How to attract bees and butterflies into your garden

How to attract bees and butterflies into your garden

Penny Haslam Gardening Guides

How to attract bees and butterflies to your garden. Take a moment to appreciate the graceful flutter of a butterfly or the busy buzz of a bee in your garden. These winged wonders are crucial to the vitality of our outdoor spaces.

Butterflies and bees serve as pollinators in nature, assisting in the dispersal of pollen for flower and plant reproduction. By embracing these insects in your garden, you can contribute to a thriving ecosystem.

They are significant indicators of environmental health. By providing a safe haven for them in your garden, you can support their survival and make a positive impact on the environment.

Hello fellow gardeners! Have you ever stopped to admire the beauty of a fluttering butterfly or the busy buzz of a bee in your garden? These winged wonders play a crucial role in the health and well-being of our outdoor spaces. Here are just a few reasons why it's important to attract butterflies and bees into your garden:  Pollination Power: Butterflies and bees are nature's pollinators, helping to spread the pollen that allows flowers and plants to reproduce. By inviting these insects into your garden, you can support a thriving ecosystem.  Garden Growth: These winged creatures feed on nectar and pollen, providing essential nutrients for your plants to grow and flourish.  Biodiverse Beauty: Attracting butterflies and bees to your garden can also increase the overall diversity of wildlife in your outdoor space, creating a healthy and balanced ecosystem.  Environmental Impact: Butterflies and bees are important indicators of the health of the environment. By creating a safe haven for them in your garden, you can help protect these species and make a positive impact on the environment.  So, what are you waiting for? Let's welcome these beautiful insects into our gardens and create a thriving ecosystem together!

Plant a variety of flowers including nectar rich varieties

Bees are attracted to a range of brightly colored flowers with simple shapes and easy-to-access nectar. Consider planting flowers like lavender, sunflowers, roses, clover, cosmos, geums, hellebores, buddleia.and mint. Buy plants for bees.

Butterflies are attracted to brightly colored flowers with easy-to-access nectar. Consider planting flowers like butterfly bush, zinnias, marigolds, buddleia, red valerian, verbena bonariensis, sedum, hebe, wild marjoram, common knapweed, hemp-agrimony and lantana. Shop plants for bees and butterflies

Gardening podcast ornamental grasses

Vote buddleia - Great for butterflies

Season 1: Episode 20

In this gardening podcast buddleia, Penny sets the world to rights while planting a buddleia. This plant is idea for attracting butterflies.

Provide a water source

Both bees and butterflies need water to survive, so placing a shallow dish filled with pebbles and water in your garden can help attract them.

Offer nesting sites for bees

Bees prefer to nest in hollow tubes or protected areas. You can provide this by placing bee houses or blocks of untreated wood in your garden.

Offer host plants for butterflies

Many species of butterflies lay their eggs on specific plants that their larvae feed on. Consider planting native plants like milkweed, fennel, and parsley to attract butterflies to your garden.

Avoid using pesticides

Pesticides can be harmful to bees and other pollinators. Instead, consider using natural pest control methods, like companion planting or handpicking pests off plants.

Provide a warm place to rest for bees

Bees are attracted to warm areas in the sun. Placing rocks in a sunny area of your garden can give bees a place to rest and warm up.

Provide shelter for butterflies

Butterflies need protection from wind and rain. Consider adding evergreen shrubs, rocks, or other structures to your garden to provide them with a place to rest and hide.