How to plant for pollinators.

Why pollinators need gardens

Pollinators include bumblebees, solitary bees, honey bees, butterflies, moths, hoverflies and even some beetles and wasps. Between them they pollinate much of what we grow and most of our wild flowers, but wild pollinators are in decline, largely because so many flower-rich meadows, hedges and verges have been lost.

That is where gardens come in. Out in the countryside the food supply is boom-and-bust, a glut of one crop then nothing. A garden, however small, can offer a steady, varied supply of nectar and pollen right through the year, which is exactly what pollinators are short of. Pick the right plants and you genuinely help.

The five things that matter most

You do not need a wildlife meadow or a special corner. These few principles matter far more than any single plant:

Plant for every season

The trick to a pollinator garden is succession: something worth visiting in every season. Queen bumblebees emerge as early as February and need spring flowers to raise their young; autumn insects need to build fat reserves before winter; and in mild spells even midwinter bumblebees come out to feed. Spread your choices across the year and you keep the table set.

Balconies, pots and small spaces

You do not need a garden at all. A balcony, doorstep or window box full of pots can be a genuine pollinator stop, especially in a town where flowers are scarce. Herbs like thyme, marjoram and chives, lavender, catmint, crocus and a single-flowered dahlia all do well in containers.

• Use peat-free potting compost and make sure every pot has drainage holes.
• Containers dry out fast, so water regularly in warm weather and feed through the flowering season, as there is little reserve in a pot.
• Make the most of the space by tiering pots, and adding window boxes, hanging baskets and a climber such as honeysuckle up a wall.
• On a balcony, keep an eye on weight: use lightweight pots and check what the structure can take.

Pollinators also need to drink. A shallow dish topped up with clean water and a few stones to land on helps them through dry spells.

Cut the grass less, leave a little mess

Cutting grass less often is one of the simplest ways to feed pollinators. Let a spring flush of daisies, dandelions and clover bloom, or mow some areas on a four-week rotation with the blades at 2.5 to 5cm, leaving longer patches and footpaths through them.

Shelter matters as much as food. Many bees nest in bare soil, hollow stems or holes in wood, and insects overwinter in long grass, leaf litter and the dead stems of perennials. So leave some corners untidy: a log or stone pile, a patch of nettles or bramble, standing seedheads over winter, and a length of hedge rather than a fence. A perfectly neat garden is a hungry one.

What to avoid

• Pesticides. They harm pollinators directly and remove the insects that keep pests in check. Pick pests off by hand, use barriers, and tolerate a little damage.
• Double and heavily bred flowers, which offer little or no accessible food.
• Invasive plants. A few pollinator favourites spread aggressively: choose non-invasive forms of buddleja, goldenrod and Michaelmas daisy, and never plant three-cornered garlic or few-flowered leek, which it is an offence to grow in the wild.

When you have chosen your plants, it is worth laying the bed or border out to scale first, in the free garden designer or on paper, so you can group the same flowers together and plan for colour and forage in every season. Our guide to planning a planting border goes into the layout in more detail.

Frequently asked questions