The best summer plants for bees in pots
Most gardens are at their best in June and empty by late August. The plants worth adding are the ones that flower after the first flush is over.
64 plants in flower between June and August · 30 through the whole season
The rule behind this list
Plants the catalogue records as suited to containers and window boxes. Filtered to plants whose flowering window overlaps June to August.
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 summer
The competition here is fierce — almost everything flowers in June — so the useful question is not what flowers in summer but what flowers in late August. Marjoram, knapweed, scabious, agastache, Russian sage, sedum and heather all carry a garden through the point at which the June planting has finished. A second flush from cutting back catmint, geranium and salvia in early July costs nothing and buys six weeks.
The summer mistake
Deadheading everything and cutting the herbs before they flower. Both remove exactly the forage the plant was going to provide, and both are done for tidiness rather than for the plant's benefit.
In flower through the whole of summer
- LavenderLavandula angustifoliaJune to August. Nectar very high, pollen moderate.Major honey crop
- ThymeThymusMay to August. Nectar very high, pollen moderate.Major honey crop
- BorageBorago officinalisJune to September. Nectar very high, pollen high.Minor honey crop
- PhaceliaPhacelia tanacetifoliaJune to October. Nectar very high, pollen very high.Minor honey crop
- SageSalviaMay to October. Nectar very high, pollen moderate.Major honey crop
- CatmintNepetaMay to October. Nectar very high, pollen moderate.Feeds the colony but rarely yields a surplus
- VerbenaVerbena bonariensisJune to November. Nectar high, pollen moderate.Feeds the colony but rarely yields a surplus
- CalendulaCalendula officinalisMay to December. Nectar moderate, pollen high.Feeds the colony but rarely yields a surplus
- YarrowAchillea millefoliumJune to October. Nectar moderate, pollen high.Feeds the colony but rarely yields a surplus
- CornflowerCentaurea cyanusJune to September. Nectar high, pollen moderate.Feeds the colony but rarely yields a surplus
- Hardy geraniumGeraniumMay to October. Nectar high, pollen high.Feeds the colony but rarely yields a surplus
- AlliumAlliumApril to August. Nectar high, pollen high.Feeds the colony but rarely yields a surplus
- BanksiaBanksiaMarch to August. Nectar very high, pollen high.Major honey crop
- Lamb's earStachys byzantinaJune to August. Nectar high, pollen moderate.Feeds the colony but rarely yields a surplus
- HyssopHyssopus officinalisJune to September. Nectar very high, pollen moderate.Minor honey crop
- WallflowerErysimumMarch to November. Nectar high, pollen moderate.Feeds the colony but rarely yields a surplus
- HebeHebeJune to October. Nectar high, pollen high.Feeds the colony but rarely yields a surplus
- Small scabiousScabiosa columbariaJune to October. Nectar high, pollen high.Not a honey source
- SelfhealPrunella vulgarisJune to September. Nectar high, pollen moderate.Not a honey source
- Lemon balmMelissa officinalisJune to September. Nectar high, pollen moderate.Not a honey source
- Bell heatherErica cinereaJune to September. Nectar high, pollen moderate.Major honey crop
- GojiLycium barbarumJune to September. Nectar high, pollen moderate.Minor honey crop
- Bitter aloeAloe feroxJune to August. Nectar very high, pollen high.Major honey crop
- Woodland sageSalvia nemorosaJune to September. Nectar very high, pollen moderate.Not a honey source
- Shrubby cinquefoilDasiphora fruticosaMay to October. Nectar moderate, pollen high.Not a honey source
- Tree mallowMalva arboreaJune to October. Nectar high, pollen very high.Not a honey source
- HollyhockAlcea roseaJune to September. Nectar high, pollen very high.Not a honey source
- California poppyEschscholzia californicaMay to September. Nectar none, pollen very high.Not a honey source
- CorianderCoriandrum sativumJune to August. Nectar high, pollen high.Minor honey crop
- Giant catmintNepeta racemosaMay to October. Nectar very high, pollen moderate.Not a honey source
In flower for part of summer
- SunflowerHelianthus annuusJuly to September. Nectar high, pollen very high.Major honey crop
- HeatherCalluna vulgarisAugust to September. Nectar very high, pollen high.Major honey crop
- BlueberryVaccinium corymbosumApril to June. Nectar high, pollen moderate.Minor honey crop
- Michaelmas daisySymphyotrichum novi-belgiiAugust to October. Nectar high, pollen high.Feeds the colony but rarely yields a surplus
- MintMenthaJuly to September. Nectar high, pollen moderate.Feeds the colony but rarely yields a surplus
- MarjoramOriganum vulgareJuly to September. Nectar very high, pollen high.Minor honey crop
- CosmosCosmos bipinnatusJuly to October. Nectar high, pollen high.Feeds the colony but rarely yields a surplus
- CotoneasterCotoneasterMay to June. Nectar very high, pollen high.Minor honey crop
- SedumHylotelephium spectabileAugust to October. Nectar high, pollen moderate.Feeds the colony but rarely yields a surplus
- EchinaceaEchinacea purpureaJuly to September. Nectar high, pollen high.Feeds the colony but rarely yields a surplus
- BilberryVaccinium myrtillusApril to June. Nectar high, pollen moderate.Minor honey crop
- LemonCitrus limonMarch to June. Nectar very high, pollen moderate.Major honey crop
- Forget-me-notMyosotis sylvaticaApril to June. Nectar moderate, pollen moderate.Feeds the colony but rarely yields a surplus
- AgastacheAgastache foeniculumJuly to October. Nectar very high, pollen high.Minor honey crop
- Sea hollyEryngiumJuly to September. Nectar very high, pollen high.Feeds the colony but rarely yields a surplus
- FennelFoeniculum vulgareJuly to September. Nectar high, pollen high.Feeds the colony but rarely yields a surplus
- RudbeckiaRudbeckia fulgidaAugust to October. Nectar high, pollen high.Feeds the colony but rarely yields a surplus
- DahliaDahliaJuly to November. Nectar high, pollen high.Feeds the colony but rarely yields a surplus
- CranberryVaccinium macrocarponJune to July. Nectar moderate, pollen moderate.Minor honey crop
- HarebellCampanula rotundifoliaJuly to September. Nectar moderate, pollen high.Not a honey source
- Sea asterTripolium pannonicumJuly to October. Nectar high, pollen high.Minor honey crop
- BugleAjuga reptansApril to June. Nectar high, pollen moderate.Not a honey source
- ColumbineAquilegia vulgarisMay to June. Nectar high, pollen moderate.Not a honey source
- Blazing starLiatris spicataJuly to September. Nectar very high, pollen high.Not a honey source
- Lesser calamintClinopodium nepetaJuly to November. Nectar very high, pollen moderate.Not a honey source
- Russian sageSalvia yangiiJuly to October. Nectar very high, pollen moderate.Not a honey source
- BluebeardCaryopteris x clandonensisAugust to October. Nectar very high, pollen moderate.Not a honey source
- AbeliaLinnaea x grandifloraJuly to November. Nectar high, pollen moderate.Not a honey source
- Poached egg plantLimnanthes douglasiiApril to July. Nectar very high, pollen high.Minor honey crop
- ChivesAllium schoenoprasumMay to July. Nectar high, pollen high.Not a honey source
- Winter savorySatureja montanaJuly to September. Nectar very high, pollen moderate.Major honey crop
- ZinniaZinnia elegansJuly to October. Nectar high, pollen high.Not a honey source
- AgapanthusAgapanthus praecoxJuly to September. Nectar high, pollen moderate.Not a honey source
- Green cardamomElettaria cardamomumApril to July. Nectar high, pollen moderate.Minor honey crop
Check these against your region before planting
2 plants in this group carry an invasiveness or legal restriction note somewhere in the world: Cotoneaster, Fennel. 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
- Lavender honeyOvertly perfumed — lavender flower, warm hay and a soft fruity sweetness underneath. Aromatic in a way most honeys are not.
- Alcarria honeyDelicate and aromatic, with a clean herbal sweetness — the rosemary type is softer and more floral, the lavender type more perfumed and slightly camphoraceous.
- Rosmaninho honeyAromatic and resinous with a warm herbal sweetness and a faint eucalyptus lift — more robust and less perfumed than Provençal lavender honey.
- Thyme honeyWarm, herbal and savoury — thyme and dry stone, with a peppery lift and a very long finish.
- Alpine meadow honeyComplex and aromatic, with a herbal lift over warm caramel and a distinctly clean finish — the flavour of a great many plants rather than of any one.
- Hymettus honeyIntensely aromatic and herbal, with a warm thyme character, a resinous maquis edge and a long finish that carries a distinct savoury note.
- Savory honeyIntensely herbal with a distinct peppery, almost oregano-like bite over a warm sweetness — one of the more assertive Mediterranean aromatics.
- Narbonne rosemary honeyDelicate and clean with a soft herbal floral note and a texture that does much of the work — one of the classic pale European honeys.
- Dittany honeyIntensely aromatic and herbal with a distinct medicinal lift and a warm oregano character — closer to a herbal infusion than to a floral honey.
- 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.
- Tibetan highland honeyDense and strongly herbal with a resinous depth and a faintly smoky finish — a concentrated honey that reflects both a short intense season and traditional processing.
- Blue curls honeyExtremely delicate with a clean sweetness and a faint herbal lift — one of the mildest honeys there is, and prized for exactly that.
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?