What Plants do bees like?

[gazh]

Hi, i'm not an experienced gardener yet, and i only seem to be interested in plants that provide me with food. However i was looking around the garden the other day and noticed a big lack of colour and bees! i used to have a large bush with big purple flowers that the bees loved, however that died this year and so i haven't got anything for the bees to come for

Does anyone have any idea what i should get, so to attract more bees? i have a large garden and can devote the whole front area of the house to the them. I know practically nothing about flowers or bushes etc

i'm off to visit Hugh Fearnley this weekend so if i don't reply, please don't think i'm being ignorant.

thanks Gareth

[Mrs Dobby]

Hi Gareth, it really depends on what type of Bees you want to attract!

Honey bees prefer flowers that are flat and open, and love Lemon Verbena, Lavender, Poppies, Clover and lots of others, bumble bees will visit many other types of flowers, but especially foxgloves and other 'deeper' flowers.

Generally I'd look more at what aspect, soil type and how much time (for watering etc) you have, then plan around that first, taking specific types of plant that various types of bees like!

I'm sure many more knowledgeable folk will be on with long lists of bee fodder plants for you soon!

[zazen999]

If you want bees in a veg patch, it's best to interplant your veg with all sorts of bee friendly plants.

I have chives on corners of beds [flowers may, cut down now, flowers again august time], limanthes which just grows where it wants as it self seeds now [flowers from march onwards, self seeds and can re-germinate again later in the year], dyer's chammomile [flowers now all the way to november], cerinthe [now until oct], corncockle [now until about end august], and no end of nasturtiums as well as lots of veg that is open pollinated and thus is currently dragging bees in as I'm saving seeds from them later in the year [beetroot, parsnips, leeks, onions, carrots all flowering at the moment]. Plus all sorts of poppies and nigella and sweetpeas, cosmos, daisies etc which also self seed around the plot.

[rustylady]

They love comfrey, and you can use the leaves and stems to make your own liquid manure or add them to the compost heap.

[Two_Sheds]

I've just planted a Bee & Butterfly Border at my school, using many of the suggestions listed above, along with beans (bees love bean flowers).

Opium poppy and phacelia are very popular on my lotty at the mo

[GreatBlah]

Have a look on this for bumblebees:
Gardening for bumblebees

They do like a few other flowers as well like Fuchsias, if they are not the really fancy ones, and marigolds but the ones on the list they seem to love.

One thing to remember it's really important to have some early flowers for them.

[Two_Sheds]

it's really important to have some early flowers for them.

Yep, and dandelion fits the bill. It's worth letting some flower just for the bees.

[bramble]

I have lots of lavender in my garden and the plants are always" humming" with bees.
Also, as Mrs Dobby said, red clover is a favourite for bees but unfortunately you don't see it growing in many gardens now.
The big bush you were referring to was the butterfly bush or, to give it its proper name Buddleia.

[greasyfire]

Sunflorwers are a bees favourite, they alson enjoy a lot of wild flowers. In my garden they love herbs like thyme and chives.

[rustylady]

My lawn doesn't get mown very often, and at the moment has a lot of white clover blossoms. The bees are loving it.

[gazh]

thanks for the replies guys, i'll have a look into the plants mentioned at the top and adding some of the veg's and herbs that attract bees is a good idea too. think i might even let the lawn grow a while in between cuts!!

[wellie]

Hello gazh, sorry to be a bit late 'dipping into' your thread! but since Trousers and I moved here to The Funny Farm, and we're now effectively in the middle of a wide open space, surrounded by little else than fields, small distant woodlands, natural hedges, cows, sheep and a lot of muck (very thankful for the endless supply of Muck, obviously?!) and therefore it is a COMPLETELY different 'set-up' to where we used to live, and hence, so is the wildlife, the pollinating insects, the pests, the diseases.

Since moving here a year ago, I've kept with plants that did attract, and now too I'm able to grow new ones. You could do no better than listen to those that have already suggested Comfrey and Cerinthe, as I promise you, those are the two MOST visited plants in my garden each and every day right now, along with the Borage.

Comfrey is a Perennial plant and will establish itself well for you, but Cerinthe is a Half Hardy type of plant, but extremely easy from seed.
I wish you lots of success.

[gazh]

hey wellie, i will defo have a look at comfrey but if cerinthe is only half hardy then it might get killed by the winter frosts, was -12 last winter one day! had to defrost my car door before i could get in!! i do enjoy growing from seed but would like something that returned each year for the bees.

just looked and the comfrey flowers look just like my potatoe flowers, pointless info but felt like sharing. :-)

[zazen999]

hey wellie, i will defo have a look at comfrey but if cerinthe is only half hardy then it might get killed by the winter frosts, was -12 last winter one day! had to defrost my car door before i could get in!! i do enjoy growing from seed but would like something that returned each year for the bees.

It does come back every year. It self seeds. You'll be hard pressed to get rid of it once you have it. Mr Z rolled a full wheelbarrow over ours a few weeks back and it's still going strong. All ours came from one plant bought at an open garden plant sale.


Half hardy - doesn't actually mean half hardy in this country; it means the seeds can be sown and left over the winter to germinate when ready. Rather than having to be sown once it warms up or under cover.

[sewer rat]

Nobody appears to have mentioned BORAGE - this is commonly referred to as the beekeepers plant - the bees adore it. It self seeds and you can use the bright blue flowers to brighten salads.