Annuals for wildlife

One of the best things about having a garden packed with annual flowers is that it's also full of wildlife. Butterflies, bees and other pollinating insects like hoverflies adore open annual flowers: birds will be hot on their heels after the big, generous seedheads.

Here's our pick of the five best varieties to attract insects into your garden.

For butterflies:

Marigolds (Calendula officinalis): cheery orange flowers which are adored by butterflies
Honesty (Lunaria annua): lots of simple, open pink or white flowers butterflies can reach easily
Stocks (Matthiola): the scent of these cottage-garden favourites attracts butterflies in from miles around

For bees:

Phacelia tanacetifolia: fuzzy smoke-blue flowers on dense foliage which bees find irresistible
Cornflowers (Centaurea cyanus): choose native blue types and they'll be smothered in bees
Forget-me-not (Myosotis): these late-spring arrivals provide much-needed early nectar for emerging bees

For birds:

Sunflowers (Helianthus annuus): leave old sunflower heads in place for upside-down bluetits to feast on
Love-in-a-mist (Nigella damascena): architectural seedheads provide valuable food for birds
Teasels (Dipsacus fullonum): biennial, flowering in its second year, goldfinches adore spiky teasel heads

Please ask a member of the Lakeside team for more information and advice about choosing annuals to attract wildlife.