If you were lucky enough to have been at Pam Merrick's talk on summer pollinators you will have gathered lots of information about how to make our gardens as pollinator-friendly as possible. Planting in drifts helps insects; less travel - less energy used.
Discussions after a fascinating evening. Photo Carol SharpPam also gave us valuable lists of plants, plus startling facts about the numbers of different pollinators; 1500 is a conservative estimate. There are around 240 species of solitary bees, 27 bumblebees and just 1 species of honeybee, plus 59 species of butterflies. Then of course there are hoverflies, moths, beetles and many others. It was a fascinating and engaging talk with lots of ideas to make our gardens beautiful to ourselves and valuable to pollinators of all sorts. Thanks to Pam for such a great evening, and to all those who helped with our excellent refreshments.
Pam's lists, which include plants favoured by the different pollinators, are available here:
Plants for Pollinators information sheet
Pollinator Information - Mick Finnemore
