The best hedging plants for bees

Hedging in the catalogue

• RosemarySalvia rosmarinusFebruary to May. Nectar very high, pollen moderate.Major honey crop
• AppleMalus domesticaApril to May. Nectar high, pollen high.Minor honey crop
• CherryPrunus aviumMarch to May. Nectar high, pollen high.Minor honey crop
• HawthornCrataegus monogynaMay to June. Nectar high, pollen high.Minor honey crop
• BrambleRubus fruticosusJune to September. Nectar very high, pollen high.Major honey crop
• IvyHedera helixSeptember to November. Nectar very high, pollen very high.Minor honey crop
• FoxgloveDigitalis purpureaJune to July. Nectar high, pollen moderate.Not a honey source
• MahoniaMahonia × mediaNovember to February. Nectar high, pollen high.Feeds the colony but rarely yields a surplus
• MānukaLeptospermum scopariumNovember to January. Nectar high, pollen moderate.Major honey crop
• LimeTilia cordataJune to July. Nectar very high, pollen moderate.Major honey crop
• Goat willowSalix capreaFebruary to April. Nectar high, pollen very high.Feeds the colony but rarely yields a surplus
• Winter honeysuckleLonicera fragrantissimaDecember to March. Nectar moderate, pollen moderate.Not a honey source
• MintMenthaJuly to September. Nectar high, pollen moderate.Feeds the colony but rarely yields a surplus
• 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
• HoneysuckleLonicera periclymenumJune to September. Nectar high, pollen low.Not a honey source
• RaspberryRubus idaeusMay to August. Nectar very high, pollen high.Major honey crop
• TeaselDipsacus fullonumJuly to August. Nectar high, pollen moderate.Feeds the colony but rarely yields a surplus
• BlackthornPrunus spinosaMarch to April. Nectar high, pollen high.Feeds the colony but rarely yields a surplus
• Crab appleMalus sylvestrisApril to May. Nectar high, pollen very high.Minor honey crop
• RowanSorbus aucupariaMay to June. Nectar moderate, pollen high.Feeds the colony but rarely yields a surplus
• CotoneasterCotoneasterMay to June. Nectar very high, pollen high.Minor honey crop
• PyracanthaPyracantha coccineaMay to June. Nectar high, pollen high.Feeds the colony but rarely yields a surplus
• SycamoreAcer pseudoplatanusApril to May. Nectar very high, pollen high.Major honey crop
• Hardy geraniumGeraniumMay to October. Nectar high, pollen high.Feeds the colony but rarely yields a surplus
• 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
• BluebellHyacinthoides non-scriptaApril to May. Nectar high, pollen high.Minor honey crop
• Flowering currantRibes sanguineumMarch to April. Nectar high, pollen moderate.Feeds the colony but rarely yields a surplus
• HazelCorylus avellanaJanuary to March. Nectar none, pollen very high.Not a honey source
• Dead-nettleLamiumJanuary to December. Nectar high, pollen moderate.Feeds the colony but rarely yields a surplus
• Forget-me-notMyosotis sylvaticaApril to June. Nectar moderate, pollen moderate.Feeds the colony but rarely yields a surplus
• HollyIlex aquifoliumMay to June. Nectar high, pollen moderate.Minor honey crop
• ElderSambucus nigraMay to July. Nectar low, pollen high.Not a honey source
• Field mapleAcer campestreApril to May. Nectar very high, pollen high.Minor honey crop
• GorseUlex europaeusJanuary to December. Nectar none, pollen very high.Not a honey source
• Christmas boxSarcococca confusaDecember to March. Nectar moderate, pollen moderate.Not a honey source
• Winter viburnumViburnum × bodnantenseNovember to March. Nectar moderate, pollen low.Not a honey source
• Guelder roseViburnum opulusMay to July. Nectar high, pollen moderate.Feeds the colony but rarely yields a surplus
• HyssopHyssopus officinalisJune to September. Nectar very high, pollen moderate.Minor honey crop
• MeadowsweetFilipendula ulmariaJune to September. Nectar low, pollen high.Not a honey source
• Tufted vetchVicia craccaJune to August. Nectar very high, pollen high.Feeds the colony but rarely yields a surplus
• Japanese anemoneAnemone × hybridaAugust to October. Nectar moderate, pollen high.Feeds the colony but rarely yields a surplus
• BroomCytisus scopariusApril to June. Nectar none, pollen very high.Not a honey source
• Alder buckthornFrangula alnusMay to July. Nectar very high, pollen moderate.Minor honey crop
• HebeHebeJune to October. Nectar high, pollen high.Feeds the colony but rarely yields a surplus
• KanukaKunzea ericoidesNovember to February. Nectar very high, pollen high.Major honey crop
• English oakQuercus roburApril to May. Nectar none, pollen low.Minor honey crop
• GallberryIlex glabraMay to June. Nectar very high, pollen moderate.Major honey crop
• White bryonyBryonia dioicaMay to September. Nectar moderate, pollen high.Not a honey source
• HogweedHeracleum sphondyliumJune to September. Nectar high, pollen high.Minor honey crop
• LogwoodHaematoxylum campechianumJanuary to April. Nectar very high, pollen moderate.Major honey crop
• SnowberrySymphoricarpos albusJune to September. Nectar high, pollen moderate.Minor honey crop
• Prickly boxBursaria spinosaDecember to February. Nectar high, pollen high.Major honey crop
• BottlebrushMelaleuca citrinaOctober to January. Nectar very high, pollen high.Minor honey crop
• GojiLycium barbarumJune to September. Nectar high, pollen moderate.Minor honey crop
• TamariskTamarixMay to August. Nectar moderate, pollen moderate.Minor honey crop
• OsierSalix viminalisMarch to April. Nectar moderate, pollen very high.Minor honey crop
• Bird cherryPrunus padusApril to May. Nectar high, pollen high.Minor honey crop
• WhitebeamSorbus ariaMay to June. Nectar high, pollen moderate.Minor honey crop
• DogwoodCornus sanguineaMay to July. Nectar high, pollen moderate.Minor honey crop
• SpindleEuonymus europaeusMay to June. Nectar moderate, pollen moderate.Not a honey source
• BuckthornRhamnus catharticaMay to June. Nectar moderate, pollen moderate.Not a honey source
• Wild privetLigustrum vulgareJune to July. Nectar high, pollen moderate.Minor honey crop
• Dog roseRosa caninaJune to July. Nectar none, pollen very high.Not a honey source
• Lesser celandineFicaria vernaFebruary to May. Nectar moderate, pollen high.Not a honey source
• 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
• AbeliaLinnaea x grandifloraJuly to November. Nectar high, pollen moderate.Not a honey source
• EscalloniaEscallonia rubraJune to October. Nectar high, pollen moderate.Not a honey source
• Shrubby cinquefoilDasiphora fruticosaMay to October. Nectar moderate, pollen high.Not a honey source
• ElaeagnusElaeagnus x submacrophyllaOctober to November. Nectar high, pollen moderate.Not a honey source
• Sea buckthornHippophae rhamnoidesMarch to May. Nectar none, pollen high.Not a honey source
• MotherwortLeonurus cardiacaJune to August. Nectar very high, pollen moderate.Minor honey crop
• SumacRhus speciesJune to July. Nectar high, pollen high.Minor honey crop
• Five fingerPseudopanax arboreusMay to August. Nectar high, pollen high.Minor honey crop

What this group covers

12 of 12 months have something in flower. Nectar and pollen are counted separately and a month counts only where at least one plant offers that resource at moderate value or better — a plant in flower is not the same as a plant worth visiting.

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.

• Western honey bee
• Bumblebees
• Mason bees
• Iberian honey bee
• Mourning bees
• Mining bees
• Rusty patched bumblebee
• Horned mason bee
• Japanese orchard bee
• Early mining bee
• Two-coloured mason bee
• Leafcutter bees

Honeys from these plants

• Rosemary honeyDelicate and softly aromatic — floral first, with a thin thread of resin behind it that tells you where it came from.
• 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.
• 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.
• Wildflower honeyVaries with the season and the landscape. Pale spring crops are floral and light; late-summer crops darker, fruitier and stronger.
• Urban honeyVaries enormously and is frequently more complex than a rural multifloral, because the flowering succession is longer and the species mix wider.
• Ivy honeyStrong, faintly bitter and distinctly herbal — closer to a dark honey in character than its pale colour suggests.
• Manuka honeyEarthy, mineral and damp — heather-like without the smoke, with a faintly medicinal edge. Distinctive rather than delicious, and not what most people expect for the price.
• New Zealand bush honeyWarm and rounded with a light caramel base and a faint resinous lift, and considerable variation between regions — generally more approachable than any of its monofloral components.
• Linden honeyFresh and cooling — mint, balsam and lime blossom, with a clean herbal sharpness no other pale honey has.
• Bashkir linden honeyIntensely aromatic with the mentholated, faintly medicinal lift characteristic of lime, over a clean sweetness — more perfumed than most people expect from so pale a honey.
• 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.