Forget-me-not

Value to bees

Nectar

Moderate

Pollen

Moderate

As a honey crop

Feeds the colony but rarely yields a surplus

Which bees, and why

Worked by small solitary bees, hoverflies and bee-flies more than by bumblebees. The colour change from yellow eye to white after pollination is a genuine signal, and bees learn to skip the white-eyed flowers.

A very short corolla tube with easily reached nectar — accessible to the smallest bees, which is where its value lies.

Worth knowing

Moderate on both counts, and valuable because the flowers are small and shallow enough for the smallest solitary bees that larger plants exclude.

Flowering

In flower

April to June (northern hemisphere)

Six to eight weeks in mid spring, covering the gap after the bulbs and before the summer perennials.

When nectar flows

Small quantities per flower and an enormous number of flowers, with the nectar in a short accessible tube.

Year-to-year variation

Very reliable, and never a crop.

Growing it

Conditions

Sun or part shade, moist soil. Undemanding to the point of being difficult to avoid once introduced.

Size

20-40 cm.

Native range

Europe, in woodland and damp grassland.

Suits

Small gardens, Large gardens, Containers and window boxes, Meadow or wildflower area, Hedgerow

• Self-seeds prolifically. Sow it once and it is permanent, which most gardeners regard as a benefit and some do not.
• Pull the plants once they go over and the seed will already have set for next year.
• Powdery mildew is normal on the dying plants and does no harm.

What it looks like

A low soft-haired biennial with rough oblong leaves and coiled sprays of tiny sky-blue flowers with a yellow or white eye, uncoiling as they open.