Echinacea

An expanding range of clump-forming, summer flowers perennials. Traditionally colours of pink-purple and white were prominent, but the use of the yellow-flowered Echinacea paradoxa has encouraged a greater range of colours in new hybrids. As with others in the Asteraceae family, it's the ray-florets (the petal-like part of the flowers) which are most interesting,  but the disc-florets, in the centre, are also prominent and remain, strong and prickly, after the colour has faded. Hence the latin name, as in Greek, echinos means hedgehog. From the plains of N. America, so enjoying a sunny position and ideally a good soil. Better planted out in the spring.

While it is the petal-like ray-flowers that attract pollinators visually, it is the disc-flowers in the centre of the flowerhead that contain masses of nectar and pollen the insects eat. There is no better flower in a late-summer border (or a prairie-style planting) for visiting insects, from butterflies like red admiral and painted lady, to bumblebees, honeybees and leaf-cutter bees, hoverflies and a whole lot more. At the end of the season, finches including goldfinches and greenfinches eat the seeds from the heads.