Pollinator Habitats in the Garden

For Christmas I received a bee and bug hotel as a gift from a friend, and finally got out this week to place it in the garden. At Christmas I also created a pollinator planter with many bulbs that were meant to come up throughout the spring, but sadly with the cold and hungry wildlife, they struggled to get going and flower this year. So, I have added a few new plants to the planter (Scabious and Knapweed, both of which are great for pollinators and will flower in the summer) and popped the hotel in there as well to provide some extra habitat for the pollinators. The bamboo holes are great for solitary bees and the pinecones at the top are perfect for small insects to make a home in. I am going to place this in a sunny, south facing position in my garden so that the hotel is warm enough for the bees.

We also had some old logs and sticks left over from having to remove a poorly tree last year, which I have piled up along the side of the garden for insects to use. It’s not just great for the insects though, I am noticing the robins and wrens hopping along the logs looking for an insect or two for dinner. I love that it is benefiting not only pollinating insects but other wildlife too.