of flowers to the stigmas of others, fertilising plants to grow more flowers and fruit. The process can be magical, listening to bees buzz as they enter flowers, the vibrations loosening the pollen, which sticks to them so they can carry it from flower to flower.
The movement of pollen by animals between flowering plants is the key first step to producing fruit, seeds and new plants. These animals are known as pollinators and include all varieties of birds, mammals such as rodents and bats, as well as insects like butterflies and bees. Many flowering plants rely on pollinators to be able to reproduce, supporting agriculture, the natural world, and our humble back gardens to sustain growth and healthy soil, and prevent soil erosion so increasing the all important sequestration, or storage, of carbon away from the atmosphere.
Friends or Pests?
The role of pollinators in our ecosystem is marked when it comes to food production. So much fresh produce like the abundant fruit and vegetables we enjoy from season to season depend on pollination such as apples, strawberries, plums, courgettes and raspberries.
While butterflies, bees, birds and ladybirds are largely welcome in our gardens, other pollinators like slugs and aphids are perhaps less so. Attracting a wide variety of pollinators by incorporating different flowering plants can, in turn, attract the natural predators for these more pesky creatures without resorting to harmful pesticides that can damage your soil. Mix up colourful flower beds with berries, herbs and trees, including aromatic varieties that also give off scent during the night to keep nocturnal pollinators like moths active.
Flowers
Ideas for creating ideal environments for wildlife in your garden are shared in my blog post ‘The World in our Gardens’. Pollinators thrive in habitats full of nectar rich, flowering plants, so if you have a patch of ground that is otherwise unproductive, do invest in some wildflower seeds to create a little haven for them and bring some colourful joy to your space. I choose not to mow my small lawn to maximise opportunities for wildlife habitats in the long grass
My go-to source of information for how to support wildlife though my garden and allotment is The Wildlife Trust. I enjoyed perusing their website for ideas on the best choice of plants for the garden to encourage pollinators and found wonderful tips for creation of a ‘nectar cafe’. The link is below, but some key take aways for me included the idea of planting flowers in groups or drifts to help colours and scents be spotted more easily. They suggest a sunny, sheltered space is best for your nectar cafe and make suggestions for adding scented flowers, herbs and flowers with simple flat structures to make it easy for insects to feed from them.
Easy hardy varieties to get you started across the seasons include marigolds, primrose, lavender, honeysuckle, and bluebells.
In turn, the pollinators help to keep my garden productive year after year, which is important to sustain the perennials and edibles I grow in raised beds around the grass.
Seasons
Pollination occurs all year round, though pollinators are easiest to spot in the summer. Decreasing competition for nectar among them by including plants with differing flowering seasons can really help keep populations strong throughout the year. In the spring, as flowers unfurl from their slumber, pollinators wake from hibernation and seek out bulbs and fruit blossoms. My elegant crab apple tree blossom and tulips in April welcome a happy hum of insects just as the days begin to warm.
In the summer, it can be tempting to remove weeds, but I have found leaving areas where plants like bindweed can run free at least a little, means their flowers can contribute to feeding the abundance of pollinators at that time, which benefits the rest of the garden. This year I (accidentally) left a couple of radishes from my early summer crop in the ground and they have grown into immense structures curling around the vegetable patch with a spray of tiny little white flowers that have turned out to be incredibly popular with butterflies and hoverflies – both of which are a joy to watch.
Autumn is the time many pollinators are stocking up on their nectar fuel before hibernation or migration. The Painted Lady butterfly is a famous example of a migratory species. It’s feasting includes foraging on ivy nectar before the month long voyage back to Northern Africa in late September. Late flowering plants good for pollinators include varieties of Dahlia, Fuchsia and Salvia. The Royal Horticultural Society offers pointers for which flowers to include in your garden at this time of year in the link below.
There may not seem to be much going on for pollinators in the winter – but they are there. If you have plants that are dying back and decaying, leave them there as shelter for overwintering insects. I like to create a pile of my autumn cuttings at the edges of my garden for this purpose, stacking my pruning from roses and other woody matter next to garden fencing to break down into new soil and provide nice damp habitats, nooks and crannies for the unseen little creatures that need a cosy place to hibernate over the winter, ready to spring into action again when the first new buds begin to appear.
Further Reading:
https://www.wildlifetrusts.org/actions/best-plants-bees-and-pollinators
https://www.rhs.org.uk/garden-inspiration/wildlife/top-12-plants-for-autumn-pollinators
https://northleedsgardendesign.co.uk/gardensforwildlife/
However you choose to welcome the spring and organise your garden, spend time considering what fits your space or ask your garden designer to do the hard work of sourcing and designing in the best items for your garden for you.
Contact North Leeds Garden Design and we can work with you to encourage pollinators into your outdoor space