Gardens are extremely important for bumblebees, and vice versa. Bees need flowers for sustenance, and flowers need bees for pollination. But it's important the flowers you grow provide the food bees need.
Preferred flowers
Most double flowers are of little use, because they're too elaborate. Some are bred without male and female parts, while others have so many petals bees can't get to the nectar and pollen to collect it. This is the main reason why single dahlias are popular with many bees, while doubles are usually ignored.
The single-flowered rose family, which includes crab apple, hawthorn and potentilla, seem to be irresistible to our buzzing friends, as are the flowers of fennel, angelica and cow parsley, and sedums.
Tubular-shaped flowers, such as foxgloves, snapdragons, penstemons and heathers, are also all-favourite feeding places for bees.
Plants for life
It's vital you provide flowers throughout the bumblebee's life-cycle, from March to September. It's also a good idea to have at least two nectar- or pollen-rich plants in flower at any one time during this period. The nectar feeds the adult bee, while the pollen is collected to feed the young. Of course, the more flowers you have, the more attractive your garden is to bees, so you can never have too many!
Try the following to attract more bumblebees into your garden:
Spring flowers
Bluebell, bugle, crab apple, daffodil, flowering cherry and currant, forget-me-not (Myosotis), hawthorn, hellebore (Helleborus corsicus,
H. foetidus), pulmonaria, pussy willow, rhododendron, rosemary, viburnum, thrift (Armeria maritima).
Early-summer flowers
Aquilegia, astilbe, campanula, comfrey, everlasting sweet pea (Lathyrus latifolius), fennel, foxglove, geranium, potentilla, snapdragon, stachys, teasel, thyme, verbascum.
Late-summer flowers
Angelica, aster, buddleia, cardoon, cornflower (Centaurea), dahlia (single-flowered), delphinium, eryngium, fuchsia, globe thistle (Echinops), heather, ivy, lavender, penstemon, scabious, sedum, Verbena bonariensis.
For more on garden insects
- Learn how to identify bumblebees in your garden.
- Find out more about bumblebees with the Bumblebee Conservation Trust.
- See English Nature's tips on wildlife-friendly gardening.
- For a factsheet on flowers for attracting wildlife to your garden, see Garden Organic.
Comments and rating
Overall rating (from 13 ratings):
4 out of 5
Very helpful tips as I am trying to make my garden more wildlife friendly as well as grow more fruit and veg. I've certainly noticed a decline in bees and butterflies in the garden over the last couple of years which is such a shame.
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5 out of 5
I'm a bumble bee fan, too. Last spring I planted a lavender hedge, partly to attract the bees, and waited for it to flower. When it did, it was a lovely sight to see many bees, each day, lazily buzzing from flower to flower, collecting their pollen. It doesn't have to be a hedge, though, just plant a few lavenders in a border or a pot, sit back and wait!
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5 out of 5
as bees are in danger at the moment I am going to put in a lot of plants that bees like, I am going to plant lots of lavender for them plus anything that atrracts them as I need them to pollinate my beans i used Hissop last year and the bees loved it and the Lavertera, the bees came out looking all pink as they were covered in pollen
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very helpfull i have seen bees in my garden all winter they seem to be hibernating in my hedge i will be planting alot more flowers for them as we are really starting to grow our own veg and fruit now and we need them as much as they need our help now
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Reply to annekneebone - Anne, if you live in the south the bumbles were probably nesting under your hedge. There are increasing numbers of buff-tailed bumblebees establishing colonies over winter. And one of the best plants for bumblebees is red clover, so if you could grow some in a pot or let areas of your lawn go unmowed for a few weekd in summer you'll have loads of bumbles visiting!
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5 out of 5
Very helpful would like to encourage more wildlife to my garden.
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This year, having grown camassias for the first time , I find the bees love them. The bees need all the help we can give them at the present time, not only because of the mysterious decimation they are going through, but also because more and more gardeners are opting to grow their own fruit and veg. so their(the bees') services are more in demand!
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I have bees living in the drill holes that were made for my cavity wall insulation. They chirp like birds. Its amazing to watch them.
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5 out of 5
5 out of 5
4 out of 5
The current situation with regard to the decline in the bee population is very worrying, so we must all do everything we can to encourage them into our gardens.
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5 out of 5
We purchased a Bumblebee nest box this year and placed it under our Buddleia, fingers crossed.After reading your plant list for bees we were happy to see we had ten of the plants suggested but will be purchasing more this weekend.They are one off the true sounds off an English summer.
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Environmental charity Central Scotland Forest Trust is giving away packs of wildflower seeds to residents of the Central Scotland Forest to help provide habitats for bumblebees. Visit www.savetheweebees.org to register for your free pack of seeds. Limited stocks available. Please include your full name and address including postcode. Giveaway limited to residents of the Central Scotland Forest area - includes North Lanarkshire, South Lanarkshire, East Dunbartonshire, Falkirk & West Lothian.
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4 out of 5
I have a rowan tree which this year put on a lot of its tiny flowers. Bees were swarming all over...every and all day! Also bumble bees loved my rhododendrons and my geraniums and I have 7 penstemon plants just coming into bud, ready to take over until second flush of geraniums. I have seen more bees this year than ever before.We have a grand 9ft high 60ft long privet hedge which is humming and chirruping with wildlife..so dont get rid of your hedge for a wall.
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5 out of 5
The bees always love my Azalea in the spring and ox-eyed daisies with many varieties of Buddleia in the summer.....i too am planting to encourage all wild life to my rambling garden!
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There's nothing quite like walking around my front and back garden and seeing the bees loving the flowers and shrubs we planted specially for them, always gives me a good feeling. What's made me really happy is our little boy always asks to see the bees when we go outside, that's at least one more bee fan for the future.
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On our allotment we grow veg and keep chickens. Started with 6, now we have 26 as it's addictive. Re Bee/Butterflies decline, never seen so many as this year. Butterflies everywhere on allotment. Obviously everyone's efforts helping. We have Foxgloves, Lavender & Fuschia which they're loving. One of our fellow garderners has two bee hives which are really easy to look after. We're considering doing the same. Collecting our own honey sounds YUMMY! TraceyLooLoo
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4 out of 5
I got stung today- I had the cheek to go into 'their' garden to hang out my washing!
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5 out of 5
I have loads of flowers for butterflies and bees, I also grow runner beans in large pots the bees love the flowers. my garden backs on to the railway and there are loads of stinging nettles on the bank, but I hasten to add that the other houses in our road don't cater for creatures at all, am I fighting a loosing battle.
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There's a link to the Bumblebee Conservation Trust at the bottom of this original article. Do look there for sensible advice on planting for bumblebees.
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5 out of 5
I can certainly vouch for pulmonaria as bee-ing popular with our furry friends; I planted one recently and had a bumble bee visit before I'd even watered it in! Un-bee-lievable! Enough bad jokes, I'll buzz off now (sorry couldn't resist).
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gaijinstu commented on this article
05 February 2009
I love having bees in my garden. Thanks for the tips. :)
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