Important For Bees

Monarda 'Panorama Red Shades' is the first separate colour available from seed. This foolproof plant is trouble-free and a joy for the garden and vase. They bloom profusely with very distinctive flower-heads, each plant bearing up to 20 long stems and are as long-lasting as they are dramatic.

Monarda fistulosa, also known as Bergamot is famed for its medicinal qualities. While in the perennial border these lovely plants produce a mass of mauve-purple blooms (even in their first year from an early sowing) and have uniquely scented foliage. Highly attractive to bees and butterflies.

Veteran gardeners are probably already aware of nepeta’s versatility in the garden. From its popular partnering with roses to the softening effect it has on hard edges. Nepeta is an ideal perennial for new gardeners and, of course, cats adore it.

Nepeta grandiflora is one of the best garden plants in this family. 'Border Ballet' is a striking new catmint, lusher than true catnip, with dark green leaves. It flowers in shades of blue and pink in perfect harmony. This easy to sow and grow perennial flowers in the first year of sowing.

Nepeta ‘Dark Blue Panther’ is the dark blue flowered variety and sister to 'Pink Panther' and the beautiful white 'Snow' Panther. This award winning variety starts to flower just 15 weeks after sowing and can be can be grown as an annual or as a flowering perennial.

Nepeta subsessilis 'Pink Panther' is the pink form of large-flowered Nepeta which is grown from seed and flowers during the first year. It can be grown as an annual or as a flowering perennial. Flowering from June until the end of September, they work well as an informal low hedge or mixed in the border with other annuals or perennials.

Recognised as having the largest flowers of all the nepetas and only one with white flowers, Nepeta subsessilis 'Snow Panther' flowers during the first year and can be grown as an annual or as a flowering perennial. This award winning variety is extremely attractive to bees and butterflies they are also excellent for containers.

Pennyroyal is a cottage garden plant of old. This highly aromatic herb has a strong peppermint scent to its dark green leaves, even more so than other mints. With attractive whorls of lilac-blue flowers, it can be used to carpet a shady corner or make a 'lawn' smelling deliciously of peppermint.

The Bees and Butterflies Mix of flowers is a carefully chosen range of over 30 annual flowers that are rich in both nectar and pollen that both bees and butterflies adore. They will flower within six to eight weeks and provide you with pleasure throughout the summer.

Persicaria orientalis ‘Cerise Pearls’ is a new, modern-day variety that grows to a more manageable height of 100 to 140cm . Tall enough to give the same airy effect, yet so much easier to place in the garden. From August to October the whole plant is spectacularly draped with long, dangling, velour-like cerise tassels.

Prunella vulgaris is an interesting and quite beautiful little wildflower plant. The plants produce pretty blue-violet flowers in summer, the flowers freely produce nectar and are highly attractive to bees. If you’re looking for something to add to a meadow garden, or something for those shady areas this is the plant for you.

This attractive plant will be equally at home in the flower border or keeping company with the sage and thyme in your herb garden. Delightfully aromatic, the floral-peppermint scent is subtly different from other mints. Mountain mint is a great nectar plant, its honey is much sought after.

'Fama' is a most elegant flower. With long stems and intense blue blooms, it is the largest flowering and most uniform strain of the Blue Pincushion. They mature into dense tufts of lance shaped, grey-green leaves from which arise a beautiful display of intense lilac-blue flowers each with a silvery centre.

The Fama series is well known for its particularly large flowers that are held on long, strong stems. Beloved by flower arrangers, they are considered to be best strain for cutting. This perennial form of Scabiosa are very easy to grow and will flower in their first year from an early sowing.

Our native Figwort is one of the most prolific nectar producers in the plant world, the long-lasting flowers attract more pollinators than any other plant around. The flowers, similar to tiny snapdragons ripen into egg-shaped seed pods, which are just the perfect bouquet filler for interest and movement!

This pretty little wildflower is a slow growing, long-lived plant with attractive spikes of rich pink-mauve flowers that are very attractive to bees and butterflies as a nectar source. The flowers, which rise from dark green crinkly leaves, keep their colour throughout summer and look stunning when growing en-masse.

Sweet Cicely is an attractive plant that is a striking component of herb gardens and hedgerows. Growing to around 90cm, umbels of tiny white flowers appear from spring to early summer. Formerly a widely cultivated culinary herb, the fern-like leaves are deeply divided and smell of aniseed when crushed.

As they say, white goes with everything and among theme gardens, the white garden may be the most popular. The White Garden Flower Mix gives a selection of spectacular, bright white annual flowers. Calm, soft and serene this beautiful mix will carry borders into early winter with panache.

Thymus serpyllum is one of the most versatile groundcovers. Forming dense evergreen cushions of flowers these low maintenance plants don’t require mowing, watering or care, and can take a lot of abuse. Its leaves can be used as a culinary herb and its uses in the garden are almost unlimited.

Brilliant sizzling, orange-scarlet flowers cover this vibrant ornamental plant, Tithonia produces one of the best flowers for attracting butterflies to the garden. Very easy and rewarding and perfect for new gardeners and children, sow direct in May and June for fast and furious, fabulous flowers.