Nectar-rich beds and baskets: best

Nectar-rich beds and baskets

Plant out summer bedding, hanging baskets and containers that provide food for bees and butterflies to help make your garden a wildlife haven, says Hazel Sillver

NJOY the sight of bees and butterflies in the garden this summer by selecting

Ewildlife-friendly bedding plants for borders and hanging baskets. Single-flowered choices, such as cosmos, give pollinators access to nectar, whereas traditional bedding plants (including double French marigolds) have such layers of petals as a result of horticultural breeding that the nectar and pollen are unreachable.

On top of this, the single-flowered and semi-double species that wildlife feed on have a more contemporary look, injecting the garden with refreshing new life. Increasingly, councils are planting this type of bedding in parks and on roundabouts, both to help wildlife and to create a modern look.

Another change is that summer bedding is planted in layers, as a border would be, with ‘see-through’ airy plants and tall plants providing height at the back. The days of park flowerbeds being a flat sea of double begonias, pansies and petunias, with not a bee or butterfly in sight, are gone.

Butterflies and bees One of the best bedding plants for butterflies is sweetly scented heliotrope, such as ice-blue ‘Reva’ and violet ‘Nautilus Power Blue’ . They also flock to vervain, including the airy purple Verbena bonariensis ‘Lollipop’ , which can be used to create layers, and lipstick-pink Glandularia ‘Sissinghurst’ , which looks lovely tumbling out of a pot on the patio.

Hoverflies like marigolds, including the flame-orange Calendula officinalis ‘Indian Prince’ , and single-flowered Mexican varieties, such as Tagetes tenuifolia ‘Tangerine Gem’ . Both provide fiery colour and act as effective pest control in the vegetable patch. Hoverflies also love Icelandic poppies, and their crepe-paper flowers provide charm and colour for months.

Bees are partial to the daisy-like flowers of cosmos, which are available in mid-border and back-of-border sizes, and flower all summer. They also love single-flowered hollyhocks, which provide drama and height. Ready-grown poached egg plants (Limnanthes douglasii) are a great alternative to the old guard of double-flowered bedding for the front of a border.

Opt for these contemporary bedding plants and enjoy an abundance of wildlife in the garden this summer.

9 bedding plants for wildlife

For bees

Cosmos bipinnatus Sonata Pink Delicate-pink daisy blooms above feathery foliage make this cosmos a beautiful bedding plant. Grow in full sun and keep cutting for the vase, and it will flower into late autumn. H: 20in (50cm).

For butterflies

Antirrhinum majus Sonnet Yellow The Sonnet snapdragon series are easy, colourful bedding plants that provide food for bumblebees and make good cut flowers. Grow in well-drained soil in sun or semi-shade. H: 2ft (60cm). Verbena rigida ‘Santos’ This tender perennial is often grown as an annual and increasingly sold as a bedding plant because it flowers for months, into autumn, and provides for wildlife. Likes well-drained soil in sun. H: 12in (30cm).

Verbena rigida f. lilacina ‘Polaris’ Charming clusters of pale-lilac flowers lure butterflies to this spreading vervain for months. Likes well-drained soil in sheltered full sun. Grow as a perennial in mild areas. H: 16in (40cm).

For hoverflies

Heliotropium arborescens ‘Marine’ Butterflies flock to the dense heads of richly scented violet-blue flowers that coat this compact heliotrope throughout summer. Likes moist, well-drained soil in sun or semi-shade. H: 18in (45cm). Convolvulus tricolor ‘Blue Ensign’ AGM This dwarf morning glory has gentianblue funnel-shaped flowers with white and yellow throats. Grow in very welldrained soil in sheltered sun; can be grown in containers. H: 12in (30cm).

Tagetes ‘Lemon Gem’ This marigold forms a bushy mass of single yellow flowers throughout summer and into autumn. A good companion plant for tomatoes. Grow in well-drained soil in sheltered full sun. H: 12in (30cm). Calendula officinalis Buy ready-grown pot marigolds and use as bedding. The orange daisy flowers are produced over a long period if continually cut. Prefers well-drained soil in sun or semi-shade. H: 20in (50cm). Papaver nudicaule Champagne Bubbles Group Icelandic poppies are superb bedding plants, producing scented orange, white, pink and yellow blooms for months. Likes well-drained soil in sun. H: 18in (45cm).

Wildlife plants for hanging baskets

T h o m p s o n m o r g a n . c o m

Convolvulus sabatius (syn. Convolvulus mauritanicus) AGM This trailing rock bindweed from Morocco produces pale lavender-blue funnel flowers in summer and autumn. Likes well-drained soil in sun. H: 6in (15cm). Glandularia ‘Peaches ’n’ Cream’ (syn. Verbena ‘Peaches ’n’ Cream’) A spreading vervain with clusters of creamy pink-orange flowers in summer and autumn. Place hanging basket in full sun and keep it moist. H: 8in (20cm). Tropaeolum majus ‘Crimson Emperor’ Velvet burgundy flowers tumble from this semi-trailing nasturtium. The flowers are edible, so toss them onto summer salads. Prefers well-drained baskets in full sun. Can trail to 3ft 3in-6½ft (1-2m).

Nectar bedding for Tagetes ‘Cinnabar’ containers Cosmos bipinnatus Gorgeous copper-red ‘Xanthos’ single flowers rimmed This lovely cosmos has with gold are produced big daisy blooms the by this bushy marigold colour of primroses, throughout the summer above lacy foliage. and into autumn. Easy Makes a great cut to grow in well-drained flower. Grow in wellcontainers in full sun. drained containers in H: 2ft (60cm). sun and keep compost moist. H: 2ft (60cm).

Verbena bonariensis ‘Lollipop’ A compact form of the fashionable species, this throws up small clusters of nectar-rich purple flowers atop slender stems, from July to September. Likes well-drained pots in sun. H: 2ft (60cm). Glandularia (syn. Verbena) ‘Sissinghurst’ AGM This trailing vervain produces pink flowers throughout summer and autumn. Likes welldrained pots in sun. Deadhead and keep compost moist. H: 12in (30cm).

5 other ways to help garden wildlife

Butterflies need sun, so plant nectar flowers in a south or west-facing bed.

Bees like foraging on one flower type at once, so try edging a border with one nectar plant, like lavender.

Stop using chemicals. Prevent disease by enriching the soil instead.

Further reduce the need for chemicals by growing pest-resistant plants, such as nectar-rich nepeta and lavender.

Provide birds with shade and shelter in the form of shrubs and climbers, and put out fresh water in hot weather.

Grow pest-resistant plants, such as lavender

Plant a hanging basket

Sit the basket in a pot to keep it steady. Ensure the chains are outside the basket. Sit your basket on a

Line with plastic pot and cut slits in and moss from the the lining for plants lawn or coconut fibre. Make cuts for plants to grow through the sides.

Begin planting, adding compost as you go.