Give Bees a Chance was launched this year in partnership with the Isle of Wight Festival & Gift to Nature who are running a project to support Bumblebees, Solitary Bees and Honey Bees. We need bees they pollinate around three quarters of agricultural crops. Bees all over the world are dying in record numbers due to the Varroa virus, Colony Collapse Disorder and various environmental factors such as loss of habitat. There is an excellent article in The Ecologist which outlines all the problems affecting bees.
I have noticed in my garden this year that there have been far less bees than ever before, although I have got lots of bumblebee visitors.
Even if you are a dedicated veggie grower do try and find a bit of space for a few plants to encourage bees – you need them to pollinate all those vegetables, although a lot of fruit and nut trees/bushes are great for feeding bees as well as you. Rowan from Island 2000 Trust sent me a list of plants and shrubs you can plant in your garden to provide food for all types of bees. I have added some photos of ones I have in my garden and some plants that are perhaps more obscure, if there are any that you don’t know copy and paste the plant into Google to find out more about it.
Photo: Robyn Jay
Herbaceous plants
Eranthis hyemalis (winter aconite) – flowers in January & February.
Photo: Gertrud K
Crocus – flowers in February & March.
Galanthus nivalis (Snowdrop) – flowers in February & March.
Muscari (Grape hyacinth) – flowers Feb, March & April.
Helleborus orientalis (Lenten rose) – flowers March & April.
Photo: Hazel I
Cheiranthus (Wallflower) – flowers March & April.
Allium ursinum (Ramsons) – flowers April & May.
Photo: Tim Waters
Camassia quamash (Quamash) – flowers April & May.
Photo: Walter Siegmund
Allium schoenoprasum (Chives) – flowers May, June & July.
Calendula officinalis (Pot marigold) – flowers May, June, July, Aug & Sept. Single and semi-double varieties only.
Eschscholtzia californica (California poppy) – flowers May, June, July, Aug & Sept.
Geranium pratense (meadow cranesbill) – flowers June & July.
Photo: Dave Rogers
Nepeta x faassenii (Catmint) – flowers June, July, Aug & Sept.
Echium pininana – flowers May, June, July & Aug. Also native Echium vulgare (Viper’s Bugloss)and others.
Borago officinalis (Borage) – flowers June, July, Aug, Sept & Oct.
Papaver orientale (oriental poppy) – flowers June & July.
Origanum vulgare (oregano, marjoram) – flowers July & Aug.
Dipsacus fullonum (teasel) – flowers July & Aug.
Valeriana officinalis (valerian) – flowers July & Aug. True valerian, not red valerian (Centranthus ruber). Photo: Dave Rogers
Mentha (Mints) – flowers Aug & Sept. Many different species and cultivars.
Aster (Michaelmas daisies) – flowers Aug, Sept & Oct. Many different species and cultivars.
Anemone x hybrida (Japanese anemones) – flowers Aug, Sept, Oct & Nov. Several different species and cultivars.
Helianthus tuberosus (Jerusalem artichoke) – flowers October.
Helleborus niger (Christmas rose) – flowers Nov, Dec & Jan. Several different Helleborus species and cultivars.
Trees, shrubs, hedges, climbers
Prune hedges after they have flowered.
Viburnum farreri – flowers Sept, Oct, Nov, Dec & Jan – different forms flower at different times.
Photo: Sten Porse
Corylus avellana (Hazel) – flowers in Feb & March.
Prunus domestica (Plum) – flowers in Feb & March.
Prunus dulcis (Almond) – flowers in March & April.
Prunus cerasus (Cherry) – flowers in April & May.
The above three shrubs/trees are a good example of why many gardeners refer to plants by their Latin names. Prunus is the ‘Genus’ (Latin for: descent, family, type, gender ); cerasus, dulcis &domestica are the ‘Species’. The flowers of all of them are usually white to pink, with five petals and five sepals. It can get more complicated than that but that is the basics. If you want to learn more about it the RHS has a page about it.
Salix (Willow) – flowers in March, April & May.
Acer campestre (Maple) – flowers in April & May.
Malus domestica (Apple) – flowers in April & May.
Rosmarinus officinalis (Rosemary) – flowers in April & May.
Ribes grossularium (Gooseberry) – flowers in April & May.
Ribes nigrum (Blackcurrant) – flowers in April & May.
Crataegus monogyna (Hawthorn) – flowers in May.
Ilex aquifolium (Holly) – flowers in May & June.
Cytisus scoparius (Broom) – flowers in May & June.
Rubus fruticosus (Blackberry) – flowers in May, June, July, Aug & Sept. You can now get thornless ones for the garden.
Cotoneaster horizontalis – flowers in May & June.
Rubus idaeus (Raspberry) – flowers in May & June.
Thymus (Thyme) – flawers in May, June & July.
Buddleia globosa – flowers in May & June.
As you can see this is not the buddleia (butterfly bush) that most of us are familiar with, this type is for bees.
Photo: Ben Watkin
Lonicera periclymenum (Honeysuckle) – Flowers in May, June & July. For bumblebees and moths rather than hive bees.
Escallonia – Flowers in June & July. This makes a beautiful evergreen, flowering hedge or you can grow it as a shrub.
Fuchsia magellanica – flowers in June, July & August. This is the single flowered variety that is used for hedging.
Photo: Tim Waters
Tilia cordata (Small-leaved Lime) – flowers June & July. Avoid T. petiolaris – can stupefy bees.
Lavandula angustifolia (Lavender) – flowers June & July. Bees tend to like all lavender not just this one.
Gleditsia triacanthos (Honey locust) – flowers July. Thornless ones are now available.
Erica cinerea (Bell Heather) – flowers July & August. Also other Erica species / cultivars, Calluna vulgaris
Myrtus communis (Myrtle) – flowers July & August.
Parthenocissus quinquefolia (Virginia creeper) – flowers in August.
Lawns and meadows
Trifolium repens (White clover) – flowers June, July, Aug & Sept. White for lawns; white and other clover species in meadows. I have white clover in my lawn and each time I mow it I leave a different patch un-mowed for the bees.
Onobrychis viciifolia (sainfoin) – flowers May & June. For meadows.
Lotus corniculatus (bird’s-foot trefoil) – flowers in May & June. For lawns and meadows.
Great post thank you very much 😀
thought you might enjoy my machinima film on permaculture and the bees
bright blessings
elf ~
Thanks, love your film. A great way to get the message across. Have watched a couple of your others and will check out the rest as soon as I have more time.
Angie