Plants for Pollinators

According to Biodiversity Ireland, around one third of our 98 bee species in Ireland are threatened with extinction by 2030. As well as pollinating about 78% of our wild flowers and keeping our landscapes beautiful and rich with colour, we need these pollinators to pollinate our fruit and vegetable plants – whether mass produced on a farm or growing in our back gardens.

I'm sure recently we have all come to love our open spaces just that little bit more (as well as, perhaps our food!). We can help our little pollinating friends help us, with some carefully considered planting in our gardens. For attracting bees for instance, it is important to choose flowers that are single and open, as many of our bees are unable to reach the pollen in double flowering plants. Purple flowers are particularly attractive to bees as they can see them more clearly.

It is also a good idea to have plants that will provide pollen from spring to autumn, rather than just the peak summer months. As a guide we have put together a selection of some of the best pollen-rich flowers you can plant in your garden to help our pollinators thrive and keep that all important biodiversity alive throught the seasons.