How the Blue Halo Garden became a ‘bug beacon’ at Badminton

A blog by Buglife Digital Officer, Beccy Mersh, following a visit to the inaugural RHS Badminton Flower Show and the award-winning Buglife-sponsored Blue Halo Garden. 

On Wednesday 8 July, three of the Buglife team arrived at the very first Royal Horticultural Society Flower Show to be held in the stunning parklands of Badminton Estate in Gloucestershire. 

Not only was it exciting to be at the latest flower show by the same organisers of the world-renowned Chelsea Flower Show, but we were also thrilled to be there in support of the team behind the brilliantly bug-friendly (and award-winning) Buglife: Blue Halo Garden.  

This pocket garden’s floral and sculptural display was designed by mother-daughter duo Natalya Scott and Lucie Dannemann-Scott to illustrate the clever methods plants use to attract pollinators; and as if to prove a point, the garden was teeming with insects!

So, let’s take a closer look at how the Blue Halo pulled in so many pollinators, and what they loved the most.

Do flowers speak to bugs?

Well, in a sciencey way, yes!  

The goal of a plant is simple: to set seed and ensure the next generation, and producing flowers to attract pollinators is one way to do this. But while we humans simply see a pretty bloom, there are hidden signals that go undetected by the naked eye. This is a special language meant for the bugs. 

That’s the fascinating premise behind the Buglife: Blue Halo Garden, which symbolises these signals through the garden’s design. 

Blue ‘halo’ signposts 

Insects see colour differently to humans and are highly sensitive to blue and ultraviolet light. For plants, producing blue pigment is energy-taxing, so instead some use microscopic ridges on their flower petals, and leaves, that scatter light. This creates a shimmering blue/UV “halo” that acts like a glowing neon sign for pollinators.  

Hot centres to stay warm 

Insects are cold-blooded and rely on the temperature of their surrounding environment to warm up, to help them go about their business.  The middle of a flower provides an excellent basking pad, so many flowers concentrate their heat here, providing a desirable ‘hot centre’. 

Which plants were the biggest hit with the bugs? 

Within the first hour of arriving at the Blue Halo Garden, we snapped these photos. 

Bees and butterflies couldn’t get enough of these lilac, spikey Eryngium. 

And clearly the pull of purple was strong… 

Bumblebees love to wriggle up into tubular-shaped flowers to collect the nectar at the top, as this Common Carder (Bombus pascuorum) is about to do on the Penstemon ‘Heavenly Blue’. 

Being beside the lake, the garden also encouraged more water-loving invertebrates to join us. Such as this Black-tailed Skimmer Dragonfly (Orthetrum cancellatum) on the Nepeta ‘Kit Kat’, and the Common Blue Damselfly (Enallagma cyathigerum) that enjoyed resting on the Salvia nemerosa. 

There was a buzz about the flame colours too, which were planted to represent the “hot centre” of a plant. The broad umbrella-like structure of Achillea flowers provided a perfect basking pad for this Red-sided Parasite Fly (Eriothrix rufomaculatus).  

Meanwhile, tucked beneath a metal butterfly sculpture was a small and very real butterfly, the Meadow Brown (Maniola jurtina), perched on the large, striking flowers of the Echinacea ‘Orange Passion’. 

Can I plant these at home? 

Yes! If this garden has inspired you, the good news is that these plants (or similar varieties) are available from UK garden centres and/or nurseries. You should find these plants aren’t very fussy either, with most happy planted in a sunny spot with free-draining soil.  

Use peat-free compost and where possible, buy locally grown potted plants. Keep an eye out when plant shopping, as many non-native invertebrate species are accidentally imported in potted plants and can compete with or predate native species – you can read more about this on our PotWatch page. 

A full planting list [pdf] from the Blue Halo Garden is available, but here’s a quick run-through of some of our favourites: 

• Achillea: you may know it as ‘Yarrow’ – sun-loving and drought-tolerant, it offers insects flowers into late summer, and retains its structure in winter, which provides shelter. 
• Agapanthus: also called ‘Lily of the Nile’ – a cluster of flowers atop a long stem, available in blue, white and pink. It’s hardy and pretty low maintenance, returning year after year. 
• Lobelia ‘Hadspen Purple’: this variety is great for low-maintenance wildlife gardens, growing tall and flowering each year with bright, rich purple flowers. 
• Echinacea: big, chunky, daisy-like flowers – available in many colours for a bold statement. 
• Eryngium: looks like a thistle – won’t mind poor soil as long as it’s not waterlogged. 
• Salvia nemerosa: often called ‘Woodland Sage’, it’s a hardy perennial that can handle UK winters and returns the following year. 

What did we think of RHS Badminton? 

If you have been to an RHS flower show before, then you’ll likely know the format. Expect grouped garden installations, trade stands and a central pavilion with floral displays and plants for sale. Badminton was much the same, but the grounds were beautiful, as we were set up beside a lake, overlooking the mansion. 

Gardens are – as with other shows – entered into competition categories, and we were so pleased to learn that the Blue Halo Garden was awarded a Silver Gilt for the Pocket Garden Category – well done Natalya and Lucie!  

The competition was fierce, and there were several nature-focused and pollinator-friendly gardens on display – all inspiring us to do more for the small things running the planet! Read all about RHS Badminton medal winners on their website.  

Overall, visiting an RHS show is an experience, and it’s worth attending if you’re looking for inspiration. Many seasoned visitors bring a pull-along trolley, packed with a picnic and room for purchases – a very good idea we wish we thought of! 

If you are looking for more bug-friendly ideas for your garden, check out our Gardening for Bugs section, full of tips and resources.