More than just meadows
As well as meadows, the National Trust manage wildflower rich dune systems, peatlands, woodlands, wetlands, gardens, hedgerows and orchards - all important for the survival of pollinators like bees, moths and butterflies. Creating your own wildflower patch is a great way to attract more pollinators to your home and play your part.
Why should you create a wildflower patch at home?
Maybe you are wondering why you would want more insects around your home when we spend most of the summer trying to move them out of the house. There’s a reason insects are called pollinators. Without insects pollinating the flowers and vegetables, there would be no flowers or vegetables. More bees, butterflies, flies, wasps and beetles mean more flowers and vegetables. That's why pollinators are so important - they provide the food we eat.
Here's some other benefits to letting wildlife thrive in your home:
Ants provide a free garden cleaning service, tidying away detritus and dead insects.
Ground beetles are the perfect ninjas for guarding your vegetables. The devil’s coach horse beetle loves to eat the slugs that prey on your fresh lettuces.
Ladybirds and soldier beetles eat the aphids that attack your roses.
Bugs may be at the bottom of the food chain but they attract the more visible wildlife that we like to see in our garden such as hedgehogs, frogs, foxes and birds.
Woodlice attract birds to your garden in winter. They contain more calcium than snails and so help birds produce eggs in spring.