That bed looks far too narrow for most of the above selections or is the photo deceptive? The only things I can think of offhand are a hebe or a dwarf conifer - neither of which are winter flowering and the hebe would probably scorch in full sun all day. You could always plant some early snowdrops underneath- galanthus worronni (?) is particularly early flowering I believe so good for bees.
Tricky with a lot of them, if you don’t want to prune off the flower-bearing wood
Have a look at Berberis darwinii ‘compacta’ ... 90x 90 cm ... evergreen with a mass of flowers in early spring which is when the early bumble queens need to feed to establish their colonies. Then later on sometimes a second flush of bloom and of course berries for the birds 😀
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
It has thorns but so do roses ...it's not as if you're going to be stroking it is it?
The thorns make a berberis a wonderful place for small birds to hide from the sparrowhawks so they're a wonderful shrub to plant in the garden if you feed the birds, as most of us do.
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
I'd much rather have roses any day Dove. We inherited a monster hedge of berberis darwinni with thorns that can be 1 " long and go straight through the shoe soles. It needs constantly cutting back and I hate it.
A winter flowering heather would attract the bees, we have a lovely white flowering heather that keeps the bees happy. A Hebe perhaps or mix a few early flowering bulbs under the plants.
Coming back to this suggestion.
I was at Glamis castle at the weekend and came across quite a few fantastic Sedums (Autumn joy I think) that were absolutely covered in bees- have never seen so many bees on a plant.
In a mind to plant one of these and have white heathers either side.
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The only things I can think of offhand are a hebe or a dwarf conifer - neither of which are winter flowering and the hebe would probably scorch in full sun all day. You could always plant some early snowdrops underneath- galanthus worronni (?) is particularly early flowering I believe so good for bees.
Sarcococca hookeriana var. humilis is a dwarf version that would suit.
What is feasible in terms of keeping a larger plant, that could comfortably outgrow the area, pruned to suit?
Have a look at Berberis darwinii ‘compacta’ ... 90x 90 cm ... evergreen with a mass of flowers in early spring which is when the early bumble queens need to feed to establish their colonies. Then later on sometimes a second flush of bloom and of course berries for the birds 😀
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
Dove, doesn't Berberis have really nasty thorns? I wouldn't touch it with a barge pole.
The thorns make a berberis a wonderful place for small birds to hide from the sparrowhawks so they're a wonderful shrub to plant in the garden if you feed the birds, as most of us do.
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
I was at Glamis castle at the weekend and came across quite a few fantastic Sedums (Autumn joy I think) that were absolutely covered in bees- have never seen so many bees on a plant.
In a mind to plant one of these and have white heathers either side.