What plants and flowers are best to attract bees and butterflies?

We've been putting lots of colourful stuff in the garden, but my mum's polycantha (I think) seemed to attract far more bees than we did this year without any flowers on it. Thank you!

 

Can't go too far wrong with Buddleja and Cabbage

 

The best plants in my garden for attracting them seem to be cotoneaster, buddleja, liatris spicata, agastache foeniculum, linaria, nasturtiums, cosmos and hebes.

 

Joe Pye weed out shines the butterfly attraction over butterfly bush.

 

Thymes, lavenders and Sedums are also quite good. Also they are more likely to frequent plants with the sun on them.

 

Brilliant, thank you so much everyone!

 

Zigs, I don't think Scattyjan is a caterpillar collector!!

Butterflies normally prefer open single flowers not doubles so all the above apply.

 

my agapanthus are very popular with bees and my mums echinops were covered with bees

I also grew leeks last year and let some of them bolt and flower and the bees absolutely loved them they were covered in them

i second buddleia, sedums, lavender, hebes are all really good too

 

I'll hit OH with all these later - thank you! He'll wonder if I've been at the herbs

 

I missed off salvia hot lips as the bees love them but i guess most salvias would be good too

 

Buddleja for butterfly's sedums for bees if your put of bye the size of buddleja go for the buzz type.

I've been getting lots of hummingbird hawk moths this year which are great to sit and watch really did think I had hummingbirds in my garden.

 

I would add winter flowering honeysuckle (Lonicera fragrantissima) to that list. On any reasonably mild day in winter, a few bees always appear around my winter honeysuckle plant, I like to think it helps to get them through the hard times and that my reward is a garden full of bees in spring and summer.

 

The list grows ever longer - thank you! I might see if I can make a 'found' poem out of it. I've got to write something with 'fragrantissima' in it!

 

Our delphiniums and hollyhocks attract bees and butterflies all summer.