Bee-Friendly Garden: Plants for Every Season

Bees need nectar and pollen — and as continuously as possible from February to October. With the right plant selection, you can turn your garden into a paradise for bees while improving forage for your colonies.

Why Is a Continuous Bloom Supply Important?

Bees depend on an uninterrupted forage band. Particularly critical periods are:

• Early spring (February/March): Colonies are growing, need pollen for brood rearing
• June gap: Between orchard bloom and summer forage, there is often little available
• Late summer: From August, things get thin — right when winter bees are being raised

Bloom Calendar: The Best Plants for Bees

Spring (February - April)

Plant	Bloom Time	Special Feature
Crocus	Feb-Mar	First pollen of the year
Willow (Pussy willow)	Mar-Apr	Most important spring plant
Fruit trees (cherry, apple, pear)	Apr-May	High nectar value
Dandelion	Apr-May	Abundant nectar and pollen
Maple	Apr	Often underestimated, very productive

Early Summer (May - June)

Plant	Bloom Time	Special Feature
Black Locust (Acacia)	May-Jun	Produces mild, light honey
Phacelia	May-Sep	The quintessential bee pasture plant
Lavender	Jun-Aug	Fragrant continuous bloomer
Linden	Jun-Jul	Classic summer forage
White clover	Jun-Sep	Nectar for honey bees (red clover only for bumblebees)

Summer (July - August)

Plant	Bloom Time	Special Feature
Sunflower	Jul-Sep	Pollen and nectar
Buckwheat	Jul-Sep	Excellent bee pasture
Wild mallow	Jul-Sep	Easy-care, beautiful blooms
Borage	Jun-Sep	Blue flowers, lots of nectar
Cornflower	Jun-Aug	Wildflower with high nectar value

Autumn (September - October)

Plant	Bloom Time	Special Feature
Ivy	Sep-Oct	Last major forage source
Autumn aster	Sep-Nov	Late bloomer for the garden
Stonecrop (Sedum)	Aug-Oct	Robust, bee-friendly
Common goldenrod (S. virgaurea, native)	Aug-Oct	Nectar for winter stores (Canadian goldenrod is invasive!)

Practical Tips for a Bee-Friendly Garden

1. Choose Single-Flower Varieties

Double flowers (e.g., double roses or dahlias) look pretty but offer no nectar or pollen. When buying, look for simple, single varieties.

2. Sow Wildflower Mixes

A wildflower meadow is the best thing you can do for bees:

• Use seed from regional sources
• Sow in spring or autumn
• Don't fertilize, don't mow too often
• One to two cuts per year is enough

3. Let Kitchen Herbs Bloom

Many kitchen herbs are excellent bee pastures when allowed to flower:

• Thyme - continuous bloomer, ground cover
• Sage - purple flowers, very popular with bees
• Oregano - blooms for a long time, insect magnet
• Mint - blooms late, good for autumn forage

4. Hedges and Trees

Those with space should plant bee-friendly shrubs and trees:

• Blackthorn and hawthorn for spring pollen
• Butterfly bush for July/August (invasive neophyte — remove flower heads before seed maturation)
• Ivy as the last forage source in autumn
• Hazel for early pollen (as early as February)

5. Dead Wood and Nesting Opportunities

It's not just honey bees that benefit — wild bees need your garden too:

• Set up an insect hotel
• Leave dead wood piles and rock piles
• Maintain open soil patches for ground-nesting species
• Don't use pesticides

What to Avoid

• Pesticides and herbicides - deadly for bees
• Double ornamental plants - no benefit for pollinators
• Gravel gardens - no food, no habitat
• Mowing too frequently - let the clover in the lawn bloom

Conclusion

A bee-friendly garden is no sorcery. Just a few targeted plantings can close forage gaps and help your bees enormously. And the best part: you benefit from a blooming, lively garden that attracts butterflies, bumblebees, and birds alike.

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