Greetings Cards: Springtime Blooms

When you think of spring, which flowers come to mind? We all welcome the arrival of the first, bright-yellow daffodils and the elegant shapes of a springtime tulip, but have you ever considered, when selecting your garden bulbs in the autumn months, which ones will have the most benefit to our pollinators?

Long before people got into gardening for pleasure, most of our bulb flowers were being visited by pollinators. However, this is not the case today; modern hybrids selected to dazzle the human eye become devoid of use to pollinators. Flowers that have been played about with, may have less nectar, or even worse, none at all. Hybridisation can also affect a flower’s scent, leaving aroma-sensing pollinators (like nocturnal moths) without the sweet pollen, that they so desire.

When we try to improve the way a flower might look for our own pleasure, we disrupt the vital role it plays in nature. Insects and flowers have an important relationship directly related to the flower’s form. If it changes drastically, certain insects may no longer be able to reach the nectar. Because of this, avoid buying highly modified ‘double’ or ‘triple’ (extra-petaled) flowers that will stop a pollinator’s ability to feed.

By choosing an unhybridised species, the flower retains its natural benefits and our insects can go about doing what they do best - pollinating and making food for themselves.

Other beneficial spring bulbs include:

Crocus, Snakes Head fritillaria, English bluebells, Hyacinths, Muscari (grape hyacinths), Anemone nemerosa, Cyclamen coum, Scilla siberica, Winter aconites and Galanthus (snowdrops).

These are all loved by bumblebees, honey bees and solitary bees, plus our hibernating species of butterfly like peacocks, small tortoiseshells and commas.