#pollinator friendly

[jillraggett]

Plant of the Day

Saturday 10 May 2025

Scientists are still divided on how best to categorise Taraxacum officinale (dandelion) species, as they can be broken down into microspecies based on their DNA. But at this time of year the Orkney landscape has fields full of them creating a great food source especially for the bumblebees.

Jill Raggett

[bluebelly-sun-serpentine]

California bee plant - Scrophularia californica, April 11, 2025

Another easily missable beauty, the California bee plant is (as the name suggests) a great favorite of bees and wasps, despite its inconspicuous flowers (these have a small negative electrical charge, which may help attract pollinators). If you live in their range, once you start looking for them you see them everywhere. You might mistake their leaves for nettles when they're not in flower, if you're not accustomed to looking closely at plantlife; the large serrated triangle shape is kind of similar and they grow in similar conditions. They like riparian and shaded areas best, and if you see one you're likely to see a bunch more, but these are friendly greens (and as far as I know not as tasty as nettles, although they have been used medicinally, both topically and internally, by different groups).

[natureisthegreatestartist]

Aren't these flowers pretty and unusual? In other words, pretty unusual. They belong to my new monarda plant, a pollinator-friendly North American native also known as bee balm and wild bergamot.

[cellulosedream]

[hwoods-room11]

Pollinator-Friendly Native Plant Lists

We've prepared the following lists of recommended native plants that are highly attractive to pollinators such as native bees, honey bees, b

[atompowers]

"Lovers alone wear sunlight" — E. E. Cummings

[charmingcreatures]

Cosmic ✨

[katiajewelbox]

These glittering stars in flower form are Borage (Borago officinalis). 

The borage is a useful addition to a kitchen garden because it attracts pollinators and the bright blue, star shaped flowers are edible. These flowers make a striking addition to salads and sweets, and their colour changes from blue to light purple over the course of the day. 

The scientific name “officinalis” means the plant has medicinal properties. However, modern medical research is yet to prove that various parts of the borage can treat the wide range of medical issues herbal medicine traditions ascribed to the plant.