Supporting local pollinators: What to plant and why

Discover which plants local pollinators love and how to grow them. Join the Hackney Buzzline for practical tips you can use this season.

Want to make your garden a magnet for bees, hoverflies and butterflies? Join the Hackney Buzzline team for a hands-on morning designed for anyone who grows — whether you tend a community plot, an allotment, a balcony or a back garden.

We'll share what we've learned from monitoring pollinators across Hackney, including which species are active locally and, crucially, which plants they actually visit. You'll come away with practical planting ideas you can put into the ground this season — from spring-to-autumn flowering schemes to simple habitat features that make a real difference.

The session will cover:

How to choose pollinator-friendly plants that suit Hackney's growing conditions. Which local pollinator species to look out for — and what they need from your garden. Easy ways to create nesting and sheltering habitat alongside your planting. How to record what visits your garden using iNaturalist, so your sightings feed into real biodiversity data.

No prior experience with pollinators or wildlife recording needed — just bring your curiosity and your gardening questions.