Garden centre customer attitudes to pollinators and pollinator-friendly planting.

Growing nectar- and pollen-rich flowering plant varieties in domestic gardens and other greenspace is an important pro-environmental behaviour that supports pollinating insects. Wildlife gardening is popular in the UK; however, public attitudes and behaviour relating to planting for pollinators are currently not well understood. We investigated these through questionnaires and interviews with customers in five garden centres in Sussex, southeast England, a relevant and useful consumer group representing horticulturally-engaged members of the public.

Most ornamental plants on sale in garden centres are unattractive to flower-visiting insects.

Background: Gardeners and park managers seeking to support biodiversity in urban areas often plant ornamentals attractive to flower-visiting insects. There is a huge diversity of garden plant varieties, and some recommendations are available as to which are attractive to insects. However, these are largely not based on rigorous empirical data.