The best spring flowering plants 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 herbaceous perennial or subshrub. 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
- DandelionTaraxacum officinaleMarch to October. Nectar high, pollen very high.Minor honey crop
- AsphodelAsphodelus ramosusMarch to May. Nectar very high, pollen high.Major honey crop
- LungwortPulmonaria officinalisFebruary to May. Nectar high, pollen moderate.Feeds the colony but rarely yields a surplus
- PrimrosePrimula vulgarisFebruary to May. Nectar moderate, pollen moderate.Not a honey source
- Dead-nettleLamiumJanuary to December. Nectar high, pollen moderate.Feeds the colony but rarely yields a surplus
- WallflowerErysimumMarch to November. Nectar high, pollen moderate.Feeds the colony but rarely yields a surplus
- Resin spurgeEuphorbia resiniferaMarch to May. Nectar high, pollen moderate.Major honey crop
- Lesser celandineFicaria vernaFebruary to May. Nectar moderate, pollen high.Not a honey source
- AubrietaAubrieta deltoideaMarch to May. Nectar high, pollen high.Not a honey source
In flower for part of spring
- ThymeThymusMay to August. Nectar very high, pollen moderate.Major honey crop
- White cloverTrifolium repensMay to September. Nectar very high, pollen high.Major honey crop
- Wildflower meadowMixed native floraApril to September. Nectar very high, pollen very high.Major 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
- ComfreySymphytum officinaleMay to September. Nectar very high, pollen moderate.Feeds the colony but rarely yields a surplus
- Red cloverTrifolium pratenseMay to September. Nectar very high, pollen high.Feeds the colony but rarely yields a surplus
- Bird's-foot trefoilLotus corniculatusMay to September. Nectar high, pollen high.Feeds the colony but rarely yields a surplus
- HelleboreHelleborusDecember to April. Nectar moderate, pollen high.Not a honey source
- Hardy geraniumGeraniumMay to October. Nectar high, pollen high.Feeds the colony but rarely yields a surplus
- CowslipPrimula verisApril to May. Nectar moderate, pollen moderate.Not a honey source
- Oxeye daisyLeucanthemum vulgareMay to September. Nectar moderate, pollen high.Feeds the colony but rarely yields a surplus
- SainfoinOnobrychis viciifoliaMay to July. Nectar very high, pollen high.Major honey crop
- ColtsfootTussilago farfaraFebruary to April. Nectar moderate, pollen high.Not a honey source
- BugleAjuga reptansApril to June. Nectar high, pollen moderate.Not a honey source
- ColumbineAquilegia vulgarisMay to June. Nectar high, pollen moderate.Not a honey source
- ChivesAllium schoenoprasumMay to July. Nectar high, pollen high.Not a honey source
- Giant catmintNepeta racemosaMay to October. Nectar very 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: Oxeye daisy, Lesser celandine. 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
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- Central Otago thyme honeyIntensely aromatic and herbal with a warm thyme character and a long savoury finish — closely comparable to a good Greek thyme honey, which surprises most people.
- Clover honeyWarm, mild and rounded — sweet with a faint cinnamon-and-hay note underneath. The taste most English-speaking readers picture when they read the word honey.
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?