Bee friendly plants

Posts

• NewBoy2 Posts: 1,813

  January 2021

  Phacelia , Lavender and Mallow

  Everyone is just trying to be Happy.....So lets help Them.

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• rachelQrtJHBjb Posts: 819

  January 2021

  Echinacea, borage (an annual that will seed), hyssop, monarda, eryngium and persicaria come to mind. 

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• Obelixx Posts: 30,090

  January 2021

  The RHS publishes a list of pollinator friendly plants - 
  
  https://www.rhs.org.uk/science/conservation-biodiversity/wildlife/plants-for-pollinators 
  and the GW site has this
  https://www.gardenersworld.com/plants/plants-for-bees/ 
  
  Plenty to choose from depending on what kind of soil you have, what aspect etc.

  Vendée - 20kms from Atlantic coast.
  

  "The price good men (and women) pay for indifference to public affairs is to be ruled by evil men (and women)."

  Plato
  

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• Fran IOM Posts: 2,872

  January 2021

  I have a wild fuchsia hedge from cuttings taken from the countryside on my allotment and in the summer it is covered in bees so much so that I can't work too near them.
  Also Verbena B. attracts them.

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• WillowBark Posts: 243

  January 2021

  I am new to gardening, so there are certainly far more things to choose from than my limited selection, but the bees in my little garden seem to really love lavandula, yarrow, sedums/stonecrops, foxgloves, and sunflowers. Not all of these are perennials, though.
  
  Depending on what space you have, my parents have hawthorn and wisteria in their garden and the bees absolutely adore them. You can sit under the pergola in the summer and there's a constant hum above your head.

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• Wild_Violet Posts: 221

  January 2021

  I have lots of cotoneaster that pops up all over my garden and the only reason I don’t dig it all out is that the bees just love the flowers in summer and the blackbirds love the berries in Autumn.

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• Silver surfer Posts: 4,719

  January 2021

  Don't forget the early spring flowers that are essential for bees...especially bumble bees...eg Snowdrops, Pulmonaria, Bergenia etc etc

  Perthshire. SCOTLAND .

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• Dinnerplatedahlias🌸 Posts: 99

  January 2021

  Out of all the plants I grew last summer sunflowers and lavender were always the most smothered in bees. A lovely sight 🐝 

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• Fire Posts: 19,096

  January 2021

  There is a pretty great list here of the ones forum members find most effective (rather than the ones plant sellers try to flog).
  

  
  

  Bee keepers often grow Phacelia tanacetifolia  (purple tansy). The plants refill on nectar faster than pretty much any other flower, through the day. It's in the borage family.
  

  
  

  Borage (Borago officinalis) is also one of the best bee plants, as it too tops up its nectar in around two minutes. It supports a wide range of bee types.
  

  
  

  Offering food-rich plants to bees throughout the year is helpful, especially winter-blooming ones, when flowers are more scare. 
  

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• Fire Posts: 19,096

  January 2021 edited January 2021

  Good luck with finding your plants.
  

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