Stratford-upon-Avon & District Beekeepers' Association: Gardening for Bees and other Insects

Tricks & Tips

Gardening for Bees and other Insects

Attracting bees into the garden will assist with pollination as well as providing movement and interest through much of the year. Many of the flowers that attract bees will also attract other beneficial insects, such as ladybirds and hoverflies, which will assist in controlling various pests. Many flowers will also attract butterflies and improved pollination will provide more berries that will in turn increase the bird population.

Although most gardens are far too small to make any difference to the crop gathered by honeybees, appropriate planting can provide them with valuable early pollen that will assist in the build up of colonies in the spring. However, for bumblebees and solitary bees - there are around 250 different species of bee in the UK - it is possible to provide a significant amount of forage even in small gardens.

It is important to recognise that, because they vary in colour and in the depth of their corolla, a particular flower may be more attractive to some species than to others. Bees cannot see the colour red - it appears black to them - and so do not usually work red flowers. However, they can see ultra-violet, which we cannot see. By contrast, butterflies do see red and so red flowers may attract more butterflies than bees.

Honeybees have much shorter tongues than bumblebees and are unable to work flowers with very deep corollas, e.g. honeysuckle. Butterflies have extremely long tongues (probosces) and are able to reach nectar deep down in the flower.

It is also very important to plant single flowered varieties because most double flowers do not produce nectar and are therefore worthless as a food source.

The list below gives a selection of the more important garden plants, shrubs and trees for bees and other insects, but for further reading the following books are particularly good:

'Plants and Beekeeping' by FN Howes (Faber & Faber) - the definitive guide to the major and minor sources of forage for honeybees.

'The Beekeeper's Garden' by Ted Hooper & Mike Taylor (Alphabooks) - gives information on siting hives in the garden as well as a useful list of plants - very readable.

'Garden Plants valuable to Bees' by Ted Hooper (IBRA)

'Bees of the World' by Christopher O'Toole & Anthony Raw (Blandford) - a fascinating guide to the various species of bees - solitary and social, found all around the world. Excellent diagrams showing nesting habits.

Peter Edwards

11 June 2003
Climbers

Honeysuckle	Lonicera spp.	A bumblebee plant due to the deep corolla.
Ivy	Helix hedera	Ivy is the last major nectar source of the year and is often alive with insects when in full flower.
Rose	Rosa spp.	Single varieties are best and are worked mainly for the copious amounts of pollen that they produce.

Fruit

Apple	Malus pumila	All types of apple and crab-apple provide large amounts of pollen and nectar. Apple honey has an excellent flavour.
Blackberry	Rubus fructicosus	Major source of nectar and pollen. Particularly valuable because of its long flowering period.
Gooseberry	Ribes grossularia	Flowers early and is often pollinated by the solitary bees.
Plum	Prunus domestica	Flowers early and is often pollinated by the solitary bees. Honeybees work it mainly for pollen as the nectar has a low sugar content.
Raspberry	Rubus ideaus	Excellent bee plant giving significant honey crops when grown commercially.

Ground Cover

Alyssum	Lobularia maritima
Aubrieta	Aubrieta deltoidea
Bluebell	Endymion non-scriptus
Crocus	Crocus spp.	Very valuable source of early pollen for all bees. Queen bumblebees are often first seen on crocus after emerging from hibernation.
Dead Nettle	Lamium spp.	These are excellent bee plants, especially for bumblebees. A range of species - some neat, some highly invasive ground cover.
Grape Hyacinth	Muscari spp.
Heaths and Heathers	Calluna vulgaris & Erica spp.	One of the major bee plants.
Lungwort	Pulmonaria
Poached Egg Plant	Limnanthes douglasii
Snowdrop	Galanthus nivalis	Another useful source of early nectar and pollen.
Winter Aconite	Eranthis hyemalis	Valuable because it is early.

Hedges

Escallonia	Escallonia spp.	Evergreen.
Hawthorn	Crataegus monogyna	A major honey source. Useful as part of a wild hedge. Deciduous and with very sharp thorns.
Rose	Rosa spp.	Single varieties are best and are worked mainly for the copious amounts of pollen that they produce.

Herbaceous Borders

Allium	Allium spp.
Aster	Aster spp.
Deadnettle	Lamium spp.	Both red and white are excellent very early sources - mainly for bumblebees.
Echinops or Globe Thistle	Echinops spp.
Fuchsia	Fuchsia magellanica	Nectar can often be seen dripping from the flowers.
Geranium or cranesbill	Geranium pratense	Also good ground cover.
Himalayan Balsam	Impatiens glandulifera	Explosive seed heads. The flower places pollen in a distinctive grey stripe down the back of the bee. Can be very invasive in rivers.
Hollyhock	Althaea rosea	Good source of late pollen.
Hyacinth	Hyacinthus orientalis
Phacelia	Phacelia tanacetifolia	Attracts a wide range of beneficial insects.
Poppy	Papaver spp.	Good source of pollen only.
Salvia	Salvia
Sea-holly	Eryngium spp.
Sedum	Sedum spectabile	Also attracts butterflies in large numbers.
Sunflower	Helianthus spp.	When the bees have finished, the seed heads will be appreciated by birds.

Herbs

Borage	Borago officinalis	Known sometimes as Bee Borage - gives copious amounts of nectar. Put leaves in Pimms and drink whilst watching the bees on a warm summer's evening.
Catmint	Nepeta spp.	Provides constant movement as the flower stems bend under the weight of bumblebees.
Chives	Allium schoenoprasum	Let them flower, there will still be plenty of chives for the kitchen.
Comfrey	Symphytum spp.	Mainly for bumblebees.
Germander	Teuchrium chamaedrys	Good edging plant, worked heavily by bumblebees.
Lavender	Lavendula spp.	Excellent bee plant with a long flowering season.
Mint	Mentha spp.	Preserve chopped mint in honey for use in the winter.
Oregano and Marjoram	Origanum spp.	Attracts large numbers of honeybees, bumblebees and butterflies.
Rosemary	Rosmarinus officinalis	No garden should be without it.
Sage	Salvia officinalis	Mainly for bumblebees.
Thyme	Thymus spp.	Grow the creeping varieties and save the bees wings - they can walk from flower to flower.

Shrubs

Berberis	Berberis spp.	Dual purpose - good for bees, bad for burglars.
Buddleia	Buddleia spp.	Grow globosa for bees and davidii for butterflies.
Cotoneaster	Cotoneaster spp.	Often covered in bees when in flower.
Escallonia	Escallonia spp.	Useful evergreen.
Flowering Currant	Ribes spp.	Good early source of nectar and pollen.
Hebe	Hebe spp.	Attracts a wide range of bees and other pollinators.
Mahonia	Mahonia aquifolium	Extremely attractive early source of nectar. Useful berries for the birds.
Pyracantha	Pyracantha coccinea	Another anti-burglar plant.
Rose	Rosa spp.	Single varieties are best and are worked mainly for the copious amounts of pollen that they produce.
Snowberry	Symphoricarpus albus	Also useful for rough areas, but is very invasive!

Trees

Acacia	Robinia pseudoacacia	Needs hot weather to yield nectar.
Hawthorn	Crataegus monogyna	A major honey plant.
Hazel	Corylus avellana	Source of early pollen.
Holly	Ilex aquifolium	Good bee plant - and the dried leaves burn with a very fragrant smell in the smoker.
Horsechestnut (only for those with plenty of space)	Aesculus hippocastanum	Grow the white variety - the red will poison bumblebees.
Laburnum		When laburnum is in flower the hum of bees can be heard from some distance.
Lime (only for those with plenty of space)	Tilia spp.	A major honey source, but only for very large gardens. Some varieties may be poisonous for bees.
Willow	Salix spp.	All good, but the golden pussy willow is one of our most important early sources.