I've been looking up plants for my allotment and garden to help attract more bumblebees and other insects.
The Bumblebee Conservation Trust has a good list of both garden and wild flowers that will bloom throughout the year.
Flowers for bumblebees | ||
March - April | ||
Apple Bluebell Broom Bugle Cherry | Erica carnea (heather) Flowering Currant Lungwort (Pulmonaria) Pear Plum | Pussy Willow Red dead-nettle Rosemary White dead-nettle |
May - June | ||
Alliums Aquilegia Birds-foot trefoil Bugle Bush vetch Campanula Ceanothus Chives Comfrey Cotoneaster Escallonia | Everlasting Pea Everlasting wallflower Foxglove Geranium Honeysuckle Kidney Vetch Laburnum Lupin Monkshood Poppies Raspberries | Red Campion Roses (singles) Sage Salvia Thyme Tufted vetch Meadow Cranesbill White Clover Wisteria Woundwort |
July - September | ||
Black horehound Borage Bramble Cardoon Catmint Cornflower Delphinium Heathers Hollyhock Hyssop Knapweed | Lavender Lesser burdock Marjoram Mellilot Mint Penstemon Phacelia Polemonium Purple loosestrife Red bartsia Red clover | Rock-rose Sainfoin Scabious Sea Holly Snapdragons St. Johns Wort Sunflower Teasel Thistles Viper’s bugloss |
I found a list of bee friendly plants that includes annuals, perennials, fruit & veg, herbs, shrubs & trees at
| Annuals Asters Calliopsis Clover Marigolds Poppies Sunflowers Zinnias | Perennials Buttercups Clematis Cosmos Crocuses Dahlias Echinacea English Ivy Foxglove Geraniums Germander Globe Thistle Hollyhocks Hyacinth Rock Cress Roses Sedum Snowdrops Squills Tansy Yellow Hyssop | Fruits & Veggies Blackberries Cantaloupe Cucumbers Gourds Fruit Trees Peppers Pumpkins Raspberries Squash Strawberries Watermelons Wild Garlic | Herbs Bee Balm Borage Catnip Coriander/Cilantro Fennel Lavender Mints Rosemary Sage Thyme | Shrubs Blueberry Butterfly Bush Button Bush Honeysuckle Indigo Privet | Trees Alder American Holly Basswood Black Gum Black Locust Buckeyes Catalpa Eastern Redbud Golden Rain Hawthorns Hazels Linden Magnolia Maples Mountain Ash Poplar Sycamore Tulip Willows |
The Sussex Wildlife Trust has a list of seasonal nectar plants for attracting butterflies & moths at
- Spring. Aubretia, bluebell, bugle, celandine, crocus, cuckooflower, daisy, forget-me-not, grape hyacinth, heather, hedge mustard, honesty, hyssop, primrose, pussy willow, red deadnettle, violet, yellow alyssum, yellow archangel.
- Summer. Many flowers, especially, bramble, Buddleia (butterfly bush), candytuft, dandelion, floss flower, golden rod, heliotrope, hemp agrimony, knapweed, lavender, marigolds, marjoram, mint, nasturtiums, oxeye daisy, purple loosestrife, scabious, sweet rocket, sweet william, teasel, thyme, toadflax, valerian and yarrow.
- Autumn. Black-eyed Susan, Buddleia (deadhead to prolong season), hebe, heliotrope, ice plant (but not ‘autumn joy’ or ‘brilliant’), ivy, michaelmas daisy, scabious, tobacco plant and yarrow.
Plants to attract Bees
Fact sheet to download on Solitary Bees including when & where to site solitary bee homes
Fact sheet to download on Bumblebees
What great information Jacqui! I can't wait to start and get growing!
ReplyDelete-Becky x