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Top tip!
Don’t let your baskets dry
out! As with all container
gardening, watering is
key as plants don’t have access to
ground water. A fine soil/peat-free
compost mix is best to retain water,
while adding water-retaining gel
crystals can also be a useful way to
prevent water stress.

It can be fun to
Bee friendly hanging baskets experiment to find out @
what makes the best
bee-friendly basket
Encouraging pollinators into your garden and watching them enjoy the flowers you and we would love to hear from our
have grown is a source of great satisfaction. If you are limited on space or have a members who have created their own
paved area, container gardening can help you make the most of it. One container buzzing baskets. So please feel free
which you definitely don’t need any ground space for, is the hanging basket. to get in touch with your experiences
and suggestions at membership@
bumblebeeconservation.org
Most hanging baskets are designed with appealing bee-friendly basket for a
showy blooms and flowering longevity sunny location. Strawberries are worth
in mind, but unfortunately, the traditional growing too, as are tomatoes. You’ll often find plants like pansies (top left) and petunias (bottom left and right) in
pre-planted baskets available to buy Generally, a mix of short growing and ready-made hanging baskets. Although these plants can be pleasing on the eye,
often contain plants which are devoid trailing plants should combine well they sadly offer very little reward for pollinators.
of nourishment. Sadly, aesthetically to create an eye-catching and bee-
pleasing favourites like begonias, pleasing display. The one disadvantage
pelargoniums (sometimes called Red to some bee-friendly hanging baskets
geraniums), pansies and petunias don’t is that they may not have the same
contribute much (if anything) in the longevity of flowering. This can be
way of nectar and pollen and will rarely resolved by preparing a few different
attract any pollinating insects. That’s seasonal bee-friendly baskets to ensure
why we are advocating having a go at you have nectar fuelling stations that
creating your own bee-friendly baskets, are open all year round!
to keep the nectar flowing and the bees
buzzing. Photo: Louise Flack

Instead of double-petal pelargoniums,
opt for bee-friendly alternatives like
becopa, bidens or fuschias which do
well in baskets. Swap begonias for
nasturtiums, which are cheap, easy
to grow from seed and will create an

Photo: Ruderal bumblebee
4 (Bombus ruderatus) 5 5