As someone who simply can’t bear being inside and who has an allotment and loves gardening, it is my pleasure to participate on the blog tour for The Little Book of Plants for Pollinators by Maureen Little. My thanks to Grace Pilkington for inviting me to take part.

Published on 16th May 2023, The Little Book of Plants for Pollinators is available for purchase here.

The Little Book of Plants for Pollinators

Insects – bees, butterflies, moths, flies, wasps, and beetles – play a vital and irreplaceable role in pollination.

Yet many pollinators are in decline, and people are asking what can be done on an individual basis to help them. One answer is to grow pollinator-friendly plants in your garden.

This richly colour-illustrated book showcases a selection of plants which are not only attractive to pollinators, but are also garden-worthy, and suitable for an ‘average’ size of garden.

It includes:

• Information about the kinds of pollinators that can be found in a garden
• Practical advice on what those pollinating insects need in terms of food and habitat, and what gardeners can do to aid their survival
• An overview of the types of garden plants that can fulfil the insects’ needs
• A series of plant lists covering more than 100 annuals and biennials, herbaceous perennials, shrubs, sub-shrubs and climbers, and trees

My Review of The Little Book of Plants for Pollinators

A book of 100 (ish!) plants to encourage pollinators.

What an absolute delight The Little Book of Plants for Pollinators is. Right from the very introduction where Maureen outlines her criteria for selecting plants in this book, her no-nonsense approach is gloriously refreshing. What The Little Book of Plants for Pollinators does is to think about the average garden and the kinds of plants the ordinary person can include so that compendium is practical and encouraging for those of us who don’t own vast swathes of land. Add in Maureen’s conversational style that speaks right to the reader and delving into The Little Book of Plants for Pollinators feels like having a one-to-one chat with an expert who is giving you their undivided attention. I just loved this about the book.

Before Maureen’s choice of plants proper is a highly informative and entertaining section looking, for example, at flower types, the creatures that actually are pollinators and the practical ways we can encourage them in our gardens.

But it’s the plant list itself which makes this book so wonderful. Fantastic photographs accompany the text which follows an educational and entertaining format. The different sections in The Little Book of Plants for Pollinators begin with lovely illustrations in the style of the cover too. Each plant is described conventionally with such details as how and when to propagate it, but there is also Maureen’s choice as well as a quirky ‘Beware’ section for those plants that might be poisonous or irritant.

Whilst The Little Book of Plants for Pollinators is educative, helpful and informative, it’s highly entertaining and reading the text makes the reader feel they are getting to know the author too. Maureen Little comes across as a passionate plantswoman certainly, but she also seems warm, witty and caring so that there’s real pleasure in meeting her on the page. She also made me feel as if I could trust her horticultural knowledge completely.

I thought The Little Book of Plants for Pollinators was super. With it’s brilliantly researched contents, its high quality illustrations and glossy finish, it would make a wonderful gift for any gardener or anyone interested in supporting those pollinators that we all need to survive. But be (or should that be bee) warned – you’ll want your own copy too! I thought it was magnificent.

About Maureen Little

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Maureen Little is an author, gardener and bee-keeper who has worked in horticulture for over 40 years. She has given lectures at RHS Wisley, the Garden Museum in London, the Herb Society and gardening groups and societies nationwide. Maureen has a monthly gardening feature on local community radio Ribble FM. Maureen is a full member of the Garden Media Guild, and the author of The Bee Garden  and The Little Book of Popular Perennials. The Little Book of Plants for Pollinators is her latest book.

For further information, visit Maureen’s website.