Help bees and pollinator insects through the all seasons by providing a range of plants that offer a succession of flowers and thus pollen and nectar. Even a small area planted with the right flowers will be beneficial. Each patch will add to the mosaic of habitat available to bees and pollinators.
- Use local native plants. Native plants are 4 times more attractive to native bees than exotic flowers. Heirloom herbs & perennials also provide good foraging
- Best colors: Blue, purple, violet, white & yellow
- Clumps ( >4′ diameter ) of one species will attract more pollinators
- Different shapes. Bees are different sizes with different tongue lengths & feed on different shaped flowers
- Diversity of flowers. Several plant species flowering at once & a sequence of plants flowering in spring, summer, fall & winter support a wide range of species
Bee Friendly Garden Plants for Honeybees–based on Garden Plants for Honey Bees by Peter Lindtner with personal observations by Anne Schatz:
Bee Friendly Plants (pdf) – Updated June 27, 2018
Bee Friendly Plants (Excel) – Updated June 27, 2018
From the Royal Horticultural Society:
Pollinator Plants of the World
Other useful sites: