Bee plants through the year
The gaps matter more than the peaks. Almost every garden has plenty in June and nothing in February, and it is the empty months that limit what a garden can support.
The four gaps
A garden's usefulness to bees is limited by its worst month rather than its best. There are four periods where most gardens fail, and filling them is worth more than adding another summer perennial.
| Gap | Why it matters | What fills it |
|---|---|---|
| Nov-Feb | Winter-active bumblebees and mild-day honey bee flights | Mahonia, winter honeysuckle, winter clematis, hellebore, ivy into November, fatsia |
| Feb-Mar | Emerging queens need pollen urgently to found colonies | Crocus, willow, coltsfoot, snowdrop, scilla, lesser celandine |
| Late Jun-Jul | The June gap after spring blossom, before high summer | Bramble, privet allowed to flower, lime, viper's bugloss, marjoram |
| Sep-Oct | Colonies provisioning for winter | Ivy, sedum, michaelmas daisy, caryopteris, fatsia, elaeagnus |
Month by month
- January — mahonia, winter honeysuckle, winter clematis, hellebore, snowdrop
- February — crocus, snowdrop, winter aconite, willow, coltsfoot, daphne, gooseberry
- March — willow, blackthorn, lungwort, scilla, primrose, apricot, lesser celandine
- April — dandelion, flowering currant, hawthorn coming, aubrieta, bugle, wild garlic
- May — hawthorn, comfrey, chives, aquilegia, honesty, geranium, quince
- June — bramble, viper's bugloss, privet, dog rose, foxglove, wild privet, lime coming
- July — lime, marjoram, lavender, knapweed, hemp agrimony, calamint, woodland sage
- August — heather, catmint, globe thistle, hollyhock, russian sage, teasel
- September — ivy, sedum, michaelmas daisy, devil's-bit scabious, caryopteris, heptacodium
- October — ivy, fatsia, elaeagnus, tithonia, michaelmas daisy
- November — ivy, fatsia, elaeagnus, mahonia starting, winter-flowering cherry
- December — mahonia, winter honeysuckle, winter clematis, loquat in mild areas
Why the early gap is the most important
A bumblebee queen emerging in February has to found an entire colony from nothing. She needs nectar for herself immediately and pollen to provision her first brood cells within days. If she cannot find both, she dies and the colony never exists.
That makes February and March forage worth disproportionately more than the same quantity in June, when there is competition rather than scarcity. Willow and crocus in particular are worth planting for this reason alone.
Building a year
- Start with winterMahonia and ivy. If you plant nothing else, plant these two.
- Add the early springCrocus and a willow, or a gooseberry if space is short.
- Cover the June gapBramble in a corner, or let a privet or hawthorn hedge flower.
- Add high summerMarjoram, catmint and viper's bugloss will run July to September.
- Finish with autumnSedum, michaelmas daisy and fatsia.
Sources
- Assessment Report on Pollinators, Pollination and Food Production — Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) (2016) · Systematic review Link
- Bumblebees: Behaviour, Ecology, and Conservation — Oxford University Press (2010) · Monograph
- Field Guide to the Bees of Great Britain and Ireland — Bloomsbury (2015) · Field guide
How sources are selected and weighted is set out in the sources and evidence policy.
Read next
Tools that use this
- Bee-friendly garden planner
What should I plant in the space I actually have?
- Flowering calendar
What should I plant so that something is always in flower for bees?
- Plant recommendation tool
Which plant fills this specific gap?