Annuals for wildlife
One of the best things about having a garden packed with annual flowers is that it's also full of wildlife. Butterflies, bees and other pollinating insects like hoverflies adore open annual flowers: birds will be hot on their heels after the big, generous seedheads.
Here's our pick of the three best varieties from the range in our garden centre to attract wildlife like butterflies, bees and birds into your Emersons Green garden.
Annuals for butterflies
- Marigolds (Calendula officinalis): cheery orange flowers which butterflies adore
- Honesty (Lunaria annua): lots of simple, open pink or white flowers butterflies can reach easily
- Stocks (Matthiola): the scent of these cottage-garden favourites attracts butterflies in from miles around
Annuals for bees
- Phacelia tanacetifolia: fuzzy smoke-blue flowers on dense foliage that bees find irresistible
- Cornflowers (Centaurea cyanus): choose native blue types, and they'll be smothered in bees
- Forget-me-not (Myosotis): these late-spring arrivals provide much-needed early nectar for emerging bees
Annuals for birds
- Sunflowers (Helianthus annuus): leave old sunflower heads in place for upside-down bluetits to feast on
- Love-in-a-mist (Nigella damascena): architectural seedheads provide valuable food for birds
- Teasels (Dipsacus fullonum): biennial, flowering in its second year, goldfinches adore spiky teasel heads
Please ask the staff in our Emersons Green garden centre for more information and advice about choosing annuals to attract wildlife.
