Ask the Gardener: Pollination

It is estimated that four out of every five plants are insect pollinated and 90% are pollinated by bees.

If plants are not pollinated they will not produce fruits and seeds and will ultimately die out, as they have no means of reproducing.

So if our insect population continues to be destroyed as it is at the moment, not only will our world be a less colourful place to live in, it will also be a hungrier place, as there will be less food for everyone. This month is such a colourful one in the garden with lots of perennials in flower, I thought I might write about five easy to grow perennials that not only bring colour to the garden but also bring bees, butterflies and other beneficial insects. If all of us planted just one or two of these plants we could make a small contribution to the campaign to restore our bee and insect population to previous levels.