Plants to attract butterflies and bees?

[Oxfordnono12]

I'm looking for plants, trees and bushes for my garden. I would like to attract many of beautiful bees and butterflies etc into the garden.

What would be be best to plant? When should I plant? Thanks

Buddleia (butterfly bush)
Hebe
Echinacea (cone flowers)
Annuals, eg cosmos
Maybe some wildflower seeds
An evergreen hedge, if possible, for wildlife & birds

I have all of those and they are covered in butterflies and bees all summer long

Not sure about trees. What size is the garden?

You can plant potted plants anytime, as long as the ground isn't frozen, or bare rooted in winter

Thank you for your reply. I'll look into getting these!
It's a pretty big garden. I'd like a plot just for the wildlife and insects. Any suggestions are welcome.

Salvia hotlips
Lavenders

Could I plant any of these in pots or windowboxes? I don’t have a garden but would like to plant something on my terrace in pots.

And catmint is another brilliant bee friendly plant

Yes to salvias (sages) the common ones last forever with a bit of pruning and the insects adore them. Marigolds are gorgeous , they self seed beautifully. Honeysuckles are easy too.

I have laurels which don't turn me on but the bees etc. are thick on the flowers (which you can hardly see), So I keep them. (I have a wildlife garden with no nasty sprays etc. It has been organic for many years and the number of butterflies\bumble bees etc. have really grown

Oh and ivy I use as ground cover to encourage the hedgehogs which in their turn eat the slugs and snails.

Holly is a feed plant for holly blue butterflies and bees love the flowers. Flowering currents are good as an early source of nectar for bumblebees.

We planted a large 5m x 3m bee friendly bed last year. We've included salvia, echinecea, alliums, bee balm (monarda) I personally found the Cirsium to be the biggest success and we still have a few flowering plants!

Cotoneaster shrubs are always covered in bees in summer.

Nasturtiums are great for butterflies, you can easily grow them from seed. If you have an airing cupboard you can help seeds to germinate by putting seeds on a damp piece of kitchen paper, in a plastic bag, for a couple of days. You can make little pots from toilet paper inners (fold the bottom to make a flat base), add compost, seed or seedlings. Start them indoors and out them outside in a few months after the last Friday. They'll be happy in the ground or in a pot.

Thank you everyone for taking the time to post. I appreciate it. I'm looking forward to getting planting!

This tool allows you to search for plants and see how bumblebee (& pollinator) friendly they are :-) beekind.bumblebeeconservation.org

So many typos- sorry!

Nasturtiums are great for butterflies, you can easily grow them from seed. If you have an airing cupboard you can help seeds to germinate by putting seeds on a damp piece of kitchen paper, in a plastic bag, for a couple of days. You can make little pots from toilet paper inners (fold the bottom to make a flat base), add compost, seeds or seedlings. Start them indoors and put them outside in a few months after the last frost. They'll be happy in the ground or in a pot.

Yes it's a bit over optimistic to expect much luck from flower seeds at this time of the year ,esp. with the weather pattern at the moment. Unless you have a very sheltered south facing area in your garden , and you have time to water with rainwater in the dry times. (oh and don't allow sitting water on them) also have covering against the cats and birds!

Californian lilac (Ceanothus) is a bee favourite in my garden and I think it looks beautiful, I've planted loads of it!

I love Ceanothus, but it doesn't love my garden The soil is to chalky I think.

Never mind Buddleia is very happy here and I've managed to have taken cuttings successfully too!! There was a swallow tailed zebra striped butterfly on it for one year, it was fantastic.

Mahonia. An evergreen spiky shrub with yellow flowers. Bees use it for winter pollen.
Sunflowers and teasel in the summer. And keep the dried, dead seed heads up for months because the birds will eat them in the depths of winter.

I have a dog rose in the garden which is always absolutely smothered in bees ...it has pink flowers and an amazing turkish delight smell, rosey, but NOT old lady rose waft

The bees get in the flowers and make the most excited happy zizzzing noises and then fly off to another flower to do it all over again....I love to sit and listen to them!

Oh yes I 2nd sunflowers and keeping their seed heads, the birds just LOVE them. I leave the flowers on the lavender for the seeds. They also love cotoneaster berries.

Loads of good advice on here, I'd add a couple of tips;
Aim to have something flowering all season, this means there won't be a time when pollinators have no food.
Go for flowers which are simple looking, ie not hybrids that have lots and lots of petals on one flower - these are confusing for bees as the pollen and nectar is well hidden
Have some wild undisturbed areas of the garden, with general garden debris like sticks, logs and leaves in it. After a while you may get hedgehogs or bumblebee nests there. You can also buy wild bee homes, but they are just as good homemade.

Posts where people really care about pollinators make me happy thank you!

You can get a bee friendly mix in most garden centres. My husband sowed them in the beds we wanted to keep natural. They were amazing! So high and full of colours!

Buddleia....Lavender.....Plant these everywhere you are able. Verbena Bonariensis outside a window. You can see through them so it doesn’t spoil the view, it actually enhances it as you see purple blooms and pollinators. Dandylions....I know, a weed, but great for pollinators, as is the Nettle. Rosemary ................... I am a self employed gardener.... Does anyone have any advice on the best way to advertise? I really would appreciate a point in the right direction:-)

How you garden can make a huge difference. Be really careful about your use of weedkiller and of course pesticides, and keep an eye out for what local plants are covered in insects. Don't mow your lawn so often and remember that weeds like dandelions are very important. Plants that provide pollen and nectar in the winter (pulmonaria, mahonia, winter honeysuckle) can be very valuable so early emerging bumblebee queens can feed. Avoid double flowers as they often don't have accessible nectar and pollen. Think about providing shelter too.

Yes Uma I have not used ANY nasty weed killers or fungicides etc. on my garden for 15 years, the number of beneficial insects has grown amazingly over the years. Oddly there are far fewer slugs and snails now, we have hedgehogs, which I assume eat them!!

I have seen toads too.