Gardening Tips: Flowers Which are of Little Value to Bees

Avoid those with double flowers as they produce much less nectar than single-flowered types.

Bees have great difficulty in reaching the nectar and pollen of flowers with multiple petals.

F1 hybrid plants usually produce very little pollen, because they have been bred not to set seed.

Some of the Best Plants for Attracting Bees to the Organic Garden

One of the best plants for attracting bees is the bloody cranesbill (Geranium sanguineum) with its profusion of upright cup-shaped, deep magenta-pink summer flowers.

Bees foraging early in the year seek out the flowers of the cowslip (Primula veris).

Dead nettles (Lamium maculatum) provide early nectar for bees emerging from hibernation.

Bistort (Persicaria bistorta) with its short, dense, pale pink cylindrical flower spikes provides a rich source of food from early summer to mid-autumn.

Dahlias with simple, single flowers provide an accessible source of nectar from summer to the first frosts of autumn.

Many herbs including dill, fennel and thyme are very attractive to bees, but borage with its sprays of star-shaped blue flowers is perhaps the most useful. It has a long flowering season and produces copious amounts of nectar.

Fruit trees especially apple (Malus) and cherry (Prunus) are major sources of pollen and nectar.

Garden shrubs to grow include lavender (Lavendula), buddleia (Buddleja), roses (Rosa species) and honeysuckle (Lonicera species).

For Bees Sake Garden Organically With Plenty of Single Flowered Plants

By practising organic gardening which avoids the use of all pesticides and herbicides the garden will develop a natural balance of pests and beneficial insects When plenty of simple, nectar rich flowers are grown pollinating insects including bees will be given every chance to thrive.