Blog navigation. Flowers in winter are a welcome sight for both gardeners as well as for pollinating insects. While there are plenty of other plants that bees will love coming to collect their nectar from in your garden, the above is a guide to get you started in wildlife gardening and, of course, helping the bees too! Here are my top 10 bee-friendly plants. Often thought of as the 'Butterfly Bush', Buddleja are one of the best summer flowering plants for bees. Our own breeding came up with Foxglove 'Illumination Flame' for a shorter, more unusual variety, or Foxglove 'Dalmation Mix' for taller and striking display. It goes to show that while they have their favourites, bees will take pollen and nectar where they can get it, and it doesn’t matter whether the plants are native to the UK or not. Get set to see my following top 10 of flowers that bees love. There are ideas here for providing nectar all the year round. Wildlife garden: Top 10 plants to attract bees and other pollinators. Sarah Nixon Updated May 5, 2017. “In Greenwich, there are lots of horse chestnuts and I can see their red pollen on the bees’ legs,” Camilla says. Just remember this, the more bees you have in your garden, it will be a healthier and more pleasant place to be. Depending on where the bees are kept, the nature of the honey can change. the value each plant can provide to bees and other pollinators. That said, many flowers in other colours will still attract bees, so don’t pull them up! You can often find a lavender plant in summer from the sound of buzzing bees as they flit from scented flower to scented flower. Grow some of these top 10 flowers for bees, as recommended by London bee-keeper Camilla Goddard. This large, fast growing shrub explodes with huge (20 inch), purple flower stalks in the spring. Digitalis is another tall and slender multi-flowering bloom that always seems to be much loved by bumble bees. The single flowered varieties, such as Dahlia 'Mystic Illusion' have the open flowers that bees simply love and can fly to and from as they collect their food! Last year, more than 50 different flowers were found to have contributed to honey made by bees kept in Westminster. Top 10 Flowers That Attract Bees Bees are extremely important garden bugs that pollinate many of our favorite edibles and ornamentals. Heliotropium arborescens, Zones 10 & 11, annual elsewhere. They have a fabulous, simple, open flower that provides easy access to its nectar for all flying insects. They are also well-known for being one of the few flowering plants that grow happily in a shaded spot. Wild lilac: These flowering shrubs are easy to grow and come in seven colors. If we all do this together then hopefully numbers will start to increase again. One of the best winter flowering plants for bees, the Hellebore is vital flower for providing early season nectar for any bees that may wake up and venture out on a warm winter day! Allowing your chives to flower will attract the bees. Flowers provide bees with nectar to produce honey and pollen to feed their young on. Bees are essential to a garden. Native plants are always a great choice for attracting native bees, but many ornamental flowers will also help feed and support the bee population. Phygelius (cape fuchsia) also showed up, perhaps another bedding plant nearby. Top 10 patio plants for bees. 22 Sweet Williams (Dianthus barbatus) (HB) are fantastic flowers for bees. Every issue, The English Garden magazine features the most beautiful gardens from all across the UK and Ireland - both town and country plots, big and small. You’d be forgiven for thinking decidedly ‘urban’. *Your 20% discount only applies to plants, bulbs and seeds.© 2020 Thompson & Morgan. 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