Bee supportive plants

[ausmac]

I know many of us interested in the natural world are concerned about the decrease in the number of bees. I noticed myself here in my home on the NSW coast of Australia that there didn't seem to be as many bees in my garden as usual

Comments

[pundigrion]

My pollinators love all of my herbs. Mint family herbs like hyssop are strong favourites. Thyme and chives are much visited as well. My fruit trees and raspberries are very popular. In the veg patch, they super love squash blossoms! Comfrey is always buzzing with activities and is my favourite place to watch for them in the yard. The big fat bumblebees make the most ridiculous noises trying to crawl inside them, bbbbzzzrtft!

[ausmac]

Thanks for the info on Hyssop. I don't have it planted but will definitely check it out at my local nurseries. I notice it prefers to be planted in spring/summer so I will pick some up once our winter months here are over.

[arwen_17]

Mine is English lavender! Though info I've seen says otherwise, I've had it planted in clay soil with no problems and have noticed that the bees like it more than anything else I have had planted.

[rhodielady_47]

I found a lavender plant on clearance last summer and I bought it and put it out to see if it would come back for me the way it did for you.
Mine hasn't yet budded out but it's probably too early for it to make a showing yet.
:^}

[arwen_17]

:)

I know it would be too early here... I actually moved and bought more, and planted it... it got pretty cold and killed the tender tips. Here's hoping
it didn't kill them!

[ecosopher]

Both honeybees and native bees loved the cornflowers I planted this year, and more recently (southern hemisphere, here, so our summer has just ended) they have been all over the sunflowers. Lavender and rosemary were also big, big drawcards.

I'm well into trying to plant as many flowering plants as possible, especially indigenous species, for the bees. I mean, I like the flowers too :) But poor bees. They really need gardeners to be on their side.

[ravenfeather]

I have to second the suggestion of squash. No matter what type, winter, summer or pumpkin, the blossoms attract multiple pollinators at the same time. Basil is always a fave, with the bees seeming to get "drunk" off the nectar. Morning glories and cardinal creeper vine round out the early attractors. Beans and peas in the veggie gardens are a favorite as well.

[dark_phoenix54]

Perennial asters. In autumn the tall asters are covered with little flowers and the flowers are covered with all sorts of buzzing stinging creatures- you can hear the humming from several feet away. The tall purple seems to be their favorite, but they also love the tall white. They don't seem that enthused about 'Lady in Black'; guess the flowers are just too small.

My other bee magnet is nepeta; they seem to like them all but their favorite is Nepeta musenii (I know that's not spelled right)