A Bee Friendly Garden – things to do and plants to try

I recenty wrote a blog suggesting white plants for a white bed or even an entirely white garden. Well, someone contacted me, pointing out that to encourage pollinators our gardens need to be full of different colours rather than all white. I do agree. Indeed my own garden is a kaleidoscope of colour, with plants often carefully chosen for their wildlife friendly credentials. So to redress the balance, I thought this week I’d look at how to create a bee friendly garden. Outlining a few plants and garden practices which are good for bees and other pollinators.

A Bee Friendly Garden – the basics

Our gardens provide bees with the nectar and pollen they need, plus nesting habitats. Nectar provides the bees with energy to fly and nest, while pollen provides bee grubs with protein and oils for growth.

Bees have different shaped tongues, so the trick is to have pollen and nectar rich plants which differ in terms of their shapes. It’s also important to think about the time of flowering. That way your garden will cater for the greatest variety of bees and insects, for as long a period as possible. After all some bees emerge from hibernation as early as February, while others are still flying in November. You ideally want year round flowering if possible!

Bee Friendly Plants

With this in mind, here are some of my plant favourites, which keep my garden buzzing throughout the year. Most of these can be planted up in pots. So even if you only have a tiny plot, a patio or balcony, you can create a bee friendly garden.

A Bee Friendly Garden in Winter & Spring

Hellebores

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During January to March, when there’s perhaps not much else on offer for the bees, Hellebores really ride to the rescue. Their open cup-like flowers provide easy access to bees. They’re easy for gardeners too. In terms of maintenance I just cut off the old leaves in November. When it comes to propogation, I simply relocate the seedlings around my garden, thinning them out, to give them a chance of surviving. This provides yet more feeding opportunities for bees. Note however, the seedlings are often not a true version of the parent. Apparently that’s because Hellebores are really well adapted to cross polination. But I don’t mind what they look like really – and nor do the bees!

Crocuses

Crocuses are another vital food source early in the year. I’ve planted a drift of them in the grass under my old apple tree where I’m hoping they will naturalise and spread. The apple tree of course is also incredibly bee friendly!

However, you don’t need space to plant crocuses. They can as easily be planted up in pots. Crocuses provide some much needed colour to the garden from late winter. But more importantly they are an early source of pollen and nectar for pollinating insects just emerging into the spring sunshine including the hairy-footed flower bee and queen bumblebees.

Alliums

When it comes to creating a bee friendly garden, another winner is the Allium. Alliums don’t flower for long, but when they do bees love them! My semi-shaded bed planted with Allium Purple Sensation provides a veritable bee buffet during May and June.

A Bee Friendly Garden in Summer

Lavender

A recent two year study by scientists at the University of Sussex assessed 32 top summer flowering plants in terms of their pollinator appeal. It found that some lavenders, together with marjoram and borage are amongst the flowers most attractive to bumblebees. It’s great for our gardens too. The shrub is hardy, smells wonderful, has a bushy habit and looks great for a very long period. I have Lavandula Angustifolia lining a pathway. I’ve a son called Angus and I’m pretty sure that’s subconsciously why I chose this particular lavender. I’m pleased I did as it’s a beauty.

Nepeta

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Nepeta was another star performer in the University of Sussex study and it’s also a winner in my garden. With aromatic leaves, and a long flowering period, this easy to grow tough perennial is an absolute bee magnet. Its flowers are popular with other pollinators too, especially butterflies, and its leaves are used as a caterpillar foodplant by the mint moth, Pyrausta aurata. What’s not to like!! It is easy to divide too, that’s why I now have 7 Nepeta in my garden! My favourites are Nepeta Six Hills Giant and Nepeta Walkers Low.

Liatris Spicata

Nepeta is lovely but a border full of plants like that can look a bit sprawling. Happily Liatris Spicata provides wonderful spires to provide structure to a border and, as you can see from the picture, bees love it!

Clematis

I wrote about clematis last week, do check out the blog here Suffice to say, the open nature of their blooms makes them great for bees.

Tubular-Shaped Flowers

As I mentioned earlier, you want a mixture of flower shapes, to suit different types of bees and their different shaped tongues. Tubular-shaped flowers like Foxgloves, Penstemons and Honeysuckle are a great source of food for long-tongued bees such as the garden bumblebee and the carder bumblebee. To cater for them I’ve a gorgeous Honeysuckle Rhubarb and Custard scrambling over a dry stone wall. This flowers from June to September. It also is attractive to moths at night. I’ve foxgloves in my shady bed and I’ve also Penstemon Garnet in a pot. If you deadhead the plant, this flowers merrily from July to October.

Staying with pots for a moment, I recently planted up two containers with Physostegia Crystal White. It flowers from July to September. I’d heard it is rich in nectar and pollen, making it very attractive to bees. Well that’s an understatement! The bees LOVE it! So much so that I’m going to divide up my plants in winter or early spring so that I have more of them flourishing around the garden for my bees next year.

So if you only have a small patio do consider having a penstemon or a physostegia in a pot.

Hollyhocks

If you have a really sunny wall, you can plant the area up with the incredibly bee-friendly hollyhocks. Apparently they are particularly popular with the male Bombus terrestris. In a neighbouring village to mine, someone has this fantastic show of hollyhocks, and they are on the outside of the wall, so creating further garden space! Clever – and what a treat for those driving by and the bees.

Veronica

I have a block of Veronicastrum Adoration (speedwell to you and me) growing in my sunny bed. Flowering from mid summer to early autumn and some 1.2 metres tall, it’s a beautiful towering pressence. And throughout that period it’s awash with bees and butterflies.

Bees Love Leaves Too!

When creating a bee frinedly garden don’t forget the leaves. I have oodles of Stachys byzantina, (Lamb’s ears). It has lovely soft downy leaves, which I think look fantastic with irises. Althought its flowers are relatively small, they are attractive to bees for months, even as they fade.

It takes great discipline to resist tidying this plant up as it does get a bit straggly but seeing the bees still on it tells me it’s doing a great job and I should leave it alone! Lamb’s Ears is also especially useful to one particular type of bee, the solitary wool carder bee. The female wood carder bee harvests hairs from the leaves as nesting material. How great is that!

A Bee Friendly Garden – Autumn to Winter

Sedum

I have a confession, I don’t much like Sedum. That’s because it spends so long looking a bit ‘cauliflower- like;’it’s closed up, full of promise but not in full bloom. I can’t stand the suspense!! But seriously, of course it’s a wonderful plant. Drought-tolerant, with nectar-rich umbrella-shaped flower clusters. Mine blooms late summer and into Autumn and is popular with butterflies and bees – honeybees, furrow bees and the short-tongued bumblebee. It’s easy to propogate too. My sedum grows near roses and I’m forever knocking bits off the poor old thing as I try to reach in and dead head my roses! I simply pop these Sedum bits into well draining pots of compost (plenty of grit in them) and they often flourish!

Ivy

Ivy is a brilliant bee support when it comes to winter. Resist hacking back this evergreen climber and leave it to flower. It’s not only the perfect pollen source for the solitary Ivy bee but it will provide an important late nectar source for honeybees and for queen bumblebees fattening up for hibernation.

Snowdrops

Snowdrops are a joyous plant. They’re a sign our gardens are waking up. They are full of promise of what’s to come. They are also full of yellow pollen which bumblebees and honeybees love.

A Bee Friendly Garden – Other Tips

So what else can I suggest on the bee front?

• Plant in clumps rather than dotting things around – bees like a banquet not a snack!
• Keep your plants well watered, this will help your plants produce nectar in hot try weather
• Many garden centre plants don’t produce nectar or pollen – choose carefully
• Double flowered varieties of flowers may look great but from a practical point of view they are often too difficult for bees to plunder
• Mow your lawn less – allowing lawn ‘weeds’ like daisies and clovers to flourish a bit is brilliant for bees
• Solitary bees, like mason, bees use mud for constructing their nests while mining bees make their nests in lawn or semi-bare ground—so leave a patch of soil to help keep them safe over winter
• Introduce water – bees need a drink too. Simply watering a few of your plants so that the water can collect a little on the leaves is useful
• DON’T spray! Avoid all pesticides in your garden. If you have aphids try washing up liquid on them. Encouraging ladybirds and lacewings will keep them at bay.
• If you see the leaves of your plants neatly cut through in a straight line, that’s a leaf cutter bee’s work. It won’t harm the plant DON’T spray
• Build a bee hotel (see how Mr F-W created a really simple one here)

Bee Happy

Well that’s my advice for making a bee friendly garden. There are obviously oodles of plants you could choose, so please don’t narrow your choice to simply my suggestions. After all, when it comes to our garden pollinators or indeed ourselves, variety is the spice of life!