James Whitaker
Shade is not the enemy of pollinators
Most pollinator advice assumes a sun-baked border, but many of our finest nectar plants evolved in woodland, hedgerow and the shady edge of a path. Dappled shade, a north-facing wall, the strip beneath an old apple tree — all can hum with bees from March to September. Flowers open more slowly and last longer in cool shade, which is a blessing in a hot, dry summer. Choose plants that belong there rather than fighting the conditions with sun-lovers that sulk.
Deep, dry shade beneath dense conifers is genuinely hard, and worth improving with organic matter before you plant. Everything below prefers soil that stays reasonably moist and is rich in leaf litter, so start with a mulch of leaf mould.
Foxgloves: spires built for long-tongued bees
Our native foxglove, Digitalis purpurea, is the classic woodland-edge plant and one of the best nectar sources for shade. It flowers from June into August, and the hanging, tubular bells suit long-tongued bumblebees, especially the garden bumblebee and the common carder bee. Watch one working a spike: she starts at the lowest, oldest flowers and moves upwards, which suits both her and the plant. At dusk, moths take over.
- Biennial: a rosette of leaves the first year, flowers the second.
- Sow seed on the surface in June or July — light is needed for germination — and thin to about 30cm. Plant out in autumn.
- Water young plants through their first summer, then leave them largely alone.
- Let a few spikes set seed and you will have foxgloves forever, moving themselves to spots that suit them.
- All parts are toxic, so wear gloves and keep them away from grazing pets and small children.
For small spaces, Digitalis lutea is a dainty, reliably perennial yellow foxglove that copes well with part shade.
Wood cranesbill and its hardy relatives
If I could plant only one group for shade, it would be the cranesbills. Geranium sylvaticum, the wood cranesbill, is a British native of damp woods and upland meadows, with violet-blue flowers in May and June. Its open, saucer-shaped flowers are easy landing pads for hoverflies and small solitary bees, which often lack the tongue length for deeper blooms.
Geranium phaeum, dusky cranesbill, is superb in dry shade, flowering from April to June in plum, white or lavender. Geranium nodosum flowers on and off from May to September, and Geranium macrorrhizum makes dense, aromatic, weed-suppressing mats that bees visit readily in early summer.
- Cut back to about 5cm after the first flush for a second, later flush — valuable for bees in late summer.
- Divide clumps in spring if they lose vigour; most are long-lived and need little else.
- They will flower in dry shade, but far better with moisture and an autumn mulch of leaf mould.
Deadnettle: quiet, early and enormously useful
White deadnettle, Lamium album, is one of the most valuable plants in my garden and one of the least fashionable. It flowers from March right through to November, and queen bumblebees emerging from hibernation depend on that early nectar. Despite the name it does not sting, and it thrives in the dry shade under hedges and shrubs where little else will grow.
The spotted deadnettles are tidier for gardens. Lamium maculatum comes in silvered and gold-leaved forms, and the larger Lamium orvala makes a substantial clump with hooded pink flowers in late spring, far less inclined to wander than its cousins.
- Plant under deciduous shrubs and along shady path edges to knit into weed-suppressing cover.
- Cut back straggly growth in midsummer to encourage fresh flowers into autumn.
- Keep an eye on the running species; lift and move clumps if they travel further than you would like.
Leaves matter as much as nectar
Pollinators need more than flowers, and early butterflies need caterpillar food plants. The orange-tip lays its eggs on cuckooflower and garlic mustard, both of which grow happily in damp, dappled shade. Honesty does the same job and self-seeds obligingly. Ivy, often dismissed as a nuisance, is shade-tolerant and provides late nectar along with dense cover where butterflies and queen bumblebees overwinter.
Leave a little leaf litter and a few untidy corners. Bumblebee queens hibernate in loose soil and tussocky grass, and many solitary bees nest in bare ground nearby.
Getting the conditions right
These are woodland plants, so they want soil rich in organic matter. In autumn, spread 5cm of leaf mould or well-rotted compost over the border, keeping it clear of plant crowns, and let the worms do the rest. Water new plantings well through their first summer; after that, foxgloves and cranesbills manage with much less.
Resist the urge to cut everything down in October. Seedheads feed goldfinches through the winter and shelter insects, and hollow stems are used by overwintering larvae. Tidy in late February or March, just as the first bumblebees are emerging. Avoid insecticides entirely — a border that is killing aphids is also killing the hoverfly larvae that would have eaten them.
Finally, plant in generous groups of three or five rather than single specimens. Bees work a patch of flowers rather than flitting between solitary plants, so a drift of cranesbill or a short run of foxgloves will reward you with far more visitors. Starting from nothing? Begin with foxglove, wood cranesbill and white deadnettle, and a shady corner will buzz from March until the first frosts.
