Planting for insects

If you want to keep your garden buzzing with a variety of beneficial insects all summer long, plant a range of nectar-rich flowers, says Anne Swithinbank

- Anne Swithinbank

BY choosing nectar-rich plants, we can help a wide range of insects find their energy-rich food. This easy decision fills gardens with a wide range of colourful and fragrant blooms all year round.

For me, the success of a garden is not just about form, colour and perfume, as the whole plot should pulse with life, from microbes in the soil to crawling and flying invertebrates, amphibians, birds and mammals. An important step lies in choosing nectar-rich plants to attract pollinating insects, such as moths, bees, hoverflies, butterflies and beetles.

Those of us who recall car number plates and windscreens splattered with dead insects in the 1960s and ’70s will note this does not happen now. In 2017 a German study that had been measuring the biomass of flying insects in 63 nature reserves revealed a drop of 76% over 27 years. This is a huge loss of these small but important creatures that pollinate our crops and feed other wildlife.

Helping insects in our gardens creates a balance by keeping pest numbers under control. Increasing the number of pollinators also means a better set on our fruit trees and runner beans. With their different life cycles, habits and tongues of varying lengths, insects seek a range of flower shapes and opening times. So plant for pollinators and you will have a garden packed with year-round flowers, filling your world with colour, fragrance and life.

Make insects welcome

There is no garden too small for attracting winged pollinators. A windowbox kept topped up with nectar-rich plants will soon be alive with visiting bees and hoverflies. To make insects welcome, improve their habitat by not using pesticides, provide cover from weather and predators, food for larvae, a water source and undisturbed nooks and crannies for nests.

Secret of success