Top 50 East Asian

Oriental Garden you can grow in the UK to help our pollinating insects

List Curated by Thomas McBride From research data collected and collated at the National Botanic Garden of Wales

NB: Butterflies and Moths are not studied at the NBGW so any data on nectar plants beneficial for them is taken from Butterfly Conservation Creating a Japanese or East Asian-inspired Garden A Japanese or East Asian Garden features one of the most tranquil styles of modern planting. Usually featuring plenty of trees, the garden offers shade and serenity from the hot sunshine often with calming water features and a desaturated colour palate. There are also styles that feature Rhododendrons more heavily which tend to be a bit brighter. This list provides the very best native East Asian plants to create your very own piece of the orient. Planting Style Some of the most iconic plants in a Japanese garden are not particularly pollinator friendly but may be used alongside lots of the plants from this list in order to achieve a stunning effect as well as a haven for wildlife. Japanese Maples do but are mostly pollinated by small flies as their are very discrete and small. Mosses, grasses, bamboo, sedges and ferns also feature very heavily in traditional styles to create a peaceful backdrop of greenery. These are an important part of a garden eco-system so may be planted but it is important not to solely these if you want to attract insects. One of the very iconic East Asian plants is the cherry tree. There are many fantastic species to plant but only one features in this list. They take quite a few years to mature but it is very much worth it. An East-Asian inspired garden will take years to perfect but can provide a serenity that cannot be achieved in other planting styles. Map Maps depict the native area of the plant (in green) Guide to using these pages: They also show areas the plant is naturalised (in purple)

Latin Binomial All maps shown Name are derived from ‘Plants of the Common World Online’; English courtesy of Kew Name Gardens

Flowering Period Photograph (this is when it is good of the plant for pollinators!) in flower

Plant Family

Insect groups known to Growing habit favour the and mature size nectar of this of the plant plant

Useful knowledge or warnings about the plant RHS AGM of this species (or a related species occasionally) i Key to these Pages Warnings

Additional information on these garden plants

This plant would The flowers only be suitable for and/or meadow-style have a Pleasant Plant tissue is highly planting scent toxic if ingested

The plant has edible parts that are Sap may cause irritation Plant is often used in commonly eaten or (Wash hands after touching traditional Herbal Remedies used in cooking or avoid touching)

ii Temperature RHS Hardiness Scale

Some of the plants listed in our Top 200 are not fully H1a - Above 15ºC hardy in all or some parts of the United Kingdom. H1b - Minimum 10ºC Plants without a thermometer symbol are fully hardy in the severest UK Winter; equating to H5 or hardier. H1c - Minimum 5ºC Plants with a coloured thermometer symbol are hardy to varying degrees as follows: H2 - Minimum 1ºC

H3 - Minimum -5ºC

H4 - Minimum -10ºC

H5 - Minimum -15ºC Almost Hardy Half-Hardy Not Frost Hardy Not Hardy (H4) (H3) (H2) (H1) iii Pollinators Our data on pollinators has been collected from studies spanning over a decade. Pollinator symbols appear when plants are proven to be good nectar (a) (b) plants for certain insects. It should be noted that all bee and hoverfly data is ours but lepidoptera data is taken from Butterfly Conservation.

Our data spans a wide range of different insect species. For simplicity, these species have been condensed into six easy icons to represent them: (c) (d) a) Honeybees c) Bumblebees e) Moths b) Hoverflies d) Butterflies f) Solitary Bees (Includes Moths)

(e) (f) iv Aconitum carmichaeli Chinese Wolfsbane

East Asia

‘Arendsii’ Late Summer - Early Autumn ‘Kelmscott’

Ranunculaceae Buttercup Family

4ft Perennial

Photograph from Mount Venus Nursery 1 simplex Baneberry

East Asia

‘Brunette’ Late Summer - Early Autumn ‘James Compton’

Ranunculaceae Buttercup Family

4ft Perennial

Photograph from Flickr (CC) Kerry Woods 2 Actinidia tetramera Rosy Crab-Apple Kiwi

China

Var. maloides Spring .

Actinidiaceae Kiwi Family

12ft Climber

Photograph from Flickr (CC) BBC Gardeners World 3 Anemone hupehensis var. japonica Japanese Anemone

East Asia

‘Pamina’ Summer . ‘Rotkäppchen’

Ranunculaceae Buttercup Family

3ft Perennial

Photograph from Flickr (CC) Sen Itto 4 Astilbe chinensis False Goat’s-beard

East Asia

‘Purpurlanze’ Summer . ‘Superba’

Saxifragaceae Saxifrage Family

3ft Perennial

Photograph from Flickr (CC) Yew Chan 5 Callicarpa bodinieri Bodinier’s Beautyberry

East Asia

Summer . ‘Profusion’ Autumn (Berries)

Lamiaceae Mint Family

Medium Shrub

Photograph from Flickr (CC) Dietmut Teijgeman-Hansen 6 Camellia japonica Japanese Camellia

East Asia

‘Hagoromo’ Spring . ‘Pink Perfection*’

Theaceae Tea Family

Medium Shrub

* Fully double flowered cultivars are not good for pollinating Photograph from Flickr (CC) Eric Hunt insects so try to buy single flowers (see photo) when7 possible. Chaenomeles speciosa Chinese Quince

China

‘Geisha Girl’ Spring . ‘Moerloosei’

Rosaceae Rose Family

Medium Shrub

Photograph from Flickr (CC) Stanze Bla 8 Corydalis flexuosa Chinese Blue Corydalis

China

‘Blue Panda’ Spring . ‘Purple

Papaveraceae Poppy Family

2ft Perennial

Photograph from Flickr (CC) M’s Photography 9 Daphne bholua Nepalese Daphne

Asia

‘Gurkha’ Winter . ‘Jacqueline Postill’

Thymelaeaceae Daphne Family

Small Shrub

Photograph from Flickr (CC) Timothy C E Paine 10 Deutzia gracilis Japanese Snow Flower

Japan

‘Nikko’ Mid Spring - Early Summer

Hydrangeaceae Hydrangea Family

Medium Shrub

Photograph from Flickr (CC) Dan Mullen 11 Enkianthus perulatus Dodan-tsutsuji

East Asia

- Species - Spring .

Ericaceae Heather Family

Medium Shrub

Photograph from Flickr (CC) Ume Y 12 Fatsia japonica Japanese Aralia

East Asia

- Species - Autumn . ‘Variegata’

Araliaceae Ivy Family

Medium Shrub

Photograph from Flickr (CC) Cerlin Ng 13 Geranium wlassovianum Siberian Cranesbill

Northeast Asia

None Midsummer - Early Autumn

Geraniaceae Cranesbill Family

2ft Perennial

Photograph from Wikipedia (CC) Jamain 14 Hamamelis mollis Chinese Witch-hazel

China

‘Jermyns Gold’ Mid Winter - Early Spring ‘Wisley Supreme’

Hamamelidaceae Witch-hazel Family

Large Shrub

Photograph from Flickr (CC) Wendy Cutler 15 Heptacodium miconioides Seven Son Flower Tree

China

- Species - Late Summer - Late Autumn

Caprifoliaceae Honeysuckle Family

Medium Tree

Photograph from Flickr (CC) F. D. Richards 16 Hibiscus syriacus China Rose Mallow

‘Hamabo’ Midsummer - Early Autumn ‘Woodbridge’

Malvaceae Mallow Family

Medium Shrub

Photograph from Flickr by Toshihiro Gamo 17 Hosta sieboldiana Syn. H. fortunei Giant Blue Plantain-lily

Japan

Var. aureomarginata Summer . ‘Frances Williams’

Asparagaceae Asparagus Family

2ft Perennial

Photograph from Flickr (CC) Gary Lerude 18 Hosta ventricosa Blue Plantain-lily

China

- Species - Summer . ‘Aureomarginata’

Asparagaceae Asparagus Family

2ft Perennial

Photograph from Flickr (CC) C T Johansson 19 Hydrangea anomala Climbing Hydrangea

East Asia

ssp. petiolaris Summer .

Hydrangeaceae Hydrangea Family

10ft+ Climber

Photograph from Flickr (CC) Linda de Volder 20 Hydrangea macrophylla Large-leaf Hydrangea

Japan

‘Hanabi’ ‘Zorro’ Summer . ‘Quadricolour’

Hydrangeaceae Hydrangea Family

Medium Shrub

Photograph from Flickr (CC) CyprusPictures 21 Hylotelephium spectabile Showy Stonecrop, Sedum

East Asia

‘Brilliant’ Late Summer - Mid Autumn -Species-

Crassulaceae Stonecrop Family

2ft Perennial

Photograph from Flickr (CC) F. D. Richards 22 Kerria japonica Japanese Marigold-bush

East Asia

‘Golden Guinea’ Late Spring - Midsummer ‘Pleniflora*’

Rosaceae Rose Family

Medium Shrub

* Double flowered cultivars are not good for most pollinating insects so try to buy single flowers when possible Photograph from Flickr (CC) A. Qiao 23 Lamprocapnos spectabilis Bleeding Heart

East Asia

- Species - Mid Spring - Early Summer ‘Alba’ ‘Valentine’

Papaveraceae Poppy Family

2ft Perennial

Photograph from Flickr (CC) Mark Wordy 24 Ligularia stenocephala Narrow-headed Leopardplant

East Asia

‘The Rocket’ Summer . ‘Zepter’

Asteraceae Daisy Family

4ft Perennial

Photograph from Flickr (CC) Emma Forsberg 25 Ligustrum sinense Chinese Privet Bush

East Asia

Related species: L. lucidum Midsummer ‘Tricolor’ - Early Autumn ‘Excelsum Superbum’

Oleaceae Olive Family

Medium Shrub

Photograph from Flickr (CC) A. Qiao 26 regale Regal Lily

China

- Species - Summer .

Liliaceae Lily Family

6ft Bulbous

Photograph from Flickr (CC) Plant Image Library 27 Lilium lancifolium Tiger Lily

East Asia

Related sp: L. pardalinum Summer .

Liliaceae Lily Family

4ft Bulbous

Photograph from Flickr (CC) Katie Steiger-Meister 28 Lysimachia clethroides Gooseneck Loosestrife

East Asia

- Species - Summer .

Primulaceae Primrose Family

3ft Perennial

Photograph from Flickr (CC) Kerry Woods 29 Magnolia kobus Kobus Magnolia

East Asia

None Spring .

Magnoliaceae Magnolia Family

Small Tree

Photograph from Flickr (CC) Mark Kent 30 Meconopsis quintuplinervia Harebell Poppy

China

- Species - Summer .

Papaveraceae Poppy Family

2ft Perennial

Photograph from Flickr (CC) T. Ma 31 Paeonia delavayi Delavay’s Paeony

China

‘Black Pirate’ Late Spring - Early Summer - Species -

Paeoniaceae Paeony Family

3ft Perennial

Photograph from Flickr (CC) Leonora Enking Paeonia lactiflora Chinese Paeony

East Asia

‘Bowl of Beauty’ Late Spring - Early Summer ‘Miss America’

Paeoniaceae Paeony Family

3ft Perennial

Photograph © Thomas McBride 33 Pieris japonica Japanese Andromeda Bush

East Asia

‘Blush’ ‘Purity’ Spring . ‘Mountain Fire’

Ericaceae Heather Family

Small Shrub

Photograph from Flickr (CC) Pony Lauricella 34 Primula secundiflora Chinese Pink Cowslip

China

None Summer .

Primulaceae Primrose Family

3ft Perennial

Photograph from Flickr (CC) WunDoroo 35 Prunus incisa Fuji Cherry

Japan

‘Fujimae’ Spring . ‘Kojo-no-mai’

Rosaceae Rose Family

Small Tree

Photograph from Flickr (CC) Autan 36 Rheum palmatum Ornamental Rhubarb

East Asia

‘Bowles Crimson’ Summer . ‘Savill’

Polygonaceae Knotweed Family

6ft Large Perennial

Photograph from Flickr (CC) Mrs Enil 37 Rhododendron hippophaeoides Sichuan Blue Rhododendron

China

‘Haba Shan’ Spring .

Ericaceae Heather Family

Medium Shrub

Photograph from Flickr (CC) Plant Image Library 38 Rhododendron yakushimanum Yakushima Rhododendron

Japan

‘Koichiro Wada’ Spring . ‘Hachmann's Polaris’

Ericaceae Heather Family

Medium Shrub

Photograph from Flickr (CC) A Qiáo 39 Rosa rugosa Japanese Rose

East Asia

‘Fru Dagmar Hastrup’ Midsummer - Early Autumn ‘Scabrosa’

Rosaceae Rose Family

Medium Shrub

Photograph from Flickr (CC) Andrew A Reding 40 Rosa xanthina Yellow Manchu Rose

East Asia

‘Canary Bird’ Spring .

Rosaceae Rose Family

Medium Shrub

Photograph from Wikipedia (CC) T Voekler 41 hakusanensis Lilac Squirrel Flower

East Asia

None Summer .

Rosaceae Rose Family

2ft Perennial

Photograph from Wikipedia (CC) Alpsdake 42 Skimmia japonica Japanese Skimmia

East Asia

‘Fragans’ ‘Rubella’ Spring . ‘Nymans’

Rutaceae Rue Family

Medium Shrub

Photograph from Wikipedia (CC) Wilhelm Zimmerling 43 Spiraea japonica Japanese Spiraea

Japan

‘Candlelight’ Summer . ‘Dart’s Red’

Rosaceae Rose Family

Medium Shrub

Photograph from Flickr (CC) BeautifulCataya 44 Stachyurus chinensis Chinese Spiketail

East Asia

‘Celina’ Late Winter - Mid Spring ‘Joy Forever’

Stachyuraceae Spiketail Family

Medium Shrub

Photograph © Thomas McBride 45 Thalictrum rochebruneanum Lavender-mist Meadow-Rue

East Asia

‘Elin’ Summer . - Species -

Ranunculaceae Buttercup Family

2ft Perennial

Photograph from Wikipedia (CC) Michael Wolf 46 Tricyrtis formosana Taiwanese Toad Lily

Taiwan

None Autumn .

Liliaceae Lily Family

3ft Rhizomous

Photograph © Thomas McBride 47 Weigela florida Garden Weigela

East Asia

‘Alexandra’ Late Spring - Midsummer ‘Variegata’

Caprifoliaceae Honeysuckle Family

Medium Shrub

Photograph from Flickr (CC) Shihmei Barger 48 Wisteria floribunda Japanese Wisteria

Japan

‘Domino’ ‘Rosea’ Summer . ‘Lawrence’

Fabaceae Legume Family

10ft+ Climber

Photograph from Wikipedia (CC) Forest & Kim Starr 49 Wisteria sinensis Chinese Wisteria

China

‘Amethyst’ ‘Jako’ Mid Spring - Early Summer ‘Prolific’

Fabaceae Legume Family

10ft+ Vine

Photograph from Flickr (CC) ukgardenphotos 50