BIG BEE WEEKEND – MY BIG BEE PLANT LIST to bring our lovely weekend bee focused group event to a slow down….
Keep reading for the list –
My Favourite pollinators friendly plants, based on what I have observed carefully over the years as a gardener for wildlife using both cultivated and wild plants.
** I am being very harsh with this list and only putting my 10/10 and 9/10 plants on here – there are loads more who nearly make the list and are very worthy, but this is my absolute top of the top notch plants for pollinators list**
I have scored them like this:
1) ‘Mobbed’ with pollinators almost right through the flowering period (abundance and variety of visitors). For example; Bramble comes into this category.
2) Sometimes ‘mobbed’ but definitely less full than those that score 10/ visits in spits and spots but still very popular indeed with a constant back and forth of pollinators.
3) Other factors – where a plant is maybe a 9, I have sometimes added a point if I know for instance, that the quality of pollen and nectar is really good (legumes for instance) or value at a time of year when there is little else to forage on and so on.
🙂 Wild plants, cultivated plants, herbs, shrubs and trees, in my experience of neutral through to chalky soil:
Comfrey – Yes 10/10
Pulmonaria – Yes 10/10
Stachys (both cultivated and wild) – Yes 10/10
Bramble flowers -Yes 10/10
Foxgloves (a variety of species including Digitalis purpurea and Digitalis ferruginia) – Yes 10/10
Mint – Yes 10/10
Rosemary – Yes 10/10
Thyme – Yes 10/10
Chives – Yes 10/10
Hysopp – Yes 9/10
Sage – Yes 9/10
Lemon balm – Yes 10/10
Oregano – Yes 10/10
Borage – Yes 10/10
Ribes – Yes 10/10
Poached egg plant – Yes 10/10
Lavender – yes 10/10
Cerinthe major purperascens – Yes 10/10
Loosestrife – Yes 10/10
Tansy – Yes 10/10
Common daisy – Yes 10/10
Red valerian/white valerian – Yes 9/10 (look out for hummingbird hawk moths) Edit – now raised to 10/10 for other good moth activity.
Buddleia – Yes 10/10
Teasel – Yes 10/10
Wild honeysuckle – Yes 10/10
Muscari – Yes 10/10
Linaria (all) – Yes 10/10
Wild thistle species (all) – Yes 10/10
Heather (calluna vulgaris) – Yes 10/10
Deutzia – Yes 10/10
Phacelia – Yes 10/10
Dahlia (open faced) – Yes 10/10
Hellenium – Yes 10/10
Geranium phaeum _Yes 10/10
Geranium macrorrhizum – Yes 10/10
Astrantia – Yes 9/10
Geranium Orion (The list is long with geraniums and you can mostly assume they are very good but those three are my top ones) – Yes 10/10
Centaurea montana – Yes 10/10
Nasturtium -Yes 10/10
Knautia (all sp inc wild) – Yes 10/10
Ivy flowers – Yes 10/10
Cistus – Yes 9/10
Heauchera – Yes 9/10
Cirsium rivulare atropurpureum – Yes 10/10
Echinops – Yes 10/10
Dog rose (& open faced roses) – Yes 10/10
Dandelion – Yes 10/10
Climbing hydrangea – Yes 10/10 ( I have observed this is popular with Tree bumblebees)
Sunflower – Yes 10/10
Hellebore – Yes when a winter bee flys past! V important 10/10
Mahonia – Yes when a winter bee flys past (as above) 10/10
Hedge woundwort – Yes 10/10
Black horehound – Yes 10/10
Veronicastrum _ yes 10/10
Bugle – Yes 10/10
Ground Ivy – Yes 10/10
Vetch (all species) – Yes 10/10
Wild carrot – yes 10/10
Knapweed (all) – Yes (I particularly notice leaf cutter bees like this to forage on in my community garden) 10/10
Monkshood – Yes 10/10 (with caution)
Cherry blossom – Yes 10/10
Crocus – Yes 10/10
Lupin – Yes 10/10
Monarda – Yes 10/10
Hemp agrimony – Yes 10/10
Cephalria – Yes 9/10
Fennel – Yes 10/10
Hollyhock – Yes 10/10
Santolina – Yes 10/10
Nepeta – Yes 10/10
Calamintha – Yes 10/10
Cynara cardunculus – Yes 10/10
Agastache – Yes 10/10
Echinacea – Yes 10/10
Nectaroscordum siculum – Yes 10/10
Allium purple sensation (and all other such as sphaerocephalon) – Yes 10/10
Aster – Yes 10/10
Penstemon – Yes 10/10
Sanguisorba – Yes 10/10
Phlomis – Yes 10/10
Sedum – Yes 10/10
Verbasum – Yes
Feverfew – yes 9/10
Cosmos – Yes 9/10
Verbena bonariensis/rigida – Yes 9/10
Calendula – Yes 9/10
Campanula – all varieties – Yes 10/10
Red campion – Yes 9/10
Red clover – Yes 10/10
Wisteria – Yes 10/10
Eryngium – Yes 10/10
Sainfoin – Yes 10/10
Hawthorn – Yes 10/10
Willow – Yes 10/10
Gooseberry – Yes 10/10
Tomato – Yes (bumbles) 10/10
Raspberry – Yes 10/10
Japanese wineberry – Yes 10/10
(Most fruit, and veg; like runner beans!)
Cotoneaster – Yes 10/10 (particularly see the Early bumblebee on horizontalis sp a lot)
Hebe – Yes 10/10 depending on species.
Convolvulus – Yes 10/10
Privet – Yes 10/10
Broom – Yes 10/10
Coronilla – Yes 10/10
White Dead nettle – Yes 10/10
Salvia (varity of) – Yes 10/10
Perovskia – Yes 9/10
Aquilegia – Yes 10/10
Black medic – Yes 10/10 (I have noticed Red-tailed Bumblebees really like this)
Ox-eye daisy – Yes 10/10 (This has attracted a number of interesting beetles in my garden too)
Buttercup – Yes 10/10 (all species)
I have raided my visual memory for each of these plants, so if you want to vote for another 9/10 or 10/10 do say and we’ll compare it against some of the best to see if it makes the list! I am quite sure there will be others – as I am doing this ‘on the fly’ a little bit! Pardon the pollinator pun! ?
AT SOME POINT – I will put my list into some kind of order to create a savable Bees Knees PDF