Garden
Best Flowers to Grow for Bees: The Foolproof 5
- Growing a bee garden is as easy at it gets for a home gardener. There’s no need to seek out exotic blooms or struggle with fussy flowers that need to be pampered.
- Some of the best plants to grow for bees are what I consider the underdogs of a garden: those “plain Jane” flowers and hard-working herbs that normally wouldn’t get a second glance.
- In fact, all my bee gardens over the years were planted primarily because of how low-maintenance they were. They’re fairly drought-tolerant, self-seeded freely as annuals, grew back every year as perennials, and did double-duty as human food and pollinator food (as was the case with my herbs).
- While you’ll find many lists with dozens of plant recommendations for your bee garden, the types of flowers that attract bees are simpler than you think.
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What kind of flowers attract bees?
- Bee-friendly flowers include traditional favorites like bee balm and sunflowers, as well as unassuming ground covers like sweet alyssum and sedum.
- I also like to let things like cilantro and parsley go to seed every season for this very reason (aside from my general laziness in cleaning up the garden right away).
- You see, bees and other pollinators are not particular about looks. They don’t want fields of fancy double-headed blooms, which—while certainly show-stopping—typically produce less nectar than single-headed flowers.
- The “flowers within flowers” (like double dahlias and double peonies) make it harder for bees to access pollen. While the cutting stems are great for the flower vase, they’re not so beneficial for bees.
- Many of these grander blossoms are also hybridized plants. They’re bred not to seed and thus produce very little pollen. Bees keep landing on them, attracted to the bright colors, but won’t get their fill of nectar.
