Bee Friendly Flowers for Your Garden
Posted on August 17th, 2018In preparation for National Honey Bee Day, we’ve put together a guide on bee friendly flowers for your garden. We’ve categorized them by season so that you can keep the bees coming all year ‘round. When you’re done reading, why not check out some of our new build homes? The gardens are the perfect place to start a mini paradise for your local bee colonies.
Spring Flowers
Allium
This bulb-type flower is a member of the onion and garlic family (although they smell nothing like either food). The flowers are deep purple in colour and are definitely a show-stopper in any garden. They can grow up to 1m in height, and up to 20cm in diameter.
Bulley’s primrose
This perennial is a favourite of bees. The pollen rich flowers are an orange-yellow colour, and the plant can grow up to 60cm in height.
Spring peas
Despite the adorable name, these flowers look nothing like peas or their pods. They are however fantastic for bees because of their particularly high-quality pollen. The flowers are a rich shade of pink/purple and the plant can grow up to 50cm in both height and width.
Rhododendrons
Rhododendrons, despite being a mouthful, are a bold, beautiful type of flower with yellow petals and sunset gradient. The plant can grow to be up to 1.5m high and 2m wide.
Hawthorns
The flowers of the hawthorn tree are very attractive to bees, as well as a range of other creatures. The small, delicate flowers are white in colour and the tree itself can grow up to 6m high.
Summer Flowers
Lavender
There are many different species of lavender, all of which are irresistible to bees. The sweet, powerful scent and attractive purple colour is sure to lure them in immediately. The plant can grow up to 60cm tall and 50cm wide.
Catmint
Catmint is another purple flower that bees just love. The aromatic plant can grow up to 30cm high and 20cm wide.
Foxgloves
Foxgloves come in many varieties, but they generally have tubular flowers and come in either red, white, pink, or purple. With their high pollen contents, they are very bee friendly flowers and they look lovely, too. The plant can grow to be up to 1.5m high with a 45cm spread.
Honeysuckle
This pretty flower is a natural climber and will scale up the wall near to where it is planted. Beautifully fragrant, the flowers are white in colour with dark red streaks, but they mature to a yellow colour during late summer. The plant can grow up to 7m high with a 3.5m spread.
Snapdragons
These soft, delicate-looking flowers are closely associated with cottages, and come in a variety of colours including white, peach, red, and blue. The plants can grow to be up to 20cm high and 25cm wide.
Autumn Flowers
Penstemon
These pretty, tubular flowers are ideal for cottage gardens and come in purple, yellow or pink varieties. The plants are very attractive to bees due to their colouring. They can grow up to 45cm in both height and width.
Perennial wallflower
Fragrant and low maintenance, wallflowers are an excellent inclusion to any bee garden. Bees seem to love them and we’re sure that you will too. The plants can grow up to 50cm in both height and width.
Anemone
The distinctive blue/grey underside of these particular flowers would leave you expecting it to bloom into that same colour. However, the top side of the flower is actually white. This little surprise will look lovely in your garden, and the bees will thank you for it. The plant can grow up to 45cm in both height and width.
Gaura
Rich in pollen and brightly coloured, this flower is ideal for bees. The pink bloom is very appealing to them and you can use them in your garden to link other planting groups together. The plant can grow to be up to 60cm in both height and width.
Baby sage
Yes, that really is its name. Baby sage has very aromatic leaves and small, magenta flowers that bees just can’t stay away from. They’re quite low maintenance and will also attract butterflies. The plant can grow up to 90cm high and wide.
Winter Flowers
Winter Honeysuckle
The Winter honeysuckle shrub has small, delicate, white flowers amongst almost leafless branches. Its flowers are extremely fragrant and therefore a target for winter-roaming bees. The plant can grow up to 2m high and 3m wide.
Stinking hellebores
Stinking hellebores are compact, green flowers that surprisingly do not smell bad! They are popular with bees because of their high pollen content, and the plant can grow to be up to 80cm high and 45cm wide.
Snow crocus
Crocus flowers have many different varieties that bloom throughout the year. One such variety is the snow crocus, which is a petite, light purple flower that blooms during late winter. These bee friendly flowers offer the little workers a place of solace in the colder months. The plant can grow to be up to 10cm high and 5cm wide.
Winter heather
This variety of Heather will grow in small, wide clumps of light pink flowers surrounded by fresh, green foliage. It blooms in December and will stay with you until way into spring. The plant itself can grow to be up to 50cm in height with a 1m spread.
Snowdrops
These tiny, white flowers are very decorative and ‘drop’ down, giving them their name. They will grow in patches around the garden and they are a nice way to add some greenery during the winter months. The plant can grow to be up to 22cm high and 8cm wide.
After reading all this information on bee friendly flowers, we hope that you head out into the garden and get planting! With your help, we can make Britain’s gardens more hospitable for bees, and thus give them some much-needed support.
Why You Should Plant Bee Friendly Flowers
Bees are vital for pollinating various plants across the world, but they are disappearing at an alarming rate. The British Beekeepers Association state that the UK lost 25% of its bee colonies this past winter and this was mainly due to starvation. Without bees, we wouldn’t have some of the country’s favourite fruits, such as grapes, apples, tomatoes and bananas, so we definitely need to look after them.
Look out for your local bees by planting any of the bee friendly flowers on this list, not using pesticides, and also buying organic produce. It all helps towards a better place for bees to… be(e).
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