Wildlife Friendly Plant Photographs
Here are a few wildlife friendly plant photographs taken in our garden. Click on individual photos to enlarge.
Our aim is to grow a succession of flowering plants that produce pollen and nectar for bees, butterflies and other insects all year. The most difficult time of year to find flowering plants is during the winter. There are however a few really good plants widely available, including Mahonia and Cirrhossa Freckles. Both of these plants flower throughout the winter from early January right through to March. Aconites and Snowdrops are also excellent plants to grow and flower as early as mid-January if the winter has been mild.
All the plants shown below provide much needed food for foraging bees and insects that venture out on mild winter days. We've seen Honey Bees and wild Bumble Bees feeding on all the winter flowering plants listed below.
Winter Flowering Plants
Flowering between December and February.
Our aim is to grow a succession of flowering plants that produce pollen and nectar for bees, butterflies and other insects all year. The most difficult time of year to find flowering plants is during the winter. There are however a few really good plants widely available, including Mahonia and Cirrhossa Freckles. Both of these plants flower throughout the winter from early January right through to March. Aconites and Snowdrops are also excellent plants to grow and flower as early as mid-January if the winter has been mild.
All the plants shown below provide much needed food for foraging bees and insects that venture out on mild winter days. We've seen Honey Bees and wild Bumble Bees feeding on all the winter flowering plants listed below.
Winter Flowering Plants
Flowering between December and February.
Spring Flowering Plants
Flowering between March and May.
Spring heralds the first big explosion of nectar rich flowers of the year. A few of the best in our garden include those shown below. Also important are all the Spring bulbs, such as daffodils and tulips which are dotted throughout the garden. Pleasing on the eye fruit trees and bushes such as apples, pears, plums, gooseberries and blueberries provide an abundance of blossom in our garden, but just as importantly are packed with pollen and nectar which is essential for bees, butterflies and other insects.
Flowering between March and May.
Spring heralds the first big explosion of nectar rich flowers of the year. A few of the best in our garden include those shown below. Also important are all the Spring bulbs, such as daffodils and tulips which are dotted throughout the garden. Pleasing on the eye fruit trees and bushes such as apples, pears, plums, gooseberries and blueberries provide an abundance of blossom in our garden, but just as importantly are packed with pollen and nectar which is essential for bees, butterflies and other insects.
Summer Flowering Plants
Flowering between June and August.
Summer brings the biggest variety of nectar-rich plants in our garden which the local bees, butterflies and insects rely upon. Food is in abundnace and the days are long and this is when they spend hours foraging amongst the flowers. For honey bees this is the time of year to collect as much nectar and pollen as they can to turn into honey to feed them through the winter.
Flowering between June and August.
Summer brings the biggest variety of nectar-rich plants in our garden which the local bees, butterflies and insects rely upon. Food is in abundnace and the days are long and this is when they spend hours foraging amongst the flowers. For honey bees this is the time of year to collect as much nectar and pollen as they can to turn into honey to feed them through the winter.
Autumn Flowering Plants
Flowering between September and November.
As the days shorten this is the final time of the year for honey bees to build up reserves for the winter. For birds autumnal fruit and berries provide a valuable food source. Pyracantha, Crab Apple and Mountain Ash which were all covered in flowers in the Spring for the bees, are in Autumn laden with berries for the birds.
Flowering between September and November.
As the days shorten this is the final time of the year for honey bees to build up reserves for the winter. For birds autumnal fruit and berries provide a valuable food source. Pyracantha, Crab Apple and Mountain Ash which were all covered in flowers in the Spring for the bees, are in Autumn laden with berries for the birds.