pollinator-friendly plants

Create a nectar rich haven for butterflies, hoverflies, and bees with our pollinator-friendly plants.

We have a huge selection of butterfly and bee-friendly plants that are perfect for filling borders, planting in pots, or lining paths. Choose from lavenders, verbenas, and honeysuckles and enjoy their scent whilst helping to provide a rich source of nectar for passing pollinators.

Make sure to plant a good succession of these pollinator-friendly plants so your garden can provide bees and butterflies with a food source throughout the year.

Use this guide to discover our top pollinator-friendly plants. Simply click on each image to find the product on our website.

COSMOS purity

TYPE : Half-Hardy Annual

SPECIES : Bipinnatus

ASPECT: Full sun

FLOWERS : July-October

SOIL: Moist but well-drained

HEIGHT : 90cm (36”)

SPREAD : 24cm (18”)

Large, open flowers of pure white, with delicate apple-green foliage. The classic cut flower and a supremely lovely garden plant, which no one should be without.

CULTIVATION : Best sown under cover in April but can be direct sown in May. Grow seedlings on in individual pots or modules until large enough to plant out. Gradually harden off before planting out after all risk of frost has passed.

CARE TIP : Pinch out tips at 15-20cm to encourage bushier plants. Stake and tie Cosmos plants if necessary during the growing season, water regularly and dead-head to prolong the flowering season.

Other Popular Varieties

A NGELICA gigas 2

TYPE : Perennial

SPECIES : Gigas

ASPECT: Part shade

FLOWERS : May-July, the following year (and up until December for the seedpods)

SOIL: Moist but well-drained

HEIGHT: 1.8m (6ft)

SPREAD : 1.2m (4ft)

One of my favourite plants, with aromatic flower heads, and loved by bees, butterflies, and birds. Perfect for the back of the border as a cut flower.

CULIVATION : Plant out once roots have filled a small pot in soil improved with compost or well-rotted manure.

CARE TIPS : Grow angelica in moist soil in partial shade. Mulch annually with well-rotted manure or compost. May need support.

ASTER X mönch

A lovely blue variety which grows quickly and easily, with good mildew resistance. Very long-flowering.

TYPE : Perennial

SPECIES : x frikartii

ASPECT: Full sun

FLOWERS : July-October

SOIL: Moist but well-drained

HEIGHT : 60cm (24”)

SPREAD : 45cm (18”)

CARE TIPS : Pinch in midsummer to encourage a great flowering season. Most asters will need dividing every fourth year to maintain vigour which is best done in spring as new growth starts.