Saving the small things that run the planetBuglife collaborated with Hayley Herridge, the Pollinator Gardener, to create the B-Lines Garden which was featured at this year’s Hampton Court Palace Garden Festival, 2-7 July 2024.
This pollinator paradise promotes ‘B-Lines’, a network of ‘insect pathways’ stretching across the UK that will in time provide corridors of nectar-rich habitat for bees and other pollinators. Bursting with wildflowers and ornamentals, the garden reveals how any space can contribute to the network increasing flower abundance and habitat for bee resilience.
Ribbons of Salvia nemorosa ‘Caradonna’ weave across the garden, while a bee friendly mosaic structure incorporates drought tolerant plants such as Berkheya purpurea (Purple Berkheya), Daucus carota (Wild Carrot) and to more typical herbaceous mixed border style planting with plants such as foxglove, oregano and clover. Sculptural bee towers, cob nesting material and bare ground add essential nesting habitat for an array of bee species.
The garden was sponsored by Buglife and the London Buzzing project and will be relocated to communities in London including one at the Tabard Community Allotment and the second on the Tyson Road Estate linking the Devonshire Road Nature Reserve and Horniman Museum gardens.
A British native that grows well in a garden context, large pale yellow flowers attract bees and butterflies.
Image Credit: je_wyer (Flickr CC BY 2.0)
A drought-tolerant garden ‘must have’ for a bee garden. Providing pollen and nectar and an excellent source of nesting material for the beautiful Wool Carder Bee (Anthidium manicatum), which will utilise the hairs on the leaves to line its egg cells.
Image Credit: saiberiac (Flickr, CC by 2.0 Deed)
No wildlife garden would be complete without umbellifers. The large clusters of flat white umbels of Wild Carrot provide for a broad range of pollinators such as beetles, flies, wasps and small solitary bees.
Image Credit: Mike Prince (Flickr, CC by 2.0 Deed)
An important wild plant in the British landscape providing food for around 130 invertebrate species. It is a great addition to a wildlife garden and just as at home in a garden border as a meadow. Look out for foraging Red-tailed Bumblebee workers on this plant, providing a typical summer scene.
Image Credit: John Pilkington (Flickr, CC by 2.0 Deed)
A lovely salvia with upright busy habit loved by bees and other pollinators and a good tolerance to drought once established.
Image Credit: F. D. Richards (Flickr, CC BY-SA 2.0)
A newcomer to garden design, Hayley is an ecologically focussed designer aiming to create immersive yet functional spaces which will provide clients with a deeper sense of connection with the natural world. Using her background in invertebrate conservation to drive design ideas, her planting choice reflects an interest in selecting plants with a range of beneficial qualities from boosting biodiversity to climate resilience, culinary and medicinal uses and a strong design aesthetic. Having recently set up a business called The Pollinator Gardener, Hayley is currently studying Garden and Landscape Design at the Eden Project, Cornwall and aims to offer a full planting and garden design service in the near future.
Follow Hayley on Instagram @the_pollinator_gardener or on X @hayleyherridge.
Email: [email protected]
Right Image Credit: Lauren Wiig
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