We'll gather lilacs in the springtime...because the bees don't want them

I've been sorting through my photos this weekend from the year just gone. Digital photography, eh? It's all very well but you do end up taking a trillion photos and then spend days discarding the trash.

This photo caught my eye, taken on a lovely day on 1 June. Yes, its a lilac (Syringa). A beautiful bush, gorgeous scent, and you'll find plenty of texts that say 'Great for wildlife; great for pollinators'.

So why was this one - and almost every Lilac I see - bereft of any insects whatsoever?

In fact, if you Google images using a combination of the terms 'syringa', 'lilac', 'bee' and 'pollinator', you come up with almost nothing, except some photos of North America butterflies and hawkmoths nectaring.

So what's going on? My suspicion is that

a) the tubular flower shape is too deep for most pollinators

and b) most garden lilacs are cultivars or hybrids that have lost much of their nectar or pollen.

But I could be wrong. And I'd love to hear if you have any joy with lilacs where wildlife is concerned.

For me, it is another example of where the information we have is far from complete, and where assumptions are repeated without checking their veracity (often to help sell a product!).

I'm currently working with the Plants and Planting Group of the Wildlife Gardening Forum to try and pull together better information about which garden plants are good for which wildlife. We know we've got years of fascinating work on our hands, and your observations will be an important part of that.

But for now I hope you have a very happy Christmas, and I trust Santa will bring you something lovely for the garden.