The best spring annuals for bees
The plants that flower between March and May are feeding colony expansion and solitary emergence at once. Quantity matters less here than presence.
The rule behind this list
Every plant in the catalogue recorded as an annual or biennial. Filtered to plants whose flowering window overlaps March to May.
Months here are northern-hemisphere temperate. Southern-hemisphere readers should shift by roughly six months — but that shift is an approximation rather than a translation, because day length, rainfall pattern and the local flora do not shift with it. Records that genuinely span both hemispheres say so.
What to prioritise in spring
Spring planting competes with nothing — this is the season most gardens are already reasonably covered in, thanks to fruit blossom, bulbs and the willows. The genuine gaps sit at either end: early March, before the blossom starts, and late May, in the pause between fruit blossom and the summer perennials. A plant that covers either of those is worth two that flower in April.
The spring mistake
Tidying. The single most damaging spring habit is cutting, mowing and clearing at exactly the moment bees need the ground undisturbed and the dandelions flowering. A lawn left uncut through April produces more forage than most deliberate planting, and it costs nothing.
In flower through the whole of spring
In flower for part of spring
- Oilseed rapeBrassica napusApril to June. Nectar very high, pollen very high.Major honey crop
- CalendulaCalendula officinalisMay to December. Nectar moderate, pollen high.Feeds the colony but rarely yields a surplus
- Common poppyPapaver rhoeasMay to August. Nectar none, pollen very high.Not a honey source
- ThistleGalactites tomentosaMay to July. Nectar very high, pollen high.Major honey crop
- Forget-me-notMyosotis sylvaticaApril to June. Nectar moderate, pollen moderate.Feeds the colony but rarely yields a surplus
- Yellow rattleRhinanthus minorMay to August. Nectar moderate, pollen moderate.Not a honey source
- Field beanVicia fabaMay to July. Nectar high, pollen high.Minor honey crop
- HonestyLunaria annuaApril to June. Nectar high, pollen moderate.Not a honey source
- Sweet rocketHesperis matronalisMay to July. Nectar high, pollen moderate.Not a honey source
- Poached egg plantLimnanthes douglasiiApril to July. Nectar very high, pollen high.Minor honey crop
- California poppyEschscholzia californicaMay to September. Nectar none, pollen very high.Not a honey source
- Crimson cloverTrifolium incarnatumMay to July. Nectar high, pollen high.Minor honey crop
- AjwainTrachyspermum ammiJanuary to March. Nectar high, pollen high.Minor honey crop
Check these against your region before planting
3 plants in this group carry an invasiveness or legal restriction note somewhere in the world: Thistle, Sweet rocket, Spanish needle. HoneyHQ does not know where you are and will not guess, so it flags rather than filters.
Bees these plants are recorded with
Taken from the relationships on each plant record. These are the well-attested associations rather than an exhaustive list of visitors, so treat the number as a floor.
Honeys from these plants
- Rapeseed honeyVery sweet, very mild, faintly cabbage-like when fresh and cleanly bland once set. Texture is what it has instead of flavour.
- Himalayan forest honeyComplex and warm, with a herbal and faintly smoky character reflecting both the flora and the traditional processing — spring honey is lighter and more floral, autumn honey darker and more resinous.
- Milk vetch honeySoft, mild and slightly floral with a faint green-bean freshness — an unassuming honey made in enormous quantity.
- Ak balMild, creamy and delicately floral with a faint herbal lift — the texture is much of the appeal, dense and smooth and dissolving rather than sticky.
- Thistle honeyWarm and herbaceous with a hay-and-spice character and a faint bitterness at the end.
- Siberian taiga honeyComplex and warm with a herbal lift over caramel, and a density that comes directly from the low moisture — thick, concentrated and long on the palate.
- Field bean honeyMild and clean with a faint green-bean vegetal note under a soft sweetness — pleasant and undemanding rather than distinctive.
- Meadowfoam honeyToasted marshmallow and vanilla, unmistakably. The one honey most people identify blind on the first spoonful, because it tastes like something they already know.
- Ajwain honeyAromatic and faintly medicinal, with a clear thyme-and-caraway note over light amber sweetness.
- Spanish needle honeyLight, mildly fruity and clean. An easy, agreeable honey rather than a dramatic one, which is exactly what an all-year background source produces.
Keep going
Plan the season
- Seasonal bee planner
It is this season and I want to do this — what should I plant?
- 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?