What plants and flowers are best to attract bees and butterflies?

my Phlox also attracts the butterflies.

 

Cant go wrong with Verbena bonariensis, bees and butterflies love them, cheap to buy, adds height, long flowering season and can be used as cut flowers.

 

Bees also absolutely love the flowers of Cotoneaster, Symphoricarpos (Snowberry) and Ceanothus, also on the favourite list are raspberry flowers and then you get to eat the berries

Butterflies like Verbena bonariensis, Sedums, Echinacea, but they're also attracted to foliage plants like Ivy, Holly and patches of Nettles. I bit of a google search will identify each British butterfly's favourite food plant for its caterpillars, plant these and you'll stand a better chance of attracting them into your garden

 

If you have the room, wild flower selections are good. Most garden centres offer types and mixes to suit the wildlife you want to attract. Bees love clover!

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Bees are in trouble largely due to the neonic insecticides. The two year ban has stupidly been lifted by the government. All the above suggestions are good but bees are in particular need of the nectar in the autumn and early spring, when they are less active but on those mild days when the do emerge they need something to forage on. In my garden they are still feeding on lavender, verbena bonariensis, sedum, escallonia, hebe, scabius and catmint on mild days.