Best Bee-Friendly Plants for UK Gardens

Lavender, catmint, foxgloves, crocus and sedum are some of the best plants you can grow for bees in a UK garden. The trick is to have something in flower from late winter right through to late autumn. Early spring and autumn matter most, because there’s little wild food about.

You don’t need a big garden to help. A few pots on a balcony or a small garden full of the right flowers will soon have bees buzzing. Even the tall spikes of red hot poker pull them in, as our guide to growing kniphofia explains.

The Bumblebee Conservation Trust has lots of friendly advice. For more ways to help wildlife, browse our wildlife gardening guides, including how to start attracting birds.

What makes a plant bee-friendly?

A bee-friendly plant has nectar and pollen that bees can actually reach. Nectar gives them energy and pollen feeds their young. Flower shape, single or double blooms and how you group plants all make a difference.

Flower shape matters

Some bees have long tongues and some have short ones. Long-tongued bumblebees can reach deep into foxgloves and honeysuckle. Short-tongued bees need flat, open flowers like daisies and sedum.

So grow a mix of shapes, and you’ll feed the widest range of bees.

Single flowers beat doubles

Double flowers are bred for extra petals. Those petals take the place of the pollen-making parts, so the flower looks fuller but gives bees very little. A single dog rose, Rosa canina, has an open centre that bees reach easily. When choosing or pruning your roses, lean towards single kinds.

When you’re buying, check you can see the middle of the flower. If you can see the stamens, bees can get to the pollen.

Got pets? Foxgloves and alliums are toxic to cats and dogs. Our guide to pet-safe garden plants has bee-friendly swaps.

If you can see the stamens, bees can reach the pollen. The tightly packed double on the right looks lovely but offers them very little.

Planting in groups

Bees work faster when they can hop between lots of the same flower. Plant in groups of at least three. A drift of 50 crocus does far more good than 50 different bulbs dotted about.

What colour flowers attract bees most?

Bees love blue, purple and violet best, and visit white and yellow flowers too. They don’t see red very well.

That’s why so many classic bee plants are blue or purple: lavender, catmint, borage, crocus and phacelia. Red isn’t useless, though. Bumblebees still visit red single dahlias and red clover, because shape and scent matter too. Build your border around blues and purples, then add whites and yellows.

Are native plants better for bees?

A mix of British natives and plants from elsewhere works best. The RHS Plants for Bugs study found that mixing them gives the longest flowering season.

Natives like foxglove, ivy, goat willow and dog rose make a great backbone. Lavender and Japanese anemones fill the gaps and keep flowers coming into autumn. More flowers overall means more bees, so pack them in. Just avoid invasive plants such as Himalayan balsam, even though bees visit it.

Spring flowers: February to April

Crocus, pulmonaria, hellebores, goat willow and flowering currant feed bees from February to April. Queen bumblebees wake up from hibernation in February and March, tired and hungry. They need food quickly to survive and start a nest.

Crocus (Crocus vernus)

Plant in drifts of 50 or more in October, 8cm deep, in soil that drains well. Bees visit them on sunny days. For lawns, scatter the bulbs and plant them where they land. Our guide to what to plant in March has more spring jobs.

Pulmonaria (lungwort)

One of the first perennials to flower, often from late February. Pink and blue flowers appear on the same plant. It’s happy in shade, so it’s handy for north-facing borders. ‘Blue Ensign’ and ‘Sissinghurst White’ are good choices.

Hellebores

Single-flowered hellebores give early nectar from February. Plant them in shade or part shade in rich soil. They live for years and need hardly any looking after.

Willow catkins (Salix caprea)

Goat willow’s fluffy yellow catkins appear in March and are packed with pollen. For a small garden, try the compact weeping ‘Kilmarnock’, which stays at about 2-3m.

Flowering currant (Ribes sanguineum)

A tough shrub with pink flowers in March and April that early bumblebees adore. ‘King Edward VII’ is a compact one at about 1.5m. It grows in almost any soil.

Gardener’s tip: Leave a patch of dead leaves and hollow stems over winter. Lots of solitary bees nest in them. Tidy up in late April instead, once the bees are out. A wild patch also lets edible native plants like dandelions pop up, which bees love. Sowing wildflower seeds in a sunny corner is another lovely way to help.

A bumblebee queen on purple crocus in early spring. Big drifts look great and feed more bees.

Summer flowers: May to August

Lavender, foxglove, catmint, phacelia, alliums, borage and flowering herbs are brilliant summer bee plants. There are lots of flowers about in summer, but not all of them help bees.

Lavender (Lavandula angustifolia ‘Hidcote’)

One of the best bee plants for UK gardens. It flowers from June to August, copes with dry weather and keeps its leaves all year. Plant in full sun and well-drained soil, 30cm apart for a hedge. Trim after flowering, but never cut into old bare wood. Our lavender growing guide covers the rest.

Foxglove (Digitalis purpurea)

Bumblebees climb right inside the tube-shaped flowers. Foxgloves seed themselves about and are a must in any cottage garden planting plan. Sow in May for flowers the next June. They grow to about 1.2-1.5m. Every part is toxic to cats and dogs if eaten, so see our list of plants toxic to cats. Our foxglove growing guide has sowing tips.

Catmint (Nepeta x faassenii)

Flowers for months if you cut it back hard after the first flush in July. It’s one of the best low maintenance plants around, and bumblebees are all over it. Try ‘Walker’s Low’ or ‘Six Hills Giant’ at the front of a sunny border.

Phacelia (Phacelia tanacetifolia)

An easy annual. Sow it straight into the ground in April and it flowers in about 6-8 weeks. Lavender-blue flowers on 60cm stems. Our guide to growing phacelia also covers using it as a green manure.

Alliums

Big round flower heads that several bees can feed on at once. Allium ‘Purple Sensation’ is the favourite, at about 90cm tall. Plant bulbs in autumn, 10-15cm deep, in groups of 7-10. They pop up through low plants without taking much room. See our allium growing guide.

Borage (Borago officinalis)

Bright blue starry flowers from June to September, and bees come back all day. Sow it where it’s to grow in April, and it’ll seed itself for next year. Two more summer stars are the balloon flower for bees and agastache, which flowers from July into October. Our guide on how to grow agastache explains how.

Herbs in flower

Let your herbs flower instead of cutting them back. Thyme, oregano, rosemary, sage and chives all have flowers bees love. Thyme and oregano in pots suit a sunny patio.

A lavender hedge in full summer bloom, humming with bees from June to August.

Autumn flowers: September to November

Sedum, ivy, single dahlias, Michaelmas daisies and Japanese anemones feed bees from September to November. Late flowers help young queens fatten up before winter.

Sedum (Hylotelephium spectabile)

Flat flower heads that are covered in bees from September. ‘Herbstfreude’ (Autumn Joy) is the classic, at about 50cm, with pink heads that turn coppery. Grow it in full sun and well-drained soil. It hardly ever needs watering. Cut the dead stems back in spring, not autumn.

Ivy (Hedera helix)

One of the most important late flowers for bees in Britain. Ivy flowers from September to November, when little else does. Don’t cut it back in autumn. If it needs a trim, wait until January.

Single dahlias

Only single dahlias with an open middle help bees. ‘Bishop of Llandaff’ has dark leaves and red single flowers that bees love. ‘Twyning’s After Eight’ is another good one. They flower from July until the first hard frost. Our guide on when to plant dahlias has timings.

Michaelmas daisies (Symphyotrichum)

Pick a kind that resists mildew. ‘Professor Anton Kippenberg’ is compact at about 40cm, with lavender-blue flowers from September. ‘Little Carlow’ is taller at about 90cm. Both bring in late bumblebees and hoverflies.

Japanese anemones (Anemone x hybrida)

Single-flowered ones give nectar from August to October. ‘Honorine Jobert’ has white flowers and grows to about 1.2m. It copes with shade and slowly spreads.

Gardener’s tip: Ivy only flowers once it’s grown up and bushy. Let one patch grow and flower in peace for the autumn bees and hoverflies.

Sedum ‘Herbstfreude’ (Autumn Joy) in October, still busy with bees.

How to plan a year-round bee border

Pick at least one plant for every month from February to November. This simple plan fits a border about 2m by 4m.

A simple bee border layout

Back row (tallest, 80-150cm):

• 3 foxgloves (Digitalis purpurea): June and July
• 1 single dahlia ‘Bishop of Llandaff’: July to the first frost
• 1 Japanese anemone ‘Honorine Jobert’: August to October

Middle row (40-80cm):

• 5 lavender ‘Hidcote’: June to August
• 3 catmint ‘Walker’s Low’: May to September
• 3 sedum ‘Herbstfreude’: September to November

Front row (up to 30cm):

• 30 purple crocus ‘Remembrance’, planted between the sedum: February and March
• 5 pulmonaria ‘Blue Ensign’: February to April
• 3 thyme, left to flower: June to August

Flowering calendar

That gives bees food from February to November with very little work. For sowing and planting dates, see our month-by-month flower planting calendar.

Foxgloves, alliums, catmint and lavender packed together. Bees love a full border.

What are the best bee plants for pots and balconies?

Compact lavender, thyme, catmint, chives and crocus all do well in pots. Choose plants that stay under about 60cm and flower for a long time, and give them your sunniest spot.

Three or four pots can cover most of the year:

• Spring: crocus and dwarf daffodils planted in autumn, with a pulmonaria for a shady corner.
• Early summer: chives, thyme and lavender ‘Hidcote’ in a 30cm pot.
• Late summer: catmint ‘Walker’s Low’ and single-flowered cosmos.
• Autumn: a compact sedum such as ‘Herbstfreude’.

Use peat-free compost, with grit mixed in for lavender and thyme. Water pots regularly in summer, as thirsty plants make less nectar. Group the pots so bees can work along them.

Group a few sunny pots together and bees can work along them. Catmint is a double win, as cats love it too.

Things to avoid

Pesticides

Skip insecticides where you can, because many harm bees. That includes “natural” pyrethrum sprays. If you really must spray a pest, do it at dusk when bees aren’t flying, and never spray open flowers.

Double flowers

The extra petals hide or replace the pollen. Double roses, double dahlias, double hollyhocks and pompom chrysanthemums are the usual suspects. Always check you can see the middle of the flower before you buy.

Bedding that bees ignore

Petunias, busy lizzies, begonias and lobelia are popular, but bees get very little from them. Swap in single-flowered cosmos, calendula, nasturtiums or snapdragons instead.

Artificial grass

Plastic grass takes away nesting spots for solitary bees, which are most of our bee species. Many of them, like mining bees, nest in the ground. Even a small patch of real grass or bare, sandy soil helps.

Being too tidy

Don’t clear every border in autumn. Dead stems, fallen leaves and bare soil are where bees nest and shelter. Leave a slightly wild corner, and cut back perennials in late April rather than autumn.

Beyond plants: other ways to help bees

Nesting spots, water and a spray-free garden help bees just as much as flowers.

A bee hotel on a sunny wall. Different-sized tubes suit different solitary bees.

Going further with rewilding your garden creates a space where native plants, insects and wildlife can look after themselves.

Bee hotels give red mason bees and leafcutter bees somewhere to nest. Fix one in a sunny, sheltered spot 1-1.5m off the ground, facing south or south-east. Look for tubes 6-10mm wide and about 15cm deep.

Water matters in hot weather. A shallow dish with pebbles gives bees a safe place to drink. Keep it topped up in summer.

Compost heaps are home to lots of small creatures that keep a garden healthy. Bare soil helps too. Leave a small sunny patch uncovered and firm it down lightly, and mining bees may dig their nests there.

Now you’ve planted for bees, read our guide on attracting birds to your garden to make your garden a home for even more wildlife.

Frequently asked questions

What is the best plant for bees in the UK?

Lavender is one of the very best. Lavandula angustifolia ‘Hidcote’ flowers from June to August, copes with dry spells and is loved by all sorts of bees. Catmint is a close second and flowers for even longer if you cut it back after the first flush.

Do bees like double flowers?

No, double flowers are poor for bees. The extra petals take the place of the pollen-making parts, so there’s little for bees to eat. Pick single flowers where you can see the middle. Double roses, double dahlias and pompom chrysanthemums are the usual culprits.

When do bees need flowers most?

Early spring and late autumn matter most. Queen bumblebees wake up hungry in February and March and need food fast. Flowers in October and November help bees stock up before winter. Ivy is one of the best late plants.

How many bee species are in the UK?

There are over 270 kinds of bee in the UK. That’s one honeybee, 24 bumblebees and around 250 solitary bees. Solitary bees don’t live in hives and are very gentle.

Do bees like herbs?

Yes, bees love flowering herbs. Thyme, oregano, rosemary, sage, borage and chives are all favourites. Let them flower rather than cutting them back. Thyme and oregano in pots are perfect for a sunny patio. See our guide to growing herbs in the UK for planting tips.

Is artificial grass bad for bees?

Yes, it takes away homes for bees that nest in the ground. It also gets rid of lawn flowers like clover and dandelions. Even a small patch of real grass or bare soil helps.