The best spring wildflowers 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
Plants the catalogue records as suited to a meadow or wildflower area. 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
- Chinese milk vetchAstragalus sinicusMarch to May. Nectar very high, pollen high.Major honey crop
- 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
- Grape hyacinthMuscari armeniacumMarch to May. Nectar high, pollen moderate.Feeds the colony but rarely yields a surplus
- GorseUlex europaeusJanuary to December. Nectar none, pollen very high.Not a honey source
- Lesser celandineFicaria vernaFebruary to May. Nectar moderate, pollen high.Not a honey source
- Spanish needleBidens albaJanuary to December. Nectar high, pollen high.Major honey crop
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
- Goat willowSalix capreaFebruary to April. Nectar high, pollen very high.Feeds the colony but rarely yields a surplus
- SageSalviaMay to October. Nectar very high, pollen moderate.Major honey crop
- ComfreySymphytum officinaleMay to September. Nectar very 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
- CrocusCrocusJanuary to April. Nectar moderate, pollen very high.Not a honey source
- 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
- Common poppyPapaver rhoeasMay to August. Nectar none, pollen very high.Not a honey source
- BlackthornPrunus spinosaMarch to April. Nectar high, pollen high.Feeds the colony but rarely yields a surplus
- RowanSorbus aucupariaMay to June. Nectar moderate, pollen high.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
- ThistleGalactites tomentosaMay to July. Nectar very high, pollen high.Major honey crop
- HazelCorylus avellanaJanuary to March. Nectar none, pollen very high.Not a honey source
- Forget-me-notMyosotis sylvaticaApril to June. Nectar moderate, pollen moderate.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
- 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
- SainfoinOnobrychis viciifoliaMay to July. Nectar very high, pollen high.Major honey crop
- Yellow rattleRhinanthus minorMay to August. Nectar moderate, pollen moderate.Not a honey source
- ColtsfootTussilago farfaraFebruary to April. Nectar moderate, pollen high.Not a honey source
- OsierSalix viminalisMarch to April. Nectar moderate, pollen very high.Minor honey crop
- Siberian squillScilla sibericaFebruary to April. Nectar high, pollen high.Not a honey source
- BugleAjuga reptansApril to June. Nectar high, pollen moderate.Not a honey source
- Sweet rocketHesperis matronalisMay to July. Nectar high, pollen moderate.Not a honey source
- Wild garlicAllium ursinumApril to June. Nectar high, pollen high.Not a honey source
- ColumbineAquilegia vulgarisMay to June. Nectar high, pollen moderate.Not a honey source
- Poached egg plantLimnanthes douglasiiApril to July. Nectar very high, pollen high.Minor honey crop
- California poppyEschscholzia californicaMay to September. Nectar none, pollen very high.Not a honey source
- Crimson cloverTrifolium incarnatumMay to July. Nectar high, pollen high.Minor honey crop
Check these against your region before planting
7 plants in this group carry an invasiveness or legal restriction note somewhere in the world: Thistle, Gorse, Oxeye daisy, Broom, Lesser celandine, Sweet rocket, Spanish needle. 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?