Wildlife garden: Top 10 plants to attract bees and other pollinators

A great all-rounder, lavender is hardy, smells delicious and looks beautiful all year round. Plant it along a pathway so it releases its heavenly scent as you walk by, where you can enjoy it as well as the bees and the butterflies.

The single or semi-doubled flowered varieties are best, because double flowers tend to be bred without pollen-producing parts. Other varieties have too many petals, making it difficult for bees to find the bounty. Simple dahlias are hardy and low-maintenance plants for pollinators.

Erysimum cheiri (common wallflower) are like small shrubs, flowering during spring and summer. Many varieties have strong, sweet scents, making them perfect for edging pathways. They also make a fantastic addition to a cottage garden.

This plant is actually a Mediterranean herb, with lovely star-shaped blue flowers that pollinating insects love. The soft green foliage adds some interesting texture to your garden and the plant self-seeds, so it is low maintenance.

The quintessential British cottage garden plant, foxgloves have bell-shaped flowers that are popular with bees. They are also well-known for being one of the few flowering plants that grow happily in a shaded spot.

Long flowering and available in loads of different styles and colours, there are many with great scents like the chocolate cosmos. Blooming from late summer into autumn, they’ll provide beautiful colour as well as attract pollinators.

These plants have elegant, feathery blooms, usually in a pale lavender or cream colour. They are full of nectar, and insects including moths and butterflies love them. Looking great in any bed or border, by cutting the stems back after flowering, they will carry on producing for months on end.

A tall plant that grows up to 2.5 metres, much loved by pollinators. The tall, strong flower heads bear masses of tiny purple blooms from summer to autumn. They would look striking in a city or courtyard garden.

A vibrant summer bedding plant that will greet you with bright, fiery flowers and aromatic leaves. Varieties with open centres make it easier for pollinating insects to reach the pollen.

Better known as oregano, this is another herb that pollinators adore. If it is left to grow freely, they produce tiny, delicate flowers in pink or white shades. The spiky, protruding stamen that offers the pollen freely, makes them a great choice for pollinators.