Personally, i love butterflies and birds in my garden. My parents neighbour has a large Bottlebrush in their garden and every year it gets filled with Lorakeets feeding on the flowers. My Mum curses every time they are there because they create such a mess, but i quite like the sound of the chirping. But then again, i am not the one who has to clean up the mess!
If you would like to attract wildlife into your garden, then you need to entice them with some beautiful flowers!! I have included a few options below!
Buddleja davidii- Butterfly Bush
Buddleja can be evergreen or deciduous shrubs, occasionally trees with simple leaves and panicles of small, tubular fragrant flowers. They like full sun to partial shade and grow 2-4m in height. The colour range is pink, purple, and white.
Prunus laurocerasus- Cherry Laurel
Prunus laurocerasus is a vigorous, large, spreading evergreen shrub with lovely, glossy dark green leaves to 15cm in length. Small white flowers in racemes to 12cm in length are followed by cherry-like glossy red fruits soon turning black.
Easy to grow in any moist but well-drained moderately fertile soil in sun or partial shade. Superb hedging shrub but may become chlorotic on poorer, shallow chalky soils. Grows to approximately 4-8m in height and likes full sun to partial shade.
Escallonia are evergreen shrubs with glossy, leathery, toothed leaves, sometimes sticky, and 5-petalled white, pink or red flowers in terminal racemes or panicles in summer and early autumn. The like well drained soil and will grow to approximately 0.5m-1.5m in height. Grows best in full sun.
Erica spp- Heath
Erica can be prostrate or erect, evergreen shrub with fine, needle-like leaves in whorls, and racemes of small, bell-shaped or tubular flowers. They like full sun to partial shade and can grow between 15cm to 1.5m (depending on which varieties you choose) and moist but well drained soil. They have pink or white coloured flowers.
Hebe – Hebe spp.
There are so many varieties available in the Hebe species. They can grow anywhere from 30cm to 1.5m. There are many colours including pink, purple, white and blue. Most like full sun to part shade with moist and well drained soil. On occasions, Hebes will get a leaf spot or mildew on the leaves. This is treatable by removing the effected leaves as soon as possible and also making sure there is enough air circulation around the plants and to water the plants from below, and not above which is when all the leaves will get wet and the mildew could begin to grow.
Lavandula spp.- Lavender
I have written about Lavender on many other occasions before. A very hardy growing shrub with purple flowers and grey/silver aromatic foliage. Depending on variety they can grow between 0.5m to 1.5m in height. Prefers a full sun position. If planted in shade it will become straggly and not flower well.
Spiraea japonica- Japanese Spiraea
Fertile, moist but well-drained soil in full sun. Most Spiraea species have fine arching stems and simple alternate leaves that are often toothed or lobed. Usually as the new foliage develops, they burst into bloom, bearing masses of tiny 5-petalled white to deep pink flowers. The flowers can occur right along the stems or may be clustered in spikes at the tips. They like full sun and will grow between 2-4m.
Annuals and Bienniels
These are all very small shrubs that will only have a short life. But will add a huge burst of colour to your garden.
Tagetes erecta- African Marigold
Ageratum houstonianum- Ageratum
Lobularia maritima- Alyssum
Centaurea cyanus- Cornflower
Tagetes patula- French Marigold
Heliotropium cultivars- Heliotrope
Calendula officinalis- Marigold
Matthiola incana and hybrids- Stock
Dianthus barbatus- Sweet William
Verbena rigida- Verbena
Erysimum cheiri- Wallflower
Zinnia elegans- Zinnia