Envious JennyJ, my honesty are still smallish mounds of leaves. People keep saying it was a mild winter but it has been colder than usual here.
I have honesty plants at all stages from just-germinated seedlings coming up thick like cress, to ones coming into flower. They seem to like it here, and I like the seed pods and leave them on until they fall, which means lots of seedlings. Most of the small seedlings are the plain green-leaved ones (some white, some purple) so most of them will go. I'm trying to nurture/encourage more of the variegated white one, and the dark-leaved ones The bees seem to like all of them equally.
Doncaster, South Yorkshire. Soil type: sandy, well-drained
I'm a year behind as far as gardening for bees is concerned. Im turning half of my lawn over to a border for pollinators, which should be great for bees next spring. Got plenty of bee friendly seedling pants growing in my greenhouse so hopefully it will be planted and in flower for the summer.
At the moment the bees are all over my wallflowers. I have forget-me-nots and honesty in full flower, but haven't noticed any interest there yet.
Different types of bees go for different plants and there will be an order of plant preference. They will make a beeline for the flower at the top of the list and use their energy on that one as long as it's available. I find lots of mason bees on my fgmns possibly because there is not a huge amount else in flower in that area. When allium are out, that will be at the top of the available menu and then veronica longifolia/salvia.
In the community garden I tend, when there is sedum, centrathus ruber, erigeron, poppies and Rozanne is in flower, everything goes for the Rozanne - the flowers are not equally attractive, even though they all offer nectar. I think if the Rozanne wasn't there, the sedum would be the next best option and it be covered in life.
Lacy phecilia is good, forget me nots seem to be good for the mason bees as they flower in April, borage is great, ivy flowers - good for all insects, crocus, allium and nasturtiums aren't bad. One a side note probaly not the best flower is my oriental poppy. The flowers are so big the bees sometimes get a bit stuck in all the pollen stamens which is amusing.
Pulmonaria, dead nettle and Cerinthe at the moment. Later in the year it will be sedum, cornflower, sunflower and Cosmos. They also like grazing over the Sweet cicely and verbena boriensis. Absolute favourites though are the lavender, Eupatorium and Blackberry flowers.
Right now the small solitary bees are on the lesser celandine. while their big bumblebee sisters are abusing the blackcurrants and gooseberries, My plum trees were a mass of buzzing last week with honey bees.
I have a few daises, some soft fruits and a mass of lesser celandine at the moment, not much is really in flower yet, honesty is just showing colour on the buds, the pears and apples are about to spring out and the honey bees come and swarm them as soon as they do. The chives are also in bud at the moment and those are well loved by the bumbles.
I don't keep bees but a neighbour has 4 hives about 150m away so we have a lot of them about, I would prefer a lot less of them and more of the wild bees.
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Later in the year it will be sedum, cornflower, sunflower and Cosmos.
They also like grazing over the Sweet cicely and verbena boriensis.
Absolute favourites though are the lavender, Eupatorium and Blackberry flowers.