Best plants for bees.

Our gardens are extremely important for bees and other pollinators, providing them with the nectar and pollen they need to thrive, as well as nesting habitats. Nectar provides them with the energy they need to fly and find a nest, while pollen provides bee grubs with the protein they need to grow. By growing a good mix of flowering plants in your garden, you can provide a wealth of nectar and pollen for a wide range of bee species.

How to grow plants for bees.

Choose single, open flowers where you can see the central part of the flower – where the bees can access the nectar and pollen. Different bees are active at different times of the year. Some emerge from hibernation as early as February, while others are still flying in November. To give bees the best possible chance to thrive, it’s therefore important to grow flowers from late winter to autumn – all year round if possible.

A great way to help bees in spring is to plant spring-flowering bulbs in autumn. Bulbs are hardy and reliable plants, so you can guarantee the bees will have a source of pollen and nectar when there’s little else in flower.

Planting bulbs in containers is an easy way to ensure you don’t miss their colorful displays, especially if they’re along the front path, next to the back door or on your patio. Choosing varieties that are rich in both nectar and pollen will be a lifeline for the first emerging bumblebees, some of which come out from hibernation as early as February. Plant bulbs that flower over a long season, including early-flowering crocus and late-spring flowering fritillaries. By combining bulbs, you’ll not only create eye catching pots but attract different pollinators, too.

  • Single flowers.

    Most double flowers are of little use, as they have so many petals the bees can’t get to the central part of the flower, where the nectar and pollen are found.

  • Purple flowers.

    Bees can see the color purple more clearly than any other color, and some of the best bee plants, such as lavender, alliums, buddleja, and catmint, have purple flowers.

  • Tubular-shaped flowers.

    Tubular-shaped flowers such as foxgloves, honeysuckle, penstemons and snapdragons are an important source of food for long-tongued bees such as the garden bumblebee, Bombus hortorum.

  • Grow flowers all year round.

    Most bees are most active from March to September, but some emerge from hibernation early in mild winters, while buff-tailed bumblebee queens will occasionally start nesting in autumn, rather than hibernating, establishing a ‘winter colony’. Aim to have at least two nectar- or pollen-rich plants in flower during winter. Plants like winter honeysuckle and winter clematis are perfect for the job.

  • Spring flowers.

    Bluebell

    Bugle

    Crab apple

    Crocus

    Flowering cherry and currant

    Forget-me-not

    Hawthorn

    Primrose

    Pulmonaria

    Rhododendron

    Rosemary

  • Early-summer flowers.

    Agastache (anise hyssop)

    Amsonia hubrechtii (arkansas bluestar)

    Campanula

    Comfrey

    Coreopsis

    Delphinium

    Foxglove

    Hardy geranium

    Honesty

    Hollyhock

    Nepeta

    Potentilla

    Rudbeckia

    Snapdragon

    Stachys

    Teasel

    Thyme

    Verbascum

  • Late-summer flowers.

    Aster

    Buddleja

    Cardoon

    Cornflower

    Dahlia (single-flowered)

    Echinacea purpurea

    Eryngium

    Eupatorium maculatum

    Globe thistle

    Heather

    Ivy

    Lavender

    Liatris

    Monarda (bee balm)

    Penstemon

    Scabious

    Sedum

    Verbena bonariensis