Plants to encourage and support bee populations in your garden

A colourful guide to wildlife friendly flowers at different times of the year, with beautiful blooms to brighten your garden from winter through spring and summer right into autumn. With bees and insect populations reported to be in decline it is important that we do what we can to provide habitat and food sources for beneficial insects such as bees and hover flies.

Winter

Crocus and aconites (bulbs)

Winter flowering heathers (Erica Carnea)

Hellebores

Sarcococca

Viburnum Tinus

Spring

Muscari - grape hyacinths

Skimmia Rubella

Aquilegia - Grannies Bonnet

Armeria

Blue bells

Hardy Geraniums

Iris

Poppies (papaver) species

Cornflowers

Alliums

Pieris

Summer

Foxgloves

Thyme

Hypericum Hidcote

Cistus (Rock Rose)

Cordyline

Ceanothus

Echium

Monbretia

Nepeta (cat mint)

Erysimum

Clematis

Cardoon (Cyanura or Globe artichoke)

Achillia

Lavender

Scabious

Leacanthemum (Chrysanthemum)

Echinops

Verbena Bonariensis

Kniphofia (Red hot poker)

Cosmos

Dahlias

Eryngium

Esscallonia

Helenium

Rudbeckia

Sunflowers

Buddleia

Late Summer and into Autumn

Sedum Autumn Joy

Caryopteris

Japanese anemones

Asters (Michaelmas daisies)

Echinacaea

Hebe

Common wild ivy (hedera)