Small Spaces, Big Draw

You do not need an acre to make a difference. A single lavender bush in full flower against a warm wall can keep a dozen bumblebees busy for an afternoon, and a window box of herbs will pull in hoverflies and solitary bees from several streets away. Pollinators work in patches, and they follow the scent of a good meal. A generous clump of one excellent plant will always beat a scattering of mediocre ones, so think of your garden as a short, rich menu rather than a long, thin one.

The trick is to have something in flower from early spring right through to the first frosts, and to give the insects somewhere to shelter nearby. Aim for at least three different things in bloom at any point between March and October, and you will find your little plot becomes a regular stop on the local pollinator route.

Plant for a Long Season of Nectar

Flowers with open, single blooms are far more useful than tightly double ones, because the nectar and pollen are actually reachable. The centre of the flower should be visible when you look at it. Build your planting around these reliable performers.

• Spring: pulmonaria (lungwort), rosemary, wallflowers, honesty, flowering currant and crocus in pots by the door. Dandelions in the lawn are doing more good than you think, so leave a few.
• Early summer: catmint (Nepeta), hardy geraniums, alliums, chives, borage and comfrey. Catmint is the single best-value plant for a small plot — cut it back after the first flush and it will flower again in late summer.
• High summer: lavender, oregano, marjoram, thyme, salvia, verbena bonariensis, cosmos, heliotrope and single-flowered dahlias.
• Late season: sedum (Hylotelephium), asters, Japanese anemones and, surprisingly, ivy flowers in September and October, which are a lifeline when little else is out.

Herbs earn their keep twice over: snip them for the kitchen and let a few plants run to flower. Oregano left to bloom becomes a butterfly magnet, and thyme tumbling over the edge of a pot suits small gardens perfectly. For butterflies specifically, a buddleja in a large pot, kept hard pruned each spring, will hold its own in a courtyard.

Use Every Layer of Your Garden

In a small space, plant upwards as well as outwards. Climbing honeysuckle, jasmine, ivy and open-flowered roses cover walls and fences without eating into your border. Hanging baskets, window boxes and pots raised on feet add another tier, and trailing alyssum or nasturtium will spill over the edges to give ground-level insects an easy landing.

Group your pots together rather than spreading them out. A tight cluster of containers holds humidity, shades the compost and creates a mini-habitat that insects can find and revisit. A shelf of herbs by the back door is not just convenient for cooking — it is a service station for bees.

Leave a Corner to Go a Little Wild

Deliberate untidiness is one of the kindest things you can do. Choose the least visible corner and let it be. A patch of longer grass, a small pile of logs, a heap of leaves behind the shed — these are the places where insects overwinter, shelter from rain and nest.

• Do not cut back perennials until March. Hollow stems and seedheads are winter bedrooms, and the seed feeds birds as well.
• Contain a patch of nettles in a sunken bucket if you have room. They are the caterpillar food plant for red admirals, peacocks and small tortoiseshells, but they spread by root, so keep them prisoner.
• Skip the pesticides. A few aphids are the food supply for ladybirds, hoverflies and lacewing larvae, which will do the controlling for you.
• Leave an undisturbed patch of bare, sunny earth. Many solitary bees nest in the ground and cannot dig through mulch or membrane.

Give Them a Drink

Thirsty insects are common in a hot spell, and a deep bird bath is useless to them. What they need is something shallow with a safe landing. A saucer or old dish filled with pebbles and topped up with water does the job beautifully — the stones break the surface so bees and butterflies can perch and drink without drowning.

Place one at ground level for bumblebees and butterflies, and another a little higher among your pots. Refresh the water every day or two in summer, which also stops it turning into a mosquito nursery. A few stones stacked in the corner of a bird bath, or a gently sloping rock at the edge of a pond, achieve the same thing.

Shelter and Somewhere to Sleep

Food is only half the story. Bees and butterflies also need cover, and a garden that is completely open and tidy offers very little. Dense evergreens, ivy, hedges and a log pile all provide somewhere to rest out of the wind and rain. A simple bee hotel facing south, screwed to a sunny fence, will be colonised within a season or two by solitary bees and leafcutters.

Once you have the flowers, the water and the quiet corner, the best thing you can do is very little. Sit down with a cup of tea and watch what arrives — it usually takes less time than you would expect.