The best spring shrubs 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 shrub. 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
- RosemarySalvia rosmarinusFebruary to May. Nectar very high, pollen moderate.Major honey crop
- BanksiaBanksiaMarch to August. Nectar very high, pollen high.Major honey crop
- GorseUlex europaeusJanuary to December. Nectar none, pollen very high.Not a honey source
- CoffeeCoffea arabicaMarch to May. Nectar high, pollen moderate.Minor honey crop
- Sea buckthornHippophae rhamnoidesMarch to May. Nectar none, pollen high.Not a honey source
In flower for part of spring
- BlueberryVaccinium corymbosumApril to June. Nectar high, pollen moderate.Minor honey crop
- Winter honeysuckleLonicera fragrantissimaDecember to March. Nectar moderate, pollen moderate.Not a honey source
- RaspberryRubus idaeusMay to August. Nectar very high, pollen high.Major honey crop
- BlackthornPrunus spinosaMarch to April. Nectar high, 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
- RockroseCistus ladaniferApril to June. Nectar high, pollen very high.Major honey crop
- BilberryVaccinium myrtillusApril to June. Nectar high, pollen moderate.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
- ElderSambucus nigraMay to July. Nectar low, pollen 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
- BroomCytisus scopariusApril to June. Nectar none, pollen very high.Not a honey source
- Witch hazelHamamelis × intermediaDecember to March. Nectar moderate, pollen moderate.Not a honey source
- Alder buckthornFrangula alnusMay to July. Nectar very high, pollen moderate.Minor honey crop
- Black sageSalvia melliferaApril to June. Nectar very high, pollen moderate.Major honey crop
- GallberryIlex glabraMay to June. Nectar very high, pollen moderate.Major honey crop
- Saw palmettoSerenoa repensApril to June. Nectar very high, pollen high.Major honey crop
- TamariskTamarixMay to August. Nectar moderate, pollen moderate.Minor honey crop
- OsierSalix viminalisMarch to April. Nectar moderate, pollen very high.Minor honey crop
- BlackcurrantRibes nigrumApril to May. Nectar high, pollen moderate.Minor honey crop
- GooseberryRibes uva-crispaMarch to April. Nectar high, pollen moderate.Not a honey source
- 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
- DaphneDaphneJanuary to April. Nectar high, pollen moderate.Not a honey source
- Shrubby cinquefoilDasiphora fruticosaMay to October. Nectar moderate, pollen high.Not a honey source
- ManzanitaArctostaphylos speciesDecember to March. Nectar high, pollen moderate.Minor honey crop
Check these against your region before planting
6 plants in this group carry an invasiveness or legal restriction note somewhere in the world: Cotoneaster, Gorse, Broom, Tamarisk, Buckthorn, Sea buckthorn. 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
- 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.
- Blueberry honeyTangy and lightly fruity with a green, slightly astringent edge — recognisably related to the berry without tasting of jam.
- Lingonberry honeyDelicate and clean with a distinct tart berry note and a fresh acidity — one of the few honeys that genuinely tastes of the fruit its plant produces.
- Raspberry honeyDelicate and lightly fruity with a clean bright acidity — one of the few honeys where a taster unprompted names the right fruit.
- 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.
- Rockrose honeyBalsamic and resinous with a warm amber sweetness underneath — it smells of incense and hot scrubland, and tastes considerably less sweet than its colour suggests.
- Rosmaninho honeyAromatic and resinous with a warm herbal sweetness and a faint eucalyptus lift — more robust and less perfumed than Provençal lavender honey.
- Ceanothus honeyDelicate and clean with a light floral sweetness and a faint spicy edge — mild, and rather more interesting than a pale honey usually is.
- Garrigue honeyHerbal, warm and dry, with thyme and rosemary running through a light caramel body. The clearest example in the catalogue of a honey tasting of a landscape.
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?