May
Plants in flower in May. A garden's value to bees is limited by its worst month rather than its best, so the list worth reading is the one for a month your own garden has nothing in.
109 records · flowering month
- RosemarySalvia rosmarinusThe timing is what makes it exceptional rather than the volume. A high-value plant in March is worth far more to bees than a better plant in July, when everything is flowering.
- ThymeThymusA low aromatic Mediterranean subshrub that produces one of the world's great honeys and, at garden scale, one of the best-value bee plants per square metre of anything you can grow. Thyme flowers densely, tolerates the poorest soil, and can be walked on — creeping thymes planted in gravel or between paving turn dead space into forage.
- White cloverTrifolium repensOne of the very few plants that is both a top-tier nectar source and a substantial pollen source, over a long season, at landscape scale.
- AppleMalus domesticaValuable spring forage, but rarely a surplus crop: the window is short and the colony is still building at that point in the year, so most of what comes in is eaten immediately.
- CherryPrunus aviumImportant early forage arriving when colonies are expanding and bumblebee queens are founding nests. Almost all of it is consumed rather than stored.
- HawthornCrataegus monogynaThe backbone of the temperate hedgerow and one of the great mass-flowering events of the European year. A hawthorn hedge in full bloom in May carries an extraordinary density of insects — bees, hoverflies, beetles and flies together — and the plant supports several hundred invertebrate species beyond the ones visiting the flowers. Its nectar flow is heavy, brief and famously unreliable from year to year.
- Wildflower meadowMixed native floraThe highest combined forage value of anything in this catalogue, because of diversity and duration rather than any single plant's output.
- EucalyptusEucalyptusProlific in both nectar and pollen when flowering, though the pollen of some species is nutritionally poor for honey bees, and colonies confined to a single eucalypt species can suffer over time despite abundant forage.
- Ogeechee tupeloNyssa ogecheExceptional nectar in a short window, in a habitat with little competing bloom at that moment. Its value is concentration in time and space rather than volume across a season.
- Oilseed rapeBrassica napusTop-rated for both nectar and pollen, and delivered at exactly the moment colonies are expanding fastest in spring. Its faults are entirely about what comes after.
- BlueberryVaccinium corymbosumUseful early forage, and a textbook illustration that abundant flowers do not guarantee an efficient pollination relationship.
- DandelionTaraxacum officinaleThe pollen is what makes it critical. It arrives when colonies are expanding fastest and have the least in reserve, and bumblebee queens emerging from hibernation depend on early sources like this one to found a nest at all.
- SageSalviaVery high nectar and only moderate pollen — sage feeds adult foragers superbly and contributes comparatively little to brood rearing, which is a common pattern in the mint family.
- CatmintNepetaVery high nectar over an exceptionally long season. Its ratings are strong and its real distinction is duration.
- ComfreySymphytum officinaleExceptional nectar, but genuinely restricted by flower shape — which is why the separate rating for accessibility matters more here than almost anywhere else.
- CalendulaCalendula officinalisModerate nectar and good pollen, delivered across an exceptionally long season including the shoulders of the year when little else is open. Its value is timing rather than volume.
- RaspberryRubus idaeusOne of the highest-yielding nectar plants in temperate horticulture, and good for pollen too. Very few plants combine this productivity with this reliability.
- Red cloverTrifolium pratenseTop-rated nectar that most of the bees people plant for cannot reach. This record exists largely to make that distinction concrete.
- Bird's-foot trefoilLotus corniculatusGood for both, over a long season, from a plant that thrives on the poor unimproved ground most other forage will not tolerate.
- Common poppyPapaver rhoeasThe clearest case on the site for rating nectar and pollen separately. A single 'bee friendly' score would either overstate the poppy or understate it, and both would be wrong.
- Crab appleMalus sylvestrisExcellent spring pollen and good nectar. Its particular value is the length of the flowering window relative to a cultivated apple.
- RowanSorbus aucupariaGood pollen and moderate nectar, delivered in a completely accessible form. Its wider wildlife value — berries for thrushes and winter migrants — is at least as significant.
- CotoneasterCotoneasterVery high nectar from a plant that grows anywhere, in any soil, in sun or shade, with no attention at all. Per unit of gardening effort it is close to unbeatable.
- PyracanthaPyracantha coccineaGood for both, from an evergreen structural shrub that also provides thorny nesting cover — a genuinely multi-purpose garden plant.
- Horse chestnutAesculus hippocastanumTop-rated for both, in enormous quantity, from a single tree. One mature horse chestnut is worth a considerable area of border planting.
- SycamoreAcer pseudoplatanusVery high nectar and good pollen, delivered at tree scale in mid-spring, plus a honeydew contribution later. A single mature sycamore is a serious forage asset.
- Hardy geraniumGeraniumGood for both across a long season, from plants that grow in sun or shade and require essentially no maintenance.
- AlliumAlliumGood for both from an entirely accessible flower shape, and available from a plant most vegetable gardens already contain.
- AsphodelAsphodelus ramosusA major early nectar source in country that offers little else at that season, and rated highly for pollen as well.
- RockroseCistus ladaniferAn outstanding pollen source and a good nectar one, and a plant that also supplies resin for propolis — an unusual triple contribution.
- BilberryVaccinium myrtillusGood nectar at a critical early moment for northern colonies and for emerging bumblebee queens, whose founding success tracks bilberry abundance closely in Fennoscandia.
- LemonCitrus limonExcellent nectar over an unusually long and repeated window, and only a moderate pollen contribution.
- Chinese milk vetchAstragalus sinicusVery high nectar delivered at vast scale in early spring, and the anchor of migratory beekeeping across southern China.
- JujubeZiziphus jujubaA very high nectar source in arid and semi-arid country where the alternatives are few, which makes it structurally important as well as productive.
- BanksiaBanksiaTop nectar production in the catalogue for sheer volume per flower head, delivered in the Australian cool season when little else is open.
- ThistleGalactites tomentosaAmong the most productive nectar plants in Mediterranean grassland, and one of the few that supports butterflies and bees equally well.
- LungwortPulmonaria officinalisGood nectar at the point in the year when bumblebee queens are founding nests and the earliest solitary bees are emerging.
- PrimrosePrimula vulgarisModerate on both counts, and it matters because of when it arrives rather than how much it offers.
- BluebellHyacinthoides non-scriptaGood for both, delivered at scale in the spring window, and an underrated contributor to April honey.
- Dead-nettleLamiumGood nectar over an exceptionally long season, including the winter months when almost nothing else is available to a foraging bumblebee.
- Forget-me-notMyosotis sylvaticaModerate on both counts, and valuable because the flowers are small and shallow enough for the smallest solitary bees that larger plants exclude.
- CowslipPrimula verisModerate ratings from a plant whose real value is as an indicator — cowslips mark grassland that has not been fertilised or reseeded, and such grassland supports a great deal else.
- Grape hyacinthMuscari armeniacumGood nectar in the spring gap, from a plant that costs almost nothing and requires no maintenance.
- HollyIlex aquifoliumGood nectar in the late spring, and an evergreen structure that provides shelter and nesting cover the rest of the year.
- ElderSambucus nigraA good pollen source with almost nothing to offer in nectar, and the clearest hedgerow example of why the two are rated separately.
- Field mapleAcer campestreVery high nectar from a tree most people do not realise is flowering, plus a honeydew contribution later in the season.
- GorseUlex europaeusZero nectar and top-rated pollen, available in midwinter. Alongside hazel and poppy it is the clearest argument for rating the two separately.
- Guelder roseViburnum opulusGood accessible nectar in early summer, and a useful lesson in reading a flower — most of what you can see is advertising rather than reward.
- Oxeye daisyLeucanthemum vulgareModerate nectar and good pollen, and its distinction is who can reach it — the very small and short-tongued insects that need shallow open flowers.
- BroomCytisus scopariusZero nectar and very high pollen — one of the small group of plants including poppy, hazel and gorse that make the case for separate ratings unanswerable.
- Alder buckthornFrangula alnusVery high nectar over a long window from an inconspicuous plant, and it is disproportionately important where damp woodland edge survives.
- WallflowerErysimumGood nectar across an exceptionally long season, from a small drought-proof plant. Very few things offer eight months of forage from one position.
- Black locustRobinia pseudoacaciaAn exceptional nectar source for a very short period. Pollen is useful but secondary — this is a nectar tree above all.
- SainfoinOnobrychis viciifoliaAn outstanding forage plant on both counts, and one of the few that performs in a dry summer when white clover has stopped.
- Tulip treeLiriodendron tulipiferaA heavy nectar source and a moderate pollen source, concentrated in a narrow late-spring window.
- MesquiteProsopisA principal desert forage plant, providing both nectar and pollen in landscapes with very few alternatives.
- Black sageSalvia melliferaAn outstanding nectar source in a good year, and the backbone of the chaparral forage sequence.
- Sweet orangeCitrus sinensisA heavy nectar source over a substantial period, and moderate for pollen.
- AvocadoPersea americanaA heavy nectar and pollen source, and one the bees are notably unenthusiastic about relative to what else is on offer.
- CoffeeCoffea arabicaA heavy but very short-lived nectar source, in flushes rather than as a continuous flow.
- English oakQuercus roburNo floral nectar and little useful pollen — the catkins are wind-pollinated and their pollen is collected only incidentally. The honeydew is the entire beekeeping interest, and stating that plainly is more useful than calling the tree bee-friendly.
- GallberryIlex glabraAn excellent late-spring nectar source across the southeastern coastal plain.
- Saw palmettoSerenoa repensA heavy spring nectar and pollen source across a very large area.
- Yellow rattleRhinanthus minorA moderate direct forage plant and an outsized indirect one, because it is what allows a grass sward to become a flower meadow.
- White bryonyBryonia dioicaA long-running pollen source, and the entire basis of one specialist bee's existence.
- Field beanVicia fabaGood on both counts, and unusual in offering nectar from two different structures.
- PearPyrus communisPoor for nectar and good for pollen, which is exactly the sort of split a single bee-friendliness rating would erase.
- Chinese tallowTriadica sebiferaAn excellent nectar and pollen source, and the mainstay of Gulf coast beekeeping.
- American persimmonDiospyros virginianaA good nectar source where the trees are numerous.
- KaranjPongamia pinnataA good nectar and pollen source at the thinnest point of the Indian year.
- Resin spurgeEuphorbia resiniferaA good spring nectar source on ground that offers very little else.
- ArganArgania spinosaA good spring nectar source in a semi-arid landscape with few alternatives.
- TamariskTamarixA useful summer nectar source on saline and desert ground where little else flowers, plus a honeydew component.
- NeemAzadirachta indicaA good dry-season nectar source across the Indian subcontinent.
- Bird cherryPrunus padusA generous spring nectar and pollen source, and worked heavily for the fortnight it lasts.
- BlackcurrantRibes nigrumA good early nectar source at a point when little else is available.
- QuinceCydonia oblongaA good late-spring nectar and pollen source with large accessible flowers.
- MedlarMespilus germanicaA good late-spring nectar and pollen source with exceptionally accessible flowers.
- Norway mapleAcer platanoidesAn excellent early nectar and pollen source, and one of the more significant urban resources in European towns.
- WhitebeamSorbus ariaA good spring nectar source with completely accessible flowers.
- DogwoodCornus sanguineaA good early summer nectar source at a point where the hedgerow sequence would otherwise thin.
- SpindleEuonymus europaeusA modest nectar source and a highly accessible one, which makes it disproportionately useful to small bees.
- BuckthornRhamnus catharticaA modest but highly accessible nectar source over several weeks.
- Lesser celandineFicaria vernaA moderate nectar source and a generous pollen source at exactly the point in the year when colonies need pollen for brood.
- BugleAjuga reptansA good nectar source at a point in the season that is thinner than it looks, and specifically in shade where options are few.
- HonestyLunaria annuaA good spring nectar source in a season that is thinner than it appears, particularly in shade.
- Sweet rocketHesperis matronalisA good early summer nectar source, and one of the better plants for the day and night shift together.
- AubrietaAubrieta deltoideaGenerous on both counts for its size, and the flower density makes a modest plant into a substantial resource.
- Wild garlicAllium ursinumA generous late-spring nectar and pollen source with completely accessible flowers.
- ColumbineAquilegia vulgarisA good nectar source that most bees cannot reach legitimately — which is precisely what makes it interesting.
- Shrubby cinquefoilDasiphora fruticosaA moderate nectar source and a generous pollen source across an unusually long season.
- Poached egg plantLimnanthes douglasiiAn outstanding nectar and pollen source, and among the most heavily visited plants for its size in a temperate garden.
- California poppyEschscholzia californicaNo nectar at all and an outstanding pollen source over a long season.
- Crimson cloverTrifolium incarnatumA good nectar and pollen source, and accessible to honey bees in a way that red clover is not.
- ChivesAllium schoenoprasumA generous nectar and pollen source in a plant almost every garden already has.
- Giant catmintNepeta racemosaAn outstanding nectar source over one of the longest seasons of any garden perennial.
- Sea buckthornHippophae rhamnoidesA genuinely useful early pollen source in a season when protein is scarce, and not a nectar plant at all. Honey sold as sea buckthorn honey is normally a blossom honey from the surrounding flora, or an infusion of berry juice into honey — both legitimate products, neither a monofloral.
- Holm oakQuercus ilexA pollen source in spring and, in the right years, a substantial honeydew source from midsummer onwards. The two have nothing to do with each other.
- MoringaMoringa oleiferaA dependable year-round trickle rather than a flow, which in a dryland landscape is worth more than its volume suggests.
- Coconut palmCocos nuciferaThe most reliable background forage across much of the coastal tropics, precisely because it never stops. Coastal apiaries frequently rest on it between the seasonal flows.
- MangiumAcacia mangiumA substantial plantation flow across Southeast Asia, produced by a mechanism most beekeeping literature does not cover — extrafloral nectar, secreted by the leaf rather than the flower.
- TamarindTamarindus indicaA valuable hot-season source across India and the Sahel, and one of the few substantial flows available immediately before the rains.
- Green cardamomElettaria cardamomumA modest flow with an outsized agricultural significance: cardamom yield rises substantially where honey bee colonies are present, and estates stock hives for that reason.
- NiaouliMelaleuca quinquenerviaA heavy and reliable flow wherever it grows, which is a substantial part of why it is tolerated in places that would otherwise remove it.
- Oil palmElaeis guineensisA heavy year-round pollen source and a poor nectar one, which makes plantation apiaries protein-rich and carbohydrate-poor — a genuine management problem rather than a technicality.
- Spanish needleBidens albaAmong the most important sources in Florida beekeeping, and the one that carries colonies between the citrus, palmetto and gallberry flows.
- Yellow gumEucalyptus leucoxylonAmong the most valuable winter forage trees in southern Australia, and widely planted in shelterbelts and street plantings for that reason.
- Swamp mahoganyEucalyptus robustaA keystone winter nectar source for the whole east coast fauna, and a substantial commercial honey flow alongside that.
- Five fingerPseudopanax arboreusThe principal winter forage across much of lowland New Zealand, and important to native birds as much as to bees.
Other flowering month groups
Tools that use these records
- Flowering calendar
What should I plant so that something is always in flower for bees?
- Bee-friendly garden planner
What should I plant in the space I actually have?
- Plant recommendation tool
Which plant fills this specific gap?