There are many reasons why you want to help bees but if you don't know why should and how you can (other than the reason of them being amazing creatures) check out my article “Save the bees”. The effect bees have on the environment is tremendous and we should all take time to help them however we can. A very easy and great way to do this is by growing a selection of plants that the bees can collect nectar and pollen from. This can include a number of flowering, druit, nut and vegetable plants. Unfortunately, not all plants are suitable for bees. This is the case with most ‘grains’ that make up a large part of humans and animals diet. Yet to have a thriving wildlife and avaried diet we need bees in our life. To help the bees I am recommending you plant some of following top plants for bees. I will also detail how to grow them and take care of them, so here are my top five plants to grow for bees:
Lavender
Botanical Name: Lavandula
This should be one on the top of your list. You can’t walk past a lavender shrub without seeing at least half a dozen bees buzzing around it. This plant is renowned for its strong fragrant smell it omits but also for its rich purple look. One of the most common in the UK is the English lavender (Lavandula angustifolia), which is a very hardy plant and commonly grown throughout.
To grow lavender:
Planting
Usually, you can purchase lavender as a small bush but it can also be grown from seed. You should plant this preferable in the ground but it can also be in a large pot between April and May. Place it in full sun with free draining soil, ideally with chalky or alkaline soils. However, this is hardy plant and can do well in most soils.
Care
Once you have done the above and the plant is establish you don’t need to do much more. As this plant is very hardy you only need to water it in extreme drought or if potted.
Result
This often flowers in early May and then blooms again in June and often lasts to late summer or early autumn (fall). Great for the bees.
Dahlia
Botanical Name: Dahlia
This is a bulbed plant that is also incredibly beautiful, usually single but you can also get semi-double flowing variety. However, be warned that the double flowering variety is often bred without the pollen-producing part making it not very useful for bees. This plant is again hardy, low-maintenance and produce incredible geometric flower.
To grow Dahlias:
Planting
Dahlia is a bulbed plant often planted between May to June in full sun with well-draining, light, slightly acidic rich soil (lighter soil helps them survive through the winter). They preferably need a warmer climate, as they do struggle when it is colder but the bulbs can be dug up and stored over winter and replanted the following year. They ideally should be planted around 10 inches apart
Care
Dependant on the weather and climate this plant should be kept well- watered once it has established and is flowering. However, as always be careful not to overwater.
Result
They bloom from early to mid-summer to autumn.
Foxglove
Botanical Name: Digitalis purpurea
One of the pinnacles of English cottage garden is the Foxgloves. They are one of my favourite due to their unique bell-shaped flower, which is ideal for the bees to climb into. They come in a variety of colours and if you haven’t seen these in flower they consist of a couple dozen flowers at once that is truly beautiful. If you can get a couple of these in your garden you surely won’t be disappointed when they flower.
To grow Foxgloves:
Planting
Plant in the spring or autumn in moist and warm soil. If flowering plant straight away in summer. Avoid planting small plants in the autumn, instead keep in a sheltered spot in a pot over winter. The planting requirements can also depend on the foxgloves you have, so make sure to do a check before you plant. They prefer light shade and well draining soil with plenty of organic matter.
Care
Like usual, frequently water newly planted foxgloves until they are well established then they should only require watering when in summer after long dry spells. If kept in a container water regularly as the compost dries out. As mentioned above keep plenty of organic matter and then mulch over the soil and if in a poor quality soil add a balanced granular fertiliser. Deadhead foxgloves as soon as they have finished flowering (unless you want them to produce seeds).
Results
Foxgloves produce stunning flowers from June to September.
Wisteria
Botanical Name: Wisteria sinensis
Another magnificent plant that stands out among the college gardens and British countryside cottages. It is another one of my favourite plants that takes multiple years to grow but can last for hundreds more. This beautiful plants grows a strong woody stem, growing thick and spreads out often over cottage walls and produced beautiful mauve and white flowers. Thought It can take several years until you begin to see it flower and it does not always flower every year but due to its stunning appearance I had to add it to my list.
To grow Wisteria:
Planting
Plant between October and April in fertile and well draining soil. Plant theme where they will receive lots of sunlight if you want them to produce more flowers. Also, give them a trellis or wall to climb on (bearing in mind they can climb to over 10m). If you are planting into a container make sure to give it at least a 45cm wide pot. Give the plant a good watering while the plant gets established.
Care
Keep well watered, especially in soils that quickly dry out, also when newly planted or in dry spells. To help your Wisteria you can feed it in the spring and depending on your soil add the relative supplements. To help flowering you can prune five to six inches in July/August and in February by two to three buds to help the plant flower.
Results
Wisterias typically flower between April and June with a potential second flowering in August.
Sweet Williams
Botanical Name: Dianthus Barbatus
A beautiful flower bed plant that comes in a wide range of beautiful colours. You can get them in red, white, pink, scarlet and in either patterned or monochrome. They are loved by most pollinators including bees, so make a great bedding flower. Another great plant tha suits cottage gardens and perennial beds but just at home in a container.
![The pretty perennial is also known as sweet william [Photo: A. Jakusoviene/ Shutterstock.com]](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/ad8fc3_438d214c7a594124a31291c1e05c58f1~mv2.jpg/v1/fill/w_980,h_655,al_c,q_85,usm_0.66_1.00_0.01,enc_auto/ad8fc3_438d214c7a594124a31291c1e05c58f1~mv2.jpg)
To grow Sweet Williams:
Planting
Sow in late spring (after the last frost) straight into the ground and keep the area weed-free (use a trowel as it is much better for the environment). If dry, water the soil before sowing but allow it to drain. Also, be aware that they don’t bloom in their first year. In the autumn transplant 30cm apart into their flowering position. They prefer to be in full sun but can tolerate light shade (but too much shade can make the plant become leggy and floppy). Keep them in well-draining, fertile, loamy and does best in neutral or slightly alkaline soils.
Care
As mentioned you will need to transplant the plant in autumn to 30cm apart into their flowing position and wait until the following year to flower. Keep the Sweet William well watered during dry spells and throughout the growing season. However, be careful not to overwater, as this can lead to disease. You can also fertilise while they are growing to help produce a lush bloom. Deadhead any dead flowers but avoid pruning in the fall. Add mulch to protect and insulate the roots over winter and If in a pot, move away from areas of wind, snow and ice.
Results
They will flower between May to October in the colours you have picked.
This is just a small list of some of my favourite flowers but there are a tremendous amount to pick from that will attract bees into your garden and help the pollinators. To truly help the bees and pollinators in your garden look at local wildflowers and look at a range of plants that bloom for as much of the year, from early spring to late autumn to help the bees and pollinators as long as you can in the year. Even weeds can be a source of food for the pollinators, so if you can put off mowing and let them bloom is another great way to get more flowers in your garden. I want to see bees thrive and part of this is seeing them harvest and collect pollen and nectar, so tag #GoneSustainable and #BeesBums on any pictures you have taken of bees you have caught in your garden with their heads in the flowers. Get growing!
Updated: Feb 5, 2023
The importance of bees should be without question and many of you may already know why we should save them. However, even now as it is slowly (too slowly) being brought to our attention the reasons why we need to pay more attention to their numbers and the fact they are depleting shows we need to do more. Before I go on, to clarify, bees are important because through their goal to obtain pollen and nectar for food, they pollinate millions of plants in the process. This is important because this leads to the production of seeds for more plants to grow and even for the fruit to develop for us to eat. If you are still not convinced the reason this is important is because these plants produce the oxygen we breathe and help to combat the large amounts of carbon emissions we produce. Further to this, there are the millions of plants that are gorgeous to look at and should be able to survive in an environment that is theirs as much it is ours, that also gives our wildlife a home. So for this reason we need to help the bees to not just survive but thrive, making the bigger question ‘how can we help the bees?’
Here is how you can help the bees today!
There can many steps to helping bees without invest a lot of time and money in becoming a full time beekeeper or devoting your life to their development. Although there is the famous honey bees there are actually nearly 20,000 different types. In the UK the majorities are solitary bees like the Bumblebee, which do not live in large colonies. There are many easy measures you can take that will contribute to bees success and increasing there numbers but here are a few of them:
Try not to kill them:
Sounds silly I know but a lot of people are afraid of bees and more so getting stung by them. This is completely rational but that doesn’t mean you should swat, hit or squash them or take a hose to their nest because you think they are too close to your house or your space. At the very least the best thing you can do is leave the bees be. If they have intruded too much then get a professional bee keeper who will often be happy to collect the bees to take them to a safer and better place for them to start a colony. Remember bees live everywhere outside, so we are sharing our space with them.
Habitat:
Now, this doesn’t have to be a hive in your back garden but there is more than one type of bee. You may have seen them in shops but you can get small bug huts, which is great for solitary bees. Otherwise, you could take up bee keeping and invest in a bee hive. Before you panic though, investing in a bug hut does not invite a swarm of bees in your back garden but provides a habitat for insect to rest and stay. This includes insect that pollinate your garden, importantly the solitary bees, which make up over 90% of the UK’s bee species. Look for a spot that catches the sun in the morning but remains a shady and cool place all day, which gives cover from predators (birds, snakes, rats). Also, ensure that the bug hut sits in a position it will not receive too much rain and allows for water to drip away and not sit, which could potentially drown the occupants. Many bees will also lay their larva in this, so you are supporting the next generation of bees.
Planting:
There are many plants that help bees through the amount of pollen and nectar they offer and the longevity of the plant throughout the year. By providing these in your garden you are helping the bees to collect the pollen and nectar they need. Some of my top choices are lavender, Dahlia, Foxgloves, Sweet Williams, bluebells, Sunflowers and Thyme just to name a few. If you want some more information on some of these, please go to my post on “Top Plants for bees”
Food and water:
In the summer bees work incredibly hard. This can lead to them running out of energy and becoming dehydrated. You can help them through providing a pit stop for them to rehydrate and to give them an energy boost. To do this make a sugar water solution (RSPB suggest two tablespoons of white granulated sugar with one tablespoon of water) and put it on a small plate or spoon in your garden. This rehydrates the bee and gives it energy to continue on its task of collecting pollen and thus pollinating your plants. However, be careful not to have the water too deep, as the bees may drown. If you do this, be sure to send me a picture or video of your bees with #feedthebees.
Support your local beekeeper:
If you want to continue and go the extra mile give your support to your local beekeeper. This can be through donations to them, buying their raw and natural honey or buying their other bee products. This will often taste better than mass produced honey, is better for the environment and means the beekeeper can obtain more hives, meaning more bees for the environment in your area. If possible, support a beekeeper who does not use a smoker to be more ethical.
Promote the bee:
Finally, try to promote the bee as much as you can. I don’t think it’s best to go around “preaching” about bees but if it comes up in conversation always try to persuade people to do more. Especially, if you have kids get them to recognise the importance of bees, so the next generation has a better understand of how and why you should take care of them. Even buying products with a bee symbols can increase their prominence and hopefully make people take more notice of these beautiful and amazing creature and all they do for us.
One more thing to note is to be wary of the products you purchase and the impact this may have on bees. For example many fruit and vegetables are sprayed with pesticides that kill bees, so should be avoided if possible. Also, mass produced honey can be unethical and actually more damaging, so be wary of this. I hope I gave you something to think about and some easy and useful ways you can help bees. Always try to remember what bees do for our planet, plants and agriculture and to implement some of the tips above to help them thrive. Anyway, I would love to see what you have done, so make sure to send me pictures and videos of how you have helped bees on my social media (Twitter, Instagram, Facebook) with #supportthebees #Helpthebees #Bee-kind #feedthebees #plantforthebees and any other tags that will get more people’s attention.
