Providing food for bees, butterflies and other insects in your garden is a fantastic way to help wildlife. Choose a selection of plants from each column so that your garden is full of nectar and pollen throughout the year.
Please try to go for organically grown plants. Some flowers that are labelled as 'bee friendly' may have been grown in pesticides that will likely ultimately harm bee populations.
Early Flowering Plants
- Apple (Malus spp.)
- Bell heather (Erica cinerea)
- Crocus (Crocus spp.)
- Flowering currant (Ribes sanguineum)
- Hellebore (Helleborus spp.)
- Lungwort (Pulmonaria)
- Pussy willow (Salix spp.)
- Wisteria (Wisteria spp.)
Mid-season Flowering Plants
- Allium (Allium spp.)
- Bergamot (Monarda spp.)
- Columbine (Aquilegia spp.)
- Foxglove (Digitalis purpurea)
- Geranium (Geranium pratense & G. sanguinea)
- Globe artichoke (Cynara scolymus)
- Globe thistle (Echinops spp.)
- Hollyhock (Alcea rosea)
- Knapweed (Centaurea nigra & C. major)
- Lavender (Lavendula spp.)
- Marjoram (Origanum vulgare)
- Snapdragon (Antirrhinum majus)
- Tufted vetch (Vicia cracca)
Late Flowering Plants
- Cosmos (Cosmos bipinnatus)
- Everlasting pea (Lathyrus latifolius)
- Ice plant (Sedum spectabile)
- Ivy (Hedera helix)
- Plume thistle (Cirsium rivulare)
- Sunflower (Helianthus annuus)
- Thyme (Thymus spp.)
Long Flowering Period
- Chive (Allium schoenoprasum)
- Comfrey (Symphytum officinale)
- Dead nettle (Lamium spp.)
- Purple tansy (Phacelia tanacetifolia)