Commissioned by the Eden Project, the Eden Project Edition is the original Pollinator Pathmaker garden. Located in the Outdoor Gardens overlooking the biomes of Eden’s Cornwall site, two large beds covering a 55 x 23m plot were planted in September 2021, with its formal opening in May 2022.

The Pollinator Pathmaker algorithm chose and then arranged 64 plant species from the Plant Palette to support the greatest diversity of pollinators. The planting includes perennials such as the towering Echium pininana loved by moths, solitary bees, bumblebees, honey bees, and butterflies, the Cornish heath Erica vagans which attracts bumblebees, flies, hoverflies, butterflies, and moths, and Aquilegia vulgaris, a favourite for short- and long-tongued bumblebees.

The planting provides forage over the year as different pollinators emerge with the blooming of their favourite flowers. It also provides habitat with seedheads over winter, and a ‘matrix’ of grasses.

The Eden Project Edition is part of Create A Buzz, a three-year programme at Eden that focuses on the alarming decline of pollinators, their vital role, and the need for their conservation, funded by the Garfield Weston Foundation.

Pollinator Pathmaker Eden Project Edition will be temporarily closed over winter for maintenance. See you in Spring!

The Eden Project Edition contains 64 plant species, supporting pollinators from long-tongued bumblebees to butterflies to moths and hoverflies. The plant list is organised by flowering time, from early spring to winter. We had to make some substitutions due to availability; each one was checked to ensure that the same pollinators visited it, and that it flowered at the same time. Use the Plant Finder to see the painting of each plant and learn about its pollinators.

• Helleborus foetidus
• Pulmonaria officinalis (substitution: Pulmonaria officinalis ‘Opal’)
• Amsonia tabernaemontana var. Salicifolia
• Aquilegia vulgaris
• Aquilegia chrysantha ‘Yellow Queen’
• Pulmonaria longifolia (substitution: Pulmonaria longifolia 'Bertram Anderson')
• Euphorbia oblongata
• Papaver orientale 'Karine'
• Linaria purpurea 'Canon Went'
• Astrantia major subsp. involucrata 'Shaggy'
• Ajuga reptans
• Aconitum napellus 'Newry Blue'
• Geranium phaeum 'Lily Lovell'
• Salvia nemorosa 'Caradonna'
• Geranium sanguineum
• Lythrum salicaria
• Campanula lactiflora (substitution: Campanula persicifolia)
• Calluna vulgaris
• Aster amellus 'King George'
• Calamintha nepeta subsp. Nepeta
• Veronica longifolia 'Marietta'
• Hylotelephium spectabile
• Cirsium rivulare 'Atropurpureum'
• Verbena hastata
• Veronicastrum virginicum 'Fascination'
• Verbascum nigrum
• Lavandula × intermedia 'Lullingstone Castle' (substitution: Lavandula × intermedia ‘Grosso’)
• Lotus hirsutus
• Eryngium alpinum
• Centaurea nigra
• Teucrium chamaedrys
• Geranium × cantabrigiense 'Biokovo'
• Echium pininana
• Sanguisorba officinalis
• Achillea millefolium 'Terracotta'
• Veronicastrum virginicum f. roseum 'Pink Glow'
• Allium schoenoprasum
• Teucrium hircanium
• Lysimachia ephemerum
• Digitalis ferruginea
• Senecio cineraria (substitution: Senecio cineraria ‘Silver Dust’)
• Erica vagans
• Lavandula × chaytoriae 'Sawyers'
• Betonica officinalis
• Agastache aurantiaca 'Tango'
• Helenium 'Moerheim Beauty'
• Leucanthemum vulgare
• Salvia nemorosa 'Amethyst'
• Allium ampeloprasum
• Limonium platyphyllum
• Dipsacus fullonum
• Anthemis tinctoria 'E.C. Buxton'
• Filipendula ulmaria
• Geranium rozanne
• Inula magnifica 'Sonnenstrahl' (substitution: Inula magnifica)
• Echinacea paradoxa
• Agastache 'Blackadder'
• Stachys byzantina
• Veronica spicata 'Glory'
• Achillea millefolium 'Moonshine'
• Symphyotrichum oblongifolium
• Sesleria autumnalis
• Sesleria caerulea

Dr. Alexandra Daisy Ginsberg

Designer and Researcher Iman Datoo
Producer Cecilie Gravesen
Studio Manager Emily Sofaly

Eden Project

Curators Misha Curson, Céline Holman, Hannah Hooks
Associate Curator and Project Manager Sara Matson
Interpretation Dr Jo Elworthy and the Interpretation Team
Horticulture Colin Skelly, Julie Kendall, Jane Knight, and the Living Landscapes Team
Beekeeper Rodger Dewhurst

PR Nicola Jeffs, O’Leary Jeffs

Expert Advisors
Professor Dave Goulson, Marc Carlton, Professor Lars Chittka, Dr Jolyon Troscianko, Markus Radscheit MSc., and Tom Keay

Eden Apprentices
Vicky Carter, Georgina Tackaberry, Yasmin Macneil, Nile Maskell, Alex Lanteigne, Caroline Pheasey, and Aaron Sexton
Students from MSc Land & Ecological Restoration at the Eden Project