Suggestions for wildlife friendly annuals?

smoo · Apr 12, 2011

Hi everyone, I'd like to get some ideas for some good insect friendly annuals?
I want annuals because I'm not sure on my plans for my garden yet so don't want to commit to any long term plants but id like something to brighten up the garden in the meantime

My garden seems to have heavy clay soil, probably not in the best conditions being a new build area and it can get a bit windy but nothing too extreme, I also have a small area which gets the sun for a few hours a day from late morning until mid afternoon.

Basically looking for anything nectar rich for the bees and butterflies or even evening scented for the moths Id even happily have some in a container in which case anything goes as long as it can fit in a pot
Thanks in advance!

Marley Farley · Apr 12, 2011

Hi Smoo, I looked into this a few years ago now & my friend sent me this list which I used most...

List of Annual Flowers that will provide pollen and nectar.
Bear in mind that single-flowered forms are essential.
Kinds marked with an asterisk can be sown directly.
French Marigold, Tagetes patula single flowered forms only: 'Granada' or 'Naughty Marietta'.
Tobacco plant, Nicotiana alata; (not N. sylvestris); attracts moths.
*Calendula, single flowered forms. Can be sown direct. Very easy to grow.
*Candytuft, Iberis amara Best sown direct. Very easy to grow.
Sweet William , Dianthus barbatus. (Biennial; sow in June, will flower the following year).
*Alyssum, Lobularia maritima, esp. white forms. Can be sown direct. Very easy.
*Nasturtium, Tropaeolum majus, but only single flowered strains such as 'Empress of India
and 'Golden Gleam'. Best of all is to get seeds from a friend's garden from individual plants
that are being visited by bumblebees. Can be sown direct. Very easy.
Annual Scabious Scabiosa atropurpurea – excellent for bees and butterflies, but only the
single-flowered strains
Bee Sage, Agastache foeniculum 'Honey Bee Blue'. actually an aromatic perennial herb, can be
grown as an annual bedding plant from seed sown under glass in February. Insects love it.
Zinnias – choose varieties with single or semi-double flowers. Raise under glass.
Dahlias – grow single-flowered strains from seed, such as 'Coltness'. Raise under glass. Select
individual plants that prove popular with bees or butterflies, and save the roots for following
years.
*Wax Flower Cerinthe Likes a sunny spot and well-drained soil. Will seed itself around. First
named ‘wax flower’ by the Romans. So many bees visited it they thought that the bees
obtained wax from it. This plant is excellent for bumblebees and very easy to grow. Give it a
sunny spot and a starved soil.
The following are suitable for a flowering ‘cornfield mixture’ :
*Blue Cornflower, Centaurea cyanus, single-flowered form only. You may need to get the
seed from a specialist wildflower seed supplier (several on the internet) as seed of doubleflowered
forms only is normally sold in garden centres. Sow direct where it is to flower. Very
easy to grow and beautiful if massed.
*Flanders Poppy, Papaver Rhoeas. Must sow direct. Pastel coloured strains such as ‘Shirley
Poppies’ are fine so long as they are single-flowered.
*Larkspur, Consolida regalis. Hard to buy seeds of forms that have not been altered by
breeders, best to collect seeds from specimens being visited by bees in a friend's garden. Can
also be raised as a biennial from an autumn sowing if pot-grown, overwinted in a cold frame
and planted out the next spring. This give you bigger plants for a mixed border. Remember to
save your own seed from individual plants that the bumblebees visit the most.
*Fiddleneck Phacelia campanularia Grown as a vigorous ‘green manure’ crop by organic
gardeners, it is also highly attractive to bees. Sow direct where it is to flower.
*Mexican Hat Ratibida. Easy to grow, late summer daisy in mahogany/yellow. Sow direct.
*Annual Coreopsis - Coreopsis tinctoria, a prairie daisy in mahogany/yellow. Can be sown
direct.
Click to expand...

smoo · Apr 12, 2011

Oh wow thank you Marley! What an amazing list There's a few plants on there I was looking anyway which is great and now I can go and research all the others, thank you!

Marley Farley · Apr 12, 2011

A pleasure Smoo have fun & show us the results.... hap feet

Log in or Sign up

Suggestions for wildlife friendly annuals?

smoo Gardener

Marley Farley Affable Admin! Staff Member

smoo Gardener

Marley Farley Affable Admin! Staff Member

Galvanised Raised planters (suggestions who to buy from )

Suggestions for replacement of cedar tree

Suggestions for Pot Risers

Trough planting suggestions

Plant suggestions please

Share This Page

Log in or Sign up

Suggestions for wildlife friendly annuals?

smoo Gardener

Marley Farley Affable Admin! Staff Member

smoo Gardener

Marley Farley Affable Admin! Staff Member

Galvanised Raised planters (suggestions who to buy from )

Suggestions for replacement of cedar tree

Suggestions for Pot Risers

Trough planting suggestions

Plant suggestions please

Share This Page

Useful Searches