Plants to attract pollinators: white and silver

Choosing plants that attract pollinating bees and butterflies is a fundamental part of sustainable gardening. Improving the range of creatures visiting our gardens is good for biodiversity and fascinating to watch

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<i>Leucanthemum</i> flower all summer long and are great for pollinators
Leucanthemum flower all summer long and are great for pollinators

Quick facts

  • Having a variety of flower types can attract more pollinators
  • Choosing plants that flower at different times of the year provides more opportunities for pollinators
  • Many insects are attracted to white flowers

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The planting plan

James Lawrence, RHS Principal Horticultural Advisor, has designed this simple, attractive, and most importantly, sustainable border design for you to try at home, with plants that are easy to grow, widely available and look good together.

White and silver plants to attract pollinators

© James Lawrence

Choosing plants to attract pollinators

Pollinating insects are in decline, but there are plenty of flowering plants to help them. Increasing flowering plants in our gardens can also improve fruit and vegetables: with more pollinating insects around, harvests will be bigger and better.

The Stachys provides some ground cover and will help prevent erosion of bare soil. Ground cover plants can also help to reduce moisture evaporation from the soil surface and suppress weed growth. 

Until the plants have filled out, an organic mulch, preferably homemade compost, can help to improve soil moisture retention and weed suppression. Mulches should be spread when the soil is already moist to help trap some of that moisture before it dries out in summer.

1 - Chaenomeles speciosa ‘Nivalis’
2 - Viburnum opulus
3 - Leucanthemum ‘Angel’
4 - Stachys byzantina ‘Silver Carpet’
1 - Chaenomeles speciosa ‘Nivalis’ is a deciduous shrub bearing simple, oval leaves and pure white cup-shaped flowers in late winter and into spring.

2 - Viburnum opulus forms a medium-sized deciduous shrub with lobed leaves that turn purplish-pink in autumn. Flat heads of small creamy white flowers are produced in early summer, followed by bright red berries in autumn.

3 - Leucanthemum ‘Angel’ is a clump-forming herbaceous perennial with thick, dark green leaves. The single daisy flowers, produced from early summer to early autumn, have pure white petals and golden-yellow centres. 

4 - Stachys byzantina ‘Silver Carpet’ completes the scheme with a dense carpet of soft and furry silver leaves, bearing upright spikes of magenta-pink flowers in early summer.

About plants for pollinators

Using scientific evidence, our extensive experience and the records of gardeners and beekeepers, we’ve selected a range of year-round flowering Plants for Pollinators to tackle the decline in pollinator numbers. Visit our Plants for Pollinators page to discover more of the best plants for attracting pollinators.
 

Growing plants for pollinators

​Many insects are suffering from a lack of pollinator-friendly plants in the countryside to provide nectar and pollen. By offering a good range of pollinator friendly plants in our gardens, we can help these essential creatures to thrive. Increasing biodiversity is also benefical for encouraging a healthy garden ecosystem in general.

Choose plants with a variety of different flower types and structures in order to attract a wider range of pollinators across the seasons. A succession of overlapping flowering times ensures there is always something available.
 

Why choose a sustainable planting combination?

Using the ethos of ‘right plant, right place’ to create a sustainable planting combination is great for the environment. It helps to avoid waste and the use of products and practices needed to try and help ailing plants, such as applying fertiliser. It also creates robust, long-lived planting that benefits soil health and garden biodiversity. For more information about sustainable gardening, please see the RHS Sustainability Strategy.

Additionally, this combination will also attract more pollinating insects into the garden, creating better diversity by in turn encouraging birds and other wildlife into the garden.

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The Royal Horticultural Society is the UK’s leading gardening charity. We aim to enrich everyone’s life through plants, and make the UK a greener and more beautiful place.