Sparing a thought for the pollinators

Other than marigolds and sunflowers, in terms of the flowers I’m growing this year – I’m giving something back to our pollinators.

Pollination is very important, not just in regular gardens but also for vegetable gardens too. Plants like courgettes, squashes and cucumbers need pollinating to ensure for a successful creation of fruit. Bees, butterflies and other beneficial insects will pollen from a flower’s male sexual organ, otherwise known as the stamen with another flower’s female sexual organ called the stigma – which saves you a job.

I always like to grow at least one or two flowers – but I’m quite self serving in that respect, for instance I grow marigolds because I know they help to keep whitefly and black fly at bay.

And I grow sunflowers because they look good.

This year, Thompson and Morgan sent me a gift of Beneficial Flowers – Perfect for Pollinators – which I’ve not hesitated to use.

This was sent to me before COVID-19 took hold, and I’m really glad because I haven’t time to think about any bedding plants that I’d like to try and grow.

This box is rich with the seeds of 40 annual and perennial plants that known to help honeybees and other insects, which in turn also helps with providing a habitat and food source to other small visitors.

An annual plant that experiences a life cycle from germination to seed production and then dies. A perennial plant that can come back each year. I’ve sown these in pots, and in hanging baskets and kept well watered, it’s taken around 7-10 days to germinate.

There’s an element of surprise involved, because I don’t know what plants are going to grow, so let’s wait and see.

Now, full disclosure… The above sounds like a bit of sales piece, but it’s really not. Thompson and Morgan sent this as a no strings gift “to recognise the hard work you do with your blog.”

I thought I’d just share my thoughts and let you know about something new I’m trying out 🙂

I’d love to know what beneficial species of plants you grow in your green space, and why you grow them in the comments below.