THE BEST HERBS FOR ATTRACTING BEES, BUTTERFLIES AND POLLINATORS
Turn your garden into a herbal nature reserve.
Create a scented, floral paradise for bees and other insects. Aside from their culinary and medicinal superpowers, these herbs are all excellent food plants for all manner of garden friendlies. Build your own herb garden or send a thoughtful gift to a gardening nature lover. Grown in the UK, all herb plants are hand packed and beautifully presented with decorative pots, wooden labels, harvesting snips and herb growing guide.
Herbs for Wildlife
We sell herbs in FULL collections of SIX plants. You can either choose one of our exclusive, curated herb collections or create your own MIX SIX plant collection (any variety or combination).
All come with decorative pots, wooden plant labels, herb plants snips and a comprehensive growing guide.
Angelica is a tall, graceful herb plant with hollow, fluted stems up to 7ft tall. Clusters of small yellow or greenish flowers are arranged into large, striking umbels which will add interest and stature to your herb garden.
Buy garden ready, 9cm angelica herb plants with wooden plant label.
Betony is a pretty native herb which can be found in meadows, grasslands and hedgerows - it has many common names, of which ‘Hedge nettle’ is one. A herb steeped in history, folklore, and practical uses, betony offers a little bit of everything. Its healing properties, magical associations, and easy-to-grow nature make it a fantastic addition to any herb garden. The vibrant spikes of purple flowers are a magnet for bees, butterflies and pollinators.
You may see this robust, leafy annual growing wild in grass verges, on waste ground or in field margins. Introduced by the Romans, it loves an open, sunny position and will happily self-seed. Most of the plant is edible, with a mild cucumber, slightly salty taste. Toss a few ice cubes each containing a bright borage blue flower, into a long, cool G&T on a hot summer’s day.
Catmint is generally milder and less smelly than catnip but can still have a feelgood effect on felines. It has a minty aroma and produces spikes of beautiful deep violet flowers which will attract bees, potentially leading to some amusing but painful cat v bee interactions. Grow along the front of a border or in a raised bed, to spill out giving your kitty a nice comfy spot in the sun.
Catnip will be really happy growing in our pot on a sunny windowsill until it needs potting on.
A pot of catnip growing on a windowsill could send your kitty into euphoric raptures. Not all cats respond to the smell of nepetalactone, an essential oil, but those that do have a feelgood reaction – becoming stimulated, then wacked out! Like their feline friends, catnip will enjoy a warm sunny location, prefurring at least six hours of sun every day but liking afternoon shade and a drink now and again.
Catnip will be really happy growing in our pot on a sunny windowsill until it needs potting on.
Roman or common chamomile is grown for its flowers, a different, creeping variety ('Treneague') is used for lawns. The flowers produced by Roman chamomile are primarily used to make a soothing and relaxing tea. Like its toga wearing namesakes, it loves lounging about in the sun, so plant somewhere warm and bright. An indoor windowsill is a good place. Keep moist especially in hot weather. Chamomile will be really happy growing in our pot on a sunny windowsill until it needs potting on.
Chervil is an attractive, ferny herb with a delicate anise, grassy smell. It’s under rated for some reason, perhaps because the plants resemble cow parsley, but it definitely pulls its weight. The mild flavour is particularly suited to eggs and sauces and it’s an important member of fine herbes. Generally grown as an annual, it likes a cooler, partly shady spot out of the midday sun. As a lush leaf producer, it needs rich, fertile soil and depth for the long tap root to quest for water in dry conditions.
Chives are a kitchen garden staple and if allowed to will seed quite happily about the garden. They’re a member of the allium family, alongside onions, garlic and leeks and have a mild onion flavour too – which is perfect for sauces, dressings, marinades and garnish. Easy to grow, choose a pot or at the front of a border in sunny or partially shaded spot. When harvesting, cut individual leaves down to just above the base – let some flowers grow for the bees and your salads. Chives will be really happy growing in our pot on a sunny windowsill until it needs potting on.
Garlic chives are an allium like chives, but a different species altogether; allium tuberosum. They originated in China and spread throughout Asia before the rest of the world. Larger and more vigorous than chives, with flatter, broader leaves and a distinct garlicky taste. Garlic chives are easy to grow and actually considered invasive pests in some countries. They enjoy the same conditions as regular chives, including being particularly suited to pots.
Coriander is the go-to herb for use in curries and south Asian cuisine. The leaves have a fresh, citrussy, lemony flavour and the seeds a warming, nutty, zesty taste. It’s quite literally a ‘marmite’ herb as up to 20% of people find the flavour of coriander has an abhorrent rotten, soapy taste. This is actually due to a variation in a certain gene, the incidence of which differs with ethnicity.
Dill is a wonderfully aromatic plant and is worth a place in any herb garden. The leaves are prized for their sweet anise flavour which has none of the liquorice strength of fennel, and the seeds for their pickling power. Generally grown as an annual because it’s not hardy, it will be ok over winter in a greenhouse and suits growing in deep pots – to accommodate the long root. Grow in a sunny position and keep moist. Dill is pretty vigorous but will be ok in our pot on a sunny windowsill to begin with.
Fennel is a large, upright herb with a dense clump of stalks covered in delicate, ferny, liquorice smelling leaves. If you’ve only room for one, then bronze fennel is the best to grow. It’s common fennel’s identical twin but you get the added benefit of a beautiful, coppery hue to the wispy foliage. It too is easy to grow and vigorous, also producing intense yellow, hoverfly landing pads of flowers. Grow a single plant in a wide, deep pot in fertile, moist, well-drained soil and you’ll be richly rewarded. Fennel is very vigorous but will be ok in our pot on a sunny windowsill to begin with.
Many dogs have a habit of searching out certain leaves for a nibble, it often seems like they know what they need. They’re not wrong as a few ...
Many dogs have a habit of searching out certain leaves for a nibble, it often seems like they know what they need. They’re not wrong as a few herbs here and there can be a beneficial addition to their diet. Fresh or dried, herbs can help sooth digestion - calming woofy wafts, freshen breath, ease anxiety, heal skin and help keep coats in tip-top condition.
This mob of herbal heavy lifters will have your back all year round. They're all evergreen, shrubby or woody types and once mature will be as ...
This mob of herbal heavy lifters will have your back all year round. They're all evergreen, shrubby or woody types and once mature will be as tough as they come, giving essential culinary herbs through the autumn and winter. Slower growing than most, they'll happily sit on a sunny windowsill for a while (especially over winter) but will only reach their impressive potential outside in pots, a herb garden or border.
Send your favourite feline into raptures with this herb plant collection for cats. With herbs to sooth and stimulate your kitty, most of which...
Send your favourite feline into raptures with this herb plant collection for cats. With herbs to sooth and stimulate your kitty, most of which are happy indoors in our special decorative pots. A thoughtful gift for gardening cat owners, or from you to your special furry friend. Medicinal information for interest and amusement only. Do not use herb plants to treat illnesses or health conditions without first consulting your vet and a fully qualified herbalist
Where have all the butterflies gone? The sight of buddleia bushes pulsating with masses of vibrant species seems like a childhood memory. Unfo...
Where have all the butterflies gone? The sight of buddleia bushes pulsating with masses of vibrant species seems like a childhood memory. Unfortunately, it's not nostalgic rose-tintedness, there's been an 80% reduction in UK butterflies since the 1970's. Hopefully times are changing, with fewer pesticides used and rewilding being encouraged. These herbs will do their bit.
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Butterfly Bonanza Herb Collection
Where have all the butterflies gone? The sight of buddleia bushes pulsating with masses of vibrant species seems like a childhood memory. Unfortunately, it’s not nostalgic rose-tintedness, there’s been an 80% reduction in UK butterflies since the 1970’s. Hopefully times are changing, with fewer pesticides used and rewilding being encouraged. These herbs will do their bit.
ALL HERB COLLECTIONS INCLUDE
SIX UK grown,9cm potted herb plants PLUS everything you need to start your herbs off indoors or out:
Ornamental Pots
All herbs come with a stylish pot for use indoors or out
Wooden labels
Sustainable bamboo labels with advice just a click away
Herb Snips
Super sharp steel snips to give your herbs a glow up
Growing Guide
A guide to loving and caring for our most popular herbs
what’s included
Chamomile - Roman
With its flat white petals and fuzzy golden cones of nectar rich flowers, chamomile makes a perfect landing pad and feeding station for a number of butterfly species, especially smaller ones.
Chive
This early flowering herb is one of the 10 most nectar producing plants in the UK. A butterfly magnet which will grow almost anywhere and is particularly suited a pot on a sunny patio.
Dill
Dill is a fantastic herb for late butterflies as it can flower into autumn. If you’re really lucky, in warmer southern climes you may be rewarded by a visiting European Swallowtail, whose caterpillars will eat the leaves.
Marjoram - sweet
Marjoram produces masses of small flowers in upright clusters which are ideal for butterflies. Deadhead regularly, the flowers may last into autumn - providing valuable energy for hibernation or migration.
Lavender - Hidcote
The tall spikes with dense flower heads packed together at the end, provide a bountiful feeding opportunity for a number of species including Small Tortoiseshell, Red Admiral and Peacock.
Rosemary - Miss Jessop’s Upright
Woody, shrubby herbs like rosemary not only provide lots of nectar but also places to shelter over winter. Rosemary’s early flowers will give awakening butterflies a welcome feed after winter dormancy.