Ubiquitous urban plants often derided as “weeds” are the most attractive to pollinating insects.

The autumn blooms of common ivy, rich in pollen and nectar, are the most visited by insects including bees and butterflies, according to an eight-year study.

The next most popular are hogweed and bramble flowers, followed by non-native buddleia, which attracts four times as many butterflies and moths as other high-scoring flowers.

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[–] 3 points 1 day ago*

There was a big-ish campaign in my area a few years ago to let your garden grow, but not just for no-mow may, for as long as you can, and some of the things that seemed to be most commonly said was along the lines of 'what's not beautiful to you, may be beautiful to them' and/or 'what's beautiful to you, may not be for them' (as in they won't come).

The same campaign taught me of the importance of native flora and blooms for them. for example, a pollinating insect could be reliant on a native flower, but if you have sewn non-native wildflower seeds bought in a store or online, the native pollinator might have to wait an extra week or two for them to bloom, which may be the difference between life and death for it.

for example if you live in England and bought seeds from France or elsewhere. A buttercup for example from France could take an extra week to bloom than a native UK buttercup.

A buttercup mightn't be the best example, but you get the jist.

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  • [–] 0 points 1 day ago

    If you garden and think some plants are "weeds" then you're not a gardener.

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