Planting for Pollinators - the exciting new Cumbria Local Nature Partnership project - has revealed some top tips to help get your gardens and outdoor spaces buzzing with life this Spring.
Planting for Pollinators project is a Cumbria Local Nature Partnership initiative delivered by Cumbria County Council, Cumbria Wildlife Trust, Cumbria Biodiversity Data Centre and local communities. The project aims to build on the work of the Get Cumbria Buzzing! project.
Outdoor spaces such as residential gardens, allotments and back yards cover an area larger than all of Britain’s National Nature Reserves combined. Whatever the size of your garden, your outdoor space can provide a lifeline for pollinating insects - whether you have a doorstep, a small yard or lawn, there are lots of simple ways to provide food, shelter and a nesting habitat for insects all year round.
Pollinating insects rely on flowers for nectar and pollen, so when you’re ‘planting for pollinators’, it’s important to try to offer nectar and pollen throughout the seasons.
A good place to start is filling in any seasonal gaps in your outdoor space. Where possible, try to opt for native plants as they best support pollinating insects, but garden plants can also help extend the flowering season and add variety to any display.
Winter-flowering plants can be really important for queen bumblebees as they start to emerge in late winter. Allowing your lawn, or areas of your lawn, to flower can provide low-growing pollinator favourites such as dandelions, daisies and white clover. If you don’t have a grassy space, regular plant pots and baskets can offer a superb habitat when planted with nectar and pollen-rich plants.
Pollinating insects can also be supported by providing them with a home. Leaving some wilder areas can offer bumblebees a nesting habitat, while areas of shorter grass or open ground creates a suitable nesting habitat for mining bees. Areas of uncut grass, offering grasses, nettles and other native wildflowers, can provide food plants for butterflies and moth caterpillars - the birds will thank you too!
Leaving some vegetation uncut can also provide a home for an array of insects to spend the winter in anticipation for Spring. Avoid the use of pesticides and instead provide these wilder areas that will attract natural pest controllers, such as wasps and ladybirds.
Cllr Celia Tibble, Cumbria County Council's Cabinet Member for the Environment, said:
“I am pleased to see this project progressing - these tips will help you to create a stimulating and sustainable environment in your garden for all sorts of wildlife - and as we look forward to Spring and the warmer weather, I am keen to attract a variety of new insects and wildlife to my own garden. My thanks to all involved in this fantastic partnership project.”
Charlotte Rankin, Planting for Pollinators Conservation Officer at Cumbria Wildlife Trust, said:
“Together, if we each do at least one thing for pollinators in our outdoor spaces, we can create habitat and offer corridors for insects across our urban areas and the wider landscape.”
Wildlife photos - credit Charlotte Rankin