Seasonal bee planner
Pick a season and what you are trying to achieve, and get the plants that flower then — with the months each one covers, its nectar and pollen value, and the gaps the plan still leaves.
84 plants from 148 in flower in spring
Fill a gap in the year
The filter: Plants in flower for at least two of the season's three months, so they cover a stretch rather than a moment.
A garden's value to bees is limited by its worst month rather than its best. A plant that flowers across a gap is worth more than a better plant that flowers when everything else already does.
- Rosemary
Salvia rosmarinus · the whole season
In flower March, April, May. Nectar very high, pollen moderate.
Major honey crop — yields a surplus in good years · 5 recorded bee relationships
- Apple
Malus domestica
In flower April, May. Nectar high, pollen high.
Minor honey crop — a surplus only locally or occasionally · 8 recorded bee relationships
- Cherry
Prunus avium · the whole season
In flower March, April, May. Nectar high, pollen high.
Minor honey crop — a surplus only locally or occasionally · 6 recorded bee relationships
- Wildflower meadow
Mixed native flora
In flower April, May. Nectar very high, pollen very high.
Major honey crop — yields a surplus in good years · 5 recorded bee relationships
- Eucalyptus
Eucalyptus · the whole season
In flower March, April, May. Nectar very high, pollen high.
Major honey crop — yields a surplus in good years · 3 recorded bee relationships
Invasive or restricted in some regions — check before planting.
- Ogeechee tupelo
Nyssa ogeche
In flower April, May. Nectar very high, pollen moderate.
Major honey crop — yields a surplus in good years · 1 recorded bee relationship
- Oilseed rape
Brassica napus
In flower April, May. Nectar very high, pollen very high.
Major honey crop — yields a surplus in good years · 5 recorded bee relationships
- Blueberry
Vaccinium corymbosum
In flower April, May. Nectar high, pollen moderate.
Minor honey crop — a surplus only locally or occasionally · 6 recorded bee relationships
- Dandelion
Taraxacum officinale · the whole season
In flower March, April, May. Nectar high, pollen very high.
Minor honey crop — a surplus only locally or occasionally · 9 recorded bee relationships
- Goat willow
Salix caprea
In flower March, April. Nectar high, pollen very high.
Feeds the colony but rarely yields a surplus · 7 recorded bee relationships
- Crocus
Crocus
In flower March, April. Nectar moderate, pollen very high.
Not a honey source · 2 recorded bee relationships
- Blackthorn
Prunus spinosa
In flower March, April. Nectar high, pollen high.
Feeds the colony but rarely yields a surplus · 9 recorded bee relationships
- Crab apple
Malus sylvestris
In flower April, May. Nectar high, pollen very high.
Minor honey crop — a surplus only locally or occasionally · 6 recorded bee relationships
- Horse chestnut
Aesculus hippocastanum
In flower April, May. Nectar very high, pollen very high.
Minor honey crop — a surplus only locally or occasionally · 3 recorded bee relationships
- Sycamore
Acer pseudoplatanus
In flower April, May. Nectar very high, pollen high.
Major honey crop — yields a surplus in good years · 3 recorded bee relationships
Invasive or restricted in some regions — check before planting.
- Hellebore
Helleborus
In flower March, April. Nectar moderate, pollen high.
Not a honey source · 2 recorded bee relationships
- Allium
Allium
In flower April, May. Nectar high, pollen high.
Feeds the colony but rarely yields a surplus · 4 recorded bee relationships
- Asphodel
Asphodelus ramosus · the whole season
In flower March, April, May. Nectar very high, pollen high.
Major honey crop — yields a surplus in good years · 3 recorded bee relationships
- Rockrose
Cistus ladanifer
In flower April, May. Nectar high, pollen very high.
Major honey crop — yields a surplus in good years · 5 recorded bee relationships
- Bilberry
Vaccinium myrtillus
In flower April, May. Nectar high, pollen moderate.
Minor honey crop — a surplus only locally or occasionally · 6 recorded bee relationships
- Lemon
Citrus limon · the whole season
In flower March, April, May. Nectar very high, pollen moderate.
Major honey crop — yields a surplus in good years · 3 recorded bee relationships
- Chinese milk vetch
Astragalus sinicus · the whole season
In flower March, April, May. Nectar very high, pollen high.
Major honey crop — yields a surplus in good years · 3 recorded bee relationships
- Banksia
Banksia · the whole season
In flower March, April, May. Nectar very high, pollen high.
Major honey crop — yields a surplus in good years · 2 recorded bee relationships
- Lungwort
Pulmonaria officinalis · the whole season
In flower March, April, May. Nectar high, pollen moderate.
Feeds the colony but rarely yields a surplus · 5 recorded bee relationships
- Primrose
Primula vulgaris · the whole season
In flower March, April, May. Nectar moderate, pollen moderate.
Not a honey source · 3 recorded bee relationships
- Bluebell
Hyacinthoides non-scripta
In flower April, May. Nectar high, pollen high.
Minor honey crop — a surplus only locally or occasionally · 4 recorded bee relationships
- Flowering currant
Ribes sanguineum
In flower March, April. Nectar high, pollen moderate.
Feeds the colony but rarely yields a surplus · 4 recorded bee relationships
- Dead-nettle
Lamium · the whole season
In flower March, April, May. Nectar high, pollen moderate.
Feeds the colony but rarely yields a surplus · 3 recorded bee relationships
- Forget-me-not
Myosotis sylvatica
In flower April, May. Nectar moderate, pollen moderate.
Feeds the colony but rarely yields a surplus · 4 recorded bee relationships
- Cowslip
Primula veris
In flower April, May. Nectar moderate, pollen moderate.
Not a honey source · 3 recorded bee relationships
Showing the first 30 of 84, in catalogue order. Narrow by garden context to shorten the list.
Check these against your region
Eucalyptus, Sycamore, Gorse, Broom, Mesquite, Chinese tallow, Norway maple, Lesser celandine, Sea buckthorn, Mangium, Niaouli, Spanish needle carry an invasiveness or legal restriction note somewhere in the world. HoneyHQ does not know where you are and will not guess, so it flags rather than filters.
The regional guides say which is which: Britain and Ireland, the United States, Australia, New Zealand, Mediterranean climates.
Flowers are only half of it
Flowers are half of it. Around seventy per cent of bee species nest in the ground and most of the rest in cavities and hollow stems, and no planting plan provides either. Bare sunny undisturbed soil, dead wood, and stems left standing over winter cost nothing and are the part most gardens skip.
Which hemisphere
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.
- Seasons are northern-hemisphere temperate. Southern-hemisphere readers should shift roughly six months, and that shift is an approximation rather than a translation — day length and rainfall do not move with it.
- Nest sites limit wild bee populations at least as much as flowers do, and a planting list does not address them. The output says so.
- Flowering is not yielding. Nectar secretion is far more weather-dependent than flowering is, so a plant can be in full bloom and offering very little.
- It does not filter by region and will not guess one. Matches carrying an invasiveness note are flagged instead, because recommending ivy in Oregon or gorse in New Zealand would be actively harmful.
- It cannot know your soil, and soil pH decides whether a good many of these plants will grow at all.