Mahonia winter sun at Hanley Swan Village Hall
To encourage wildlife in the parking area at Hanley Swan Village Hall, with help from Carol Nicholls from Grange Farm Nursery, Hanleys Environment Group has planted shrubs, chosen to attract and benefit insects.
Published: 15 April 2026
As well as providing colour from foliage, blossom and berries over a large part of the year, the flowering shrubs will soon be providing flowers which attract a range of insects.
Mahonia has been included, whose sprays of small, bright-yellow flowers provide an important food source in December and January for buff-tailed bumblebees, which are now becoming more active in our milder winters, when there are few other flowers available. Mahonia’s berries ripen in spring, at a time when most berries have already been eaten, and are appreciated by thrushes and blackbirds.