Top 10 Wildlife Shrubs

Shrubs provide food, shelter and breeding spaces for our wildlife. Nesting birds and hibernating insects make their homes in them and insects like butterflies use them as natural windbreaks. Evergreens flowering shrubs are perfect for bees and other wildlife throughout the UK, especially in the colder months. We have some great recommendations for insect, wildlife and bee friendly shrubs that can make great habitats for wildlife in your garden.

Pyracantha

Winning the RHS Garden Merit Award, Orange Glow is a sturdy evergreen Pyracantha shrub that produces spring blossoms and bright orange berries in the summer. This shrub provides nesting for birds and an abundant source of pollen and food for bees.

Viburnum

The deciduous viburnum shrub produces large, fragrant, pompom-like clusters of white or pale green tinted flowers every May and June. Purple foliage appears from these bee-friendly shrubs. In autumn, vibrant red berries will provide an excellent food source for birds.

Honeysuckle

A true ‘wildlife hotel’. Honeysuckle brings a profusion of vibrant colour to the summer garden. The sweet, heady scent carried on a warm summer breeze is one of the most delightful experiences of the season, and the scent is strongest at night, which attracts pollinating moths.

Image: Honeysuckle Belgica


Buddleia

A must for wildlife lovers. Also known as the ‘Butterfly Bush’, the bee-friendly Buddleia produce vibrant summer blooms with a lovely honey fragrance that is guaranteed to attract masses of butterflies and bees.

Weigela

This fantastic dwarf-growing shrub is certainly a wildlife haven. Weigela is a long flowering shrub that will attract a range of pollinators, from bees, butterflies and other nectar loving insects.

Sarcococca

Sarcococca is a compact and hardy shrub that yield an abundance of shiny black berries that birds love, making it the perfect plant for a winter wildlife garden.

Image: Weigela 

Lavender

A classic in the UK garden, lavender provide masses of fragrant, bee friendly flowers in the summer season. They provide a great source of nectar for bees and butterflies.

Syringa

The Syringa shrub produces dense clusters of sweetly fragrant panicles over attractive heart-shaped foliage from late spring into early summer. When in bloom, the gorgeous flowers will bring butterflies to your garden.

Gaura

The ideal border perennial with an abundance of star shaped flowers. Gauraproduces pretty flower spikes, which resemble a fluttering butterfly, and also are handy for attracting beneficial insects to the garden, such as bees.

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