The best spring bulbs 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 a bulb. 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
- SnowdropGalanthus nivalisJanuary to March. Nectar low, pollen moderate.Not a honey source
- CrocusCrocusJanuary to April. Nectar moderate, pollen very high.Not a honey source
- Winter aconiteEranthis hyemalisJanuary to March. Nectar moderate, pollen high.Not a honey source
- AlliumAlliumApril to August. Nectar high, pollen high.Feeds the colony but rarely yields a surplus
- BluebellHyacinthoides non-scriptaApril to May. Nectar high, pollen high.Minor honey crop
- Hardy cyclamenCyclamen coumDecember to March. Nectar moderate, pollen moderate.Not a honey source
- Siberian squillScilla sibericaFebruary to April. Nectar high, pollen high.Not a honey source
- Grecian windflowerAnemone blandaMarch to April. Nectar low, pollen high.Not a honey source
- Wild garlicAllium ursinumApril to June. Nectar high, pollen high.Not a honey source
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
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?