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Now that the flowers in my garden are starting to fade I'm starting to think ahead to next year and starting to write a "shopping list" of what I'm going to plant up. I've been in this house for just over a year so I've not done a great deal yet but I'm really looking forward to making a concerted effort to do everything I can to attract wildlife (especially birds, bees and butterflies!). I’ve been a keen gardener for many years and always produce a mass of bedding plants from seed. However, I’m looking to plant up some herbaceous borders with mainly perennials and shrubs that are fab wildlife magnets!
My garden is about 100ft long by 50ft wide so a reasonable size but not really big enough for new large trees. I’ve got two Cherry Plum trees and three apple trees so I don’t really have too much room for anything else big! The only other things I have at the moment is a buddleia and some lavender (not a bad start I suppose?!).
To help me make my shopping list what I thought would be fun to do is to ask you lovely people what your ultimate wildlife plant that you have in your garden is, or maybe even tell me your top ten?!
Would appreciate any advice too!
Many thanks!
Andy B
The plants that have been the biggest wildlife magnets in my garden are as follows...... Lavendar, Cirsium, Michaelmas Daisies, Eupatorium, Sedum, Cynara Cardunculus, Monkshood, Teasel, Honeysuckle, Scabious (perennial or annual) Hollyhocks, Cosmos, Cornflowers, Borage and my biggest surprise was the Thalictrum I have was absolutely smothered in Hoverflies this year. I also have a patch that I don't touch and have thrown down some native wild flower seeds and have just left it to it's own devices and it's a very popular part of the garden for all forms of wildlife; The local Chiffchaff has been in there on frequent occasions looking for Spiders and any other bugs it can get it's beak on.
Good luck
Lynette
To all responders - Thank you all for all the comments and advice!!. Truly inspiring!!! I can't wait to start on my project and for next Spring!!! Could be a long project to get all this plants established though! But will have fun doing so I guess.
Toying with the idea of creating a partial division in the garden with a native hedge about half way down now. Might start a new post on what to include in this too!
Oh, and cottagegardener, a big thank you to you in particular for your lovely post and beautiful photo’s. You seem to have got a garden exactly what I’m dreaming of!! Would love to see more pictures if you have them!
Keep the suggestions coming…. Can never have too many suggestions!
Thanks again all!
This warm spell has shown up the deficiencies in my late flowering plants -
The Michaelmas daisies are attracting a lot of bees but are almost over - I might try the Chelsea chop with some next year, does anyone know if that works for them?
My Monkshood has just started flowering but seemed to frustrate the only bumble bee I saw on it.
Dahlias are still looking fresh and attracting bumblebees. (But I don't like them!)
White Dead-Nettle I think must must be the best bumble bee plant ever, flowering from spring and still going strong, I don't know if the seeds are to small for birds or anything else to bother with, nothing seems to eat its leaves and it is a troublesome weed in a lot of places, but in my case a bee saviour!
Ten of the best?
I have asmall new garden with very poor soil. So, for a quick splash of colour and food for bees etc
. I scattered a mix of well known annuals over a sunny bank. Cost a few pence. Penstemen, Lupins, Foxglove and the bees, and hoverflies came in hoards. Single flowers are best, not fancy double hybrids .Clover in the lawn is great for bumblebees. I also left a clump of thistle behind the compost bin for the many goldfinches I see. The birds helped by planting some sunflower seeds and pot marigolds in my tubs and under the newly planted hedge. Thanks guys!
Lavender, nepeta, Cornflower, verbena bonariensis. hang on a second..It seems blue is the popular colour. Ivy attracts like a magnet when in flower in Autumn and later the berries are great in winter. Of course it's great cover for birds any time of year. I had one called buttercup which was a bit of a thug. It covered six fence pannels! Wildlife loved it. It was buzzing for weeks.
Anything scented in the evening, will attract moths. Honeysuckle may get you a Hummingbird Hawkmoth. I've seen one sipping on a fuchsia in a hanging basket.
Come to think of it, I've also had Pied wagtailsthat raised three broods, two year in succession, in a fuchsia hanging basket.. Mind you I was running a nursery at the time and the basket was in a glasshouse where customers were strollong by all day. The birds didn't mind. I had to put a 'not for sale notice on it'. Of course it was the nicest basket in the glasshouse! Wrens and robins will also nest in good sized fuchsia baskets.
I guess I should take that as a compliment.
Great thread for lots of information
Just to say what a lot of great information about plant species and once we get to know our garden species (we moved here in summer so we do not know yet) In the springtime I will consider many plants that have been mentioned here.
CG: What fabulous pictures that you have shown - makes me feel warm after all this cold weather that we have been having at the moment.
We had Sedam growing at one of our houses. One day this one flower head had 10 Red Admirals sitting on it at one time. Wish I got a picture of them at this point of time - this was away back in 2006.
Regards
Kathy and Dave
Like the hanging basket nests! On the attractivenss of blue - I had a pair of lilac coloured gardening gloves (blueish!) and on several occassions a bumblebee came over for a for a quick look.
Carole R said: Like the hanging basket nests! On the attractivenss of blue - I had a pair of lilac coloured gardening gloves (blueish!) and on several occassions a bumblebee came over for a for a quick look.
Yes, lilac is part of the blue spectrum. I guess lots of inscects see in the ultra violet. Even white petals seem to have invisible (to us) blue guidelines leading to the nectar.
Teasel is good - Bumblebees and butterflies love the flowers and finches love the seeds. The flowers will finish about september but if you just leave them they will provide food until about December / January. You can also use them in dried flower displays after that!
Hi
We have got some Hebe in our garden which flowers twice a year and it really attracts bees in large numbers and a variety of butterflys when they can get past the bees it is evergreen and offers shelter during the winter too. we did have a shrub that clung to the wall and had small ever green leaves and had small red berries. Its flowers were very small but this was even more popular than the hebe but unfortunately it got damaged and died I would love to know what it was as I would like to replace it, any ideas folks?
Shane
Regards Shane
My Photos in Flickr.
Many thanks again for all this wonderful information!!! I've now got a biscuit tin bursting with seed packets waiting to be planted as soon as the weather warms up!! I just can't wait to start turning my garden (hopefully) into a wildlife haven!!!
The only trouble is I've got a feeling I'm not going to have enough space to grow everything I'd like to!!
I hope to post some pictures of the results later in the year.
Still open to more suggestions though!! :)
(BTW - Shane - The shrub that died - wasn't Cotoneaster was it - try Googling it!)