Blue Flowers

Clustered Bellflower (Campanula glomerata)
Its tubular bell-shaped flowers are highly attractive to bumblebees, solitary bees and butterflies (Brimstone, Peacock, Small Tortoiseshell, Red Admiral, Painted Lady and various Fritillary butterflies). It blooms heavily from June through August supplying essential food at a time when many spring flowers have faded.
Cornflower (Centaurea cyanus)

This lovely blue annual used to grow as a weed in cornfields, hence its name.  It is now endangered in its natural habitat by overuse of herbicides. The flowers boast a rich nectar with a sugar content often around 34%, strongly attracting bees (especially bumblebees) and butterflies.
Dog Violet (Viola riviniana)
Provides vital early-spring nectar for emerging queen bees, solitary bees and hoverflies and is the primary caterpillar host food plant for fritillary butterflies. Deer largely avoid violets giving them an advantage in our deer-inhabited meadows. 

Field Scabious (Knautia arvensis)

Its broad pincushion-like flowerheads act as perfect landing pads for insects providing a vital late-season food source for bees, butterflies and hoverflies and are the primary foraging target for specialised species like the Scabious Bee. It also serves as a secondary larval food plant for the caterpillars of the rare Marsh Fritillary butterfly and the highly-mimetic Narrow-bordered Bee Hawk-moth.


Germander Speedwell (Veronica chamaedrys)
Its vivid blue flowers  are an essential, easily accessible source of nectar and pollen for solitary bees, butterflies and hoverflies.
It also serves as a crucial larval food source for the Speedwell Longhorn moth and is one of the primary host plants for the rare and protected Heath Fritillary butterfly.
Harebell (Campanula rotundifolia)

The caterpillars of the Northern Rustic and Dot moths rely heavily on the foliage of the Harebell as a food source.  The Marbled Coronet moth larvae feed on the seed capsules and flowers of harebells as do larvae of the Grey Chi moth. Harebell flowers are regularly visited by honeybees, long-tongued and short-tongued bumblebees and various specialist and solitary bees. The most common solitary bee you will see on the harebells is the Harebell Carpenter bee (also known as the small scissor bee). This tiny (4-6mm) black bee often rests inside the bells overnight or when the weather is wet. Its relative, the Large Scissor bee, uses its long mouthparts to reach nectar inside the bell-shaped flowers.  Other solitary bee visitors to harebells are the Gold-tailed Melitta bee and the Furrow bees.

Jacob’s Ladder (Polemonium reptans)

Its clusters of bell-shaped nectar-rich flowers feed a wide variety of insects including bumblebees, syrphid flies, beetles and butterflies. In particular it supports the Jacob’s Ladder Miner bee whose diet relies almost exclusively on this plant’s pollen to raise its young. The foliage serves as a caterpillar host for specific moth species (such as leaf miner moths) making it a comprehensive food source for various insect life cycles.
Love-in-the-mist  (Nigella damascena)

The nectar and pollen in the open, intricate flowers are highly attractive to bees and other pollinating insects. Its blooms appear through the mid-to-late summer (typically July to August) providing a reliable food source when other spring flowers have faded. The plant is naturally deer-resistant (an important advantage in our meadows).

Selfheal (Prunella vulgaris)

The nectar-rich tubular purple flowers bloom from late Spring to Autumn offering consistent food during periods when other flowers may fade and its specialised flower structure ensures it is easily accessed by bumblebees and solitary bees. The larvae of the Self-heal Dot micro-moth are highly dependent on Sellfheal.  The caterpillars of the Bright-line Brown-eye and Shaded Pug moths are also known to feed on Selfheal as well as other plants.


Small Scabious (Scabiosa columbaria)

Produces large light blueish purple flowers which attract bees, butterflies, moths and birds. The Small Scabious Mining Bee is particularly dependent on its pollen and the foliage serves as a crucial food source for the caterpillars of several moth species, including the day-flying Six-spot Burnet. 

Tufted vetch (Vicia cracca)
The striking bluish-violet flowers are rich in nectar and pollen serving as a vital food source for bees (especially long-tongued bumblebees) and butterflies.
We hope to persuade it to grow through our chain link fence around the butterfly bank as its scrambling, vining growth habit creates thick, intertwined mats, providing excellent cover, nesting sites and safe corridors for insects and small wildlife. 
 
Viper’s Bugloss (Echium vulgare)

The plant produces nectar with a high sugar content, attracting over 20 species of butterflies.  Common visitors include the Large Skipper and Painted Lady. Certain solitary bees, like the Viper’s Bugloss Mason Bee, are heavily specialised and rely on this plant to thrive. It also attracts a wide array of bumblebees (including Buff-tailed and Red-tailed species).

 

Wild Sage (Salvia verbenaca)

The tubular flowers of Wild Sage produce an abundance of nectar that sustains bees (like bumblebees and carpenter bees), butterflies and hoverflies. Many moth caterpillars feed on Wild Sage including the Speckled Yellow, Waved Carpet, Plume, Bordered Sallow and Twin-spotted Carpet.