Plants for attracting bees to your garden

This guide is designed to help you choose the best flowers for bees and pollinators, including handy, seasonal plant lists.

Summer is in full force, and happily, my garden is full of bees (in part, due to the line of lavender I planted a few years ago). Bees play an important role in many of our ecosystems, and though they seem to be thriving in my patch of green, they are actually in decline. Bees not only provide us with honey, but they also aid the pollination of the crops we eat and our wild plants. The threat to the populations of bees and other pollinators is a very real one, so it’s really important that we do what we can to help them. If we do not do something, the world will become a very different place – we will struggle to produce enough food for the world’s population and there will be a loss of diversity.

Loss of habitat is the main cause of bee populations plummeting, as intensive farming and extensive, urban developments increase. Wildflower meadows, hedges, water meadows and ponds have all diminished. Climate change is also impacting on the number of pollinators there are, as well as the use of harmful pesticides and chemicals which affect their navigation and breeding.

To help combat the loss of habitats and food sources, we can plant certain types of flowers in our gardens. This can aid many types of pollinating insects, including bumblebees and honeybees, and it’s something that we can all do. No matter how small your outside space is, you can do something to give our bees more of what they need to survive and thrive – even a window box planted with bee-friendly flowers will help!

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To increase your chances of providing forage for a variety of pollinating-insects, follow these basic guidelines:

• Look out for “plants for pollinators" labels when purchasing flowers and plants.
• Grow a wide range of plants with different flowering times.
• Choose flowers with open, “easy to access” blooms, and avoid multi-petalled and double flowers.
• Avoid the use of harmful pesticides and chemicals.
• Create plenty of habitats in your garden and nest sites for wild bees.

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Below are my top plants for creating a bee-friendly garden. I have split them into seasons depending on when they bloom.

Spring

• Bugle - Ajuga reptans
• Californian Lilac – Ceanothus spp.
• Crocus - Crocus spp.
• Wallflower – Erysimum spp.
• Cranesbill – Geranium spp.
• Hebe - Hebe spp.
• Hellebore - Helleborus spp.
• Candytuft – Iberis sempervirens
• Holly - Ilex aquifolium
• Honesty – Lunaria annua
• Grape hyacinth – Muscari armeniacum
• Stone fruit trees (wild, ornamental and edible) – Prunus spp.
• Pear tree - Pyrus spp.
• Flowering currant – Ribes Sanguineum
• Skimmia – Skimmia japonica

Summer

• Hollyhock – Alcea rosea
• Alliums (ornamental and edible) – Allium spp.
• Peruvian lily – Alstroemeria spp.
• Snapdragon – Antirrhinum majus
• Thrift – Armeria maritima
• Butterfly bush - Buddleja davidii
• Marigold - Calendula officinalis
• Bellflower and Canterbury bells – Campanula spp.
• Cornflower - Centaurea montana
• Valerian – Centranthus spp.
• Spider Flower – Cleome hassleriana
• Tickseed – Coreopsis spp.
• Cosmos – Cosmos bipinnatus
• Dahlias – Dahlia spp.
• Sweet William – Dianthus barbarous
• Foxglove – Digitalis purpurea
• Purple Coneflower – Echinacea purpurea
• Fleabane – Erigeron spp.
• Sea holly – Eryngium spp.
• Wallflower – Erysimum spp.
• Cranesbill – Geranium spp.
• Baby’s breath – Gypsophila elegant
• Hebe - Hebe spp.
• Sunflower – Helianthus annuus
• Candytuft – Iberis sempervirens
• Holly - Ilex aquifolium
• Jasmine – Jasminum officinale
• Everlasting sweet pea – Lathyrus latifolius
• English lavender – Lavandula angustifolia
• French lavender – Lavandula stoechas
• Honeysuckle – Lonicera periclymenum
• Forget-me-not – Myosotis spp.
• Catmint – Nepeta spp.
• Tobacco plant – Nicotiana plata
• Love-in-a-mist – Nigella damascena
• Evening primrose – Oenothera spp.
• Poppy – Papaver spp.
• Perennial phlox - Phlox paniculata
• Caucasian crosswort – Phuopsis stylosa
• Roses – Rosa spp.
• Rosemary – Rosmarinus officinalis
• Coneflower – Rudbeckia spp.
• Sage – Salvia spp.
• Lamb’s ear – Stachys byzantina
• French marigold – Tagetes patula
• Thyme – Thymus spp.
• Purple top – Verbena bonariensis
• Vervain – Verbena rigida

Autumn

• Japanese anemone – Anemone x hybrida
• Strawberry tree – Arbutus unedo
• “Mums” – Chrysanthemum spp.
• Autumn crocus – Colchicum spp.
• Dahlias – Dahlia spp.
• Japanese aralia – Fatsia japonica
• Ivy – Hedera helix
• Stonecrop – Hylotelephium spectabile
• Sage – Salvia spp.
• Michaelmas daisy – Symphyotrichum spp.

Winter

• Crocus - Crocus spp.
• Winter aconite – Eranthis hyemalis
• Common snowdrop – Galanthus nivalis
• Hellebore - Helleborus spp.
• Oregon grape – Mahonia spp.
• Sweet box – Sarcococca confusa

If you can, try to include plants for each season, from each of these lists when planning your outdoor space. This will give you a continuous flowering period, which will benefit the bees.

If in doubt, search for a “plants for bees” label when shopping at your local garden centre. Many plants will have them. The RHS display a “RHS plants for pollinators” logo on some of their range. You can also also filter search results when using their find a plant tool online.

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If you want to find out more about amazing bees and what they do for our planet, read my Why bees need trees post. To really hold bees close to your heart, wear one of my bees need trees men's and women's tees, or my "The Boobees" tie-side t-shirt.  

Any questions, please pop them in the comments or get in touch here!

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