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  • Home
    • News >
      • The Flourishing Garden
      • Bee Cafe Planters
      • Chelsea Blog
    • Sign up
    • Shops and shows
    • Contact us
  • Visit
    • Garden area >
      • The Garden Flower Beds
  • Shop online
    • Delivery information
  • Our Plants
    • Bedding and Annuals >
      • Hanging Baskets
    • Perennials
    • Shrubs >
      • Conifers
    • Bulbs
    • Trees
    • Hedging
    • Fruit & Veg
    • Roses >
      • Rose pruning
    • Shade plants >
      • Ferns
    • Herbs
    • Lavenders
    • Alpines
    • Grasses
    • Climbers >
      • Clematis pruning
  • Flourish
    • Flourish flashback
    • Flourish terms conditions
  • About
    • Gallery
    • Trade services
    • Garden services
    • Nursery production
    • Environment
    • History
  • Advice
    • Garden tips
    • Planting Themes
    • Videos
    • Slug proof
    • Rabbit proof
    • Deer proof
    • Plants for shade
    • North-facing walls
    • Dry & sandy soil
    • Coastal sites
    • Exposed sites
    • Clay soil
    • Damp soil
    • Plants for slopes
    • Plants for pots
    • Evergreen perennials
    • Long flowering perennials
    • Plants for ground cover
    • Flowers for cutting
    • Plants for butterflies
    • Plants for birds
    • Plants for predatory insects
    • Plants for Pollinators

DESIGNER BED: Bumblebee Banquet

'Bumblebee Banquet' is the sixth installation in the Designer Bed, designed by  Katie's Garden's Catherine McMillan, author of Gardening for the Uncommitted: What You Really Need To Know When You Don't Really Want To Know.


“This garden has been inspired by the Bumblebee Banquet collections we sell online every spring, beefed up with Early Pollinator Perennials!

Although many bees are only active for the warmer months, the bumblebees are out looking for pollen and nectar for much of the year.
 
The design showcases the wide variety of plants you can use to help them kept fed and healthy until the gardening season 'proper' arrives.

As a big bonus these plants also provide much-needed colour, fragrance and general cheer for us gardeners to enjoy!”

Installed in mid-February 2023, the design is bright and colourful to counteract the gloomy overcast days we often experience in the earlier part of the year.

Low-growers and ground cover predominate - longer daylight hours and higher temperatures are needed for plants to grow tall - although a small number of shrubs provide some height and substance, as does the central archway complete with winter hanging baskets.

Many of the plants that flower in winter and early spring are also fragrant, all the better to attract the attentions of any pollinators in the area, a wonderful benefit for us gardeners too!

A mix of bulbs provide a succession of blooms for the bees, from early Crocus, through Hycainths and Muscari grape hyacinths on to Alliums for late spring, among others.

They are complemented by carefully selected Violas, Primroses and Polyanthus: some types and colours are sterile so we have tried to focus on those best for pollinators.

Perennials include Hellebores, Pulmonaria, Vinca periwinkle, Bergenia elephant's ears, Erica heather and Euphorbia which should again provide a succession of blooms from late winter through to late spring.

Click to download the on-site handout featuring planting list
designer_bed_bumblebee_banquet_handout.pdf
File Size: 1471 kb
File Type: pdf
Download File

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