Introducing wildlife-friendly plants into your garden is the epitome of shared beneficiation. Saving you the research, here is a guiding light providing suggested plants and pollinators that can transform your garden into a wildlife haven.
Catmint (Nepeta Cateria)
These lavender-purple flowers require minimal effort to grow and common pollinators like hummingbirds and bees absolutely love them. They are great distractions for caterpillars with their abundance of leaves and function as a deterrent for treacherous aphids. Being drought-resistance, these plants are native to the Middle East, parts of China, and the South-Eastern regions of Europe. With well-drained soil, they thrive in sunshine or shade and expect their full blossom season from late spring.
Dogrose (Rosa canina)
Small pale pink flowers in summer and deep red fruits in autumn, this pollination combination is a huge magnet for insects and small mammals. Native to Northwest Africa, Southwest Asia, and across Europe, these pale pink climbers attract bees and butterflies while the thick shrub of this wild rose acts as a great shelter for some small mammals and birds. Commonly found in meadows, these roses bloom in spring can thrive in full sun with chalky or clay soil if it’s reasonably well-drained.
Garden angelica (Angelica archangelica)
These tall perennial plants have a lovely, flat umbel that has a bitter taste and lovely aromatics. The stem of this herbaceous plant can be made into candy while the tiny flowers are used to tea that treats insomnia and alcoholism. Native to Syria, these tiny green flowers covered in nectar are extremely attractive for bees while their seeds are a nice snack for smaller birds. Relying on rich soil that is well-drained, expect large growth in midsummer.
Ivy (Hedera)
These easily adaptive climbers are super shade plants with a concentrated growth of nectar-bearing flowers for over 17 diverse types of birds. Native to southern parts of Scandinavia to parts of Spain, as well as the north-eastern region of Ireland. With small yellowish-green flowers, over 140 insects can find resources on these wildlife-friendly ivies. Their soil can be sandy and chalky, but the soil must be well-drained and moist. Depending on where you are, expect dense blooming in late Autumn.
Viper’s bugloss (Echium vulgare)
This luminously colored funnel-shaped flower of blue with bright red stamens blossoms biennially from a rosette of hairy leaves and is a great companion plant for linseed. Native to Europe and parts of Asia, their bright purple color attracts honeybees, red-mason bee, buff-tailed, red-tailed bumblebee, and the Painted Lady Butterfly. Depending on where you are, these plants are known to be biennial and annual but expect them to blossom from summer to autumn with minimal maintenance, but well-drained soil is essential.