A bee friendly garden is a garden planted and managed to help bees — honeybees, bumblebees and the many solitary bees that do much of the pollination in our gardens. Bees pollinate fruit, vegetables and wildflowers, and without them harvests would be smaller and gardens would be duller. Yet bees are under pressure from fewer flowers, fewer nesting places and chemicals, and gardens can help or harm them depending on how they are managed.
Making a garden bee friendly is simple and rewarding: grow a variety of open, nectar-rich flowers through the whole season, provide water and nesting places, and stop using pesticides. You do not need to keep bees yourself — most garden bees are wild, and they will find your garden if the flowers are there. A bee friendly garden buzzes with life in summer, and it will give you better fruit and vegetables too, because more pollination means more fruit. If you are unsure which plants suit your area, check your local extension service for local bee plant lists.
Which bees visit gardens
Several kinds of bee visit gardens, and they need slightly different things. Honeybees live in hives, often kept by a beekeeper nearby, and they forage over a wide area for nectar and pollen. Bumblebees are larger, furrier and live in small nests in the ground, in compost heaps or in old mouse holes; they fly in cooler weather than honeybees and are excellent pollinators of tomatoes, beans and fruit. Solitary bees — mason bees, leafcutter bees, mining bees and many others — live alone, each female making her own nest in a hollow stem, a hole in wood, or a tunnel in bare earth. Solitary bees are gentle, rarely sting, and are superb pollinators. All of them need flowers, and they need them from early spring to late autumn. A garden that feeds all three kinds of bee, with a mix of flower shapes and sizes, will be busy all season. Our pollinator garden guide covers the wider picture, and butterfly garden covers butterflies.
Best flowers for bees
Bees prefer single, open flowers with plenty of nectar and pollen, and they prefer blue, purple, yellow and white flowers, which they see well. Excellent choices include lavender, rosemary, sage, thyme, borage, calendula, cosmos, sunflowers, coneflowers, asters, foxgloves, cornflowers and single dahlias. See growing lavender, growing rosemary and growing sunflowers. Herbs are superb for bees: let some basil, mint, oregano, chives and sage flower, because bees crowd onto their blossom. Fruit blossom is vital in spring — apple, cherry, plum and currant flowers feed bees when little else is out — see growing apples. Native wildflowers such as clover, dandelions, knapweed and heather are also excellent, so leave some clover in the lawn and let dandelions flower in spring before you mow. Plant in drifts, because bees find a large patch more easily, and grow at least three different bee flowers in bloom at any time.
Feeding bees through the seasons
Bees need food from early spring to late autumn, and a gap can be serious, especially for a colony. In early spring, plant crocus, snowdrops, grape hyacinths, heather and flowering currant, and let fruit trees blossom — do not prune them so hard that you remove the flowers. In late spring, add borage, calendula, wallflowers and bluebells. In summer, the peak season, grow lavender, rosemary, sage, cosmos, zinnias, sunflowers and coneflowers. In autumn, grow asters, sedums, single dahlias and ivy, which flowers late and is a vital food source for bees in autumn. Leave some herbs to flower rather than cutting them all back, and leave some flowers to set seed. Use the hardiness zone finder to check which plants suit your zone. A simple flowering calendar, kept on the shed wall, helps you spot gaps — if nothing is in flower in a particular month, plant something that flowers then.
Nesting places and bee hotels
Bees need somewhere to nest as well as somewhere to feed. Bumblebees nest in the ground, in compost heaps, in log piles and in old mouse holes, so leave a few undisturbed corners and do not dig over the whole garden every year. Solitary bees nest in hollow stems, in holes in wood, and in tunnels in bare, sunny earth. A bee hotel — a box or bundle of hollow canes, bamboo tubes or a block of wood with holes drilled in it — gives solitary bees a place to nest, and it is fascinating to watch them use it. Place it in a sunny, sheltered spot, facing south or south-east, at about chest height, and leave it undisturbed. Leave a patch of bare, sunny earth for mining bees, and leave hollow stems standing over winter for stem-nesting bees. Do not tidy too much in autumn, and do not use a bee hotel as a decoration that is moved about — bees need it to stay put. A log pile, a compost heap and a hedge all help too.
Water and safety for bees
Bees need water, especially in hot weather, and they need it safely. Put out a shallow dish with stones or pebbles in it, so bees can land and drink without drowning, and top it up daily in summer. Place it near flowers in a sunny spot. Do not use pesticides: insecticides kill bees, and even products labelled safe for bees can harm them if sprayed on open flowers. Avoid spraying altogether, and use hand-picking, netting and natural predators for pests — see our organic pest control and aphids control guides. Avoid weedkillers that remove clover and dandelions, which are important bee foods in spring. If you keep bees yourself, or a neighbour does, let them know before you spray anything, and never spray when bees are flying. Buy plants from suppliers who do not use systemic insecticides, and ask if you are unsure. A garden free of chemicals is safer for bees, for children, for pets and for you.
Bee friendly gardening in small spaces
You do not need a large garden to help bees. A balcony with pots of lavender, thyme, calendula and borage will be visited by bees all summer — see our balcony gardening guide. A windowsill with flowering herbs helps. A small yard can hold a bee border, a bee hotel and a water dish. A community garden can set aside a wildflower corner — see community gardening. Even a single pot of lavender on a doorstep feeds bees. The key is the same at any size: open, nectar-rich flowers, a long season, water, nesting places, and no chemicals. Start with three or four reliable plants, watch which ones the bees visit most, and grow more of those next year. You will quickly learn which flowers your local bees prefer, and you will enjoy watching them work.
Common mistakes to avoid
The biggest mistake is spraying insecticides in a garden meant for bees — even one spray can kill foraging bees and contaminate the pollen they carry home. The second is planting only double flowers, which offer little or no nectar. The third is having flowers for only part of the season, so bees go hungry in spring or autumn. The fourth is tidying too much, removing the hollow stems, log piles and bare earth where solitary bees nest. The fifth is putting out water in a deep container with no stones, so bees drown. The sixth is mowing the whole lawn short all summer, removing clover and daisies that bees rely on. Finally, do not buy plants treated with systemic insecticides, which make the nectar and pollen poisonous — ask the supplier, and buy from growers who do not use them. If bees are scarce despite your efforts, check your local extension service for advice on local bee species and plants.
Frequently asked questions
What flowers do bees like most?
Single, open flowers with plenty of nectar: lavender, rosemary, sage, thyme, borage, calendula, cosmos, sunflowers, coneflowers, asters, foxgloves and cornflowers. Herbs allowed to flower are excellent, and fruit blossom is vital in spring. Plant in drifts for the best effect.
Do I need to keep bees to have a bee friendly garden?
No. Most garden bees are wild — bumblebees and solitary bees — and they will find your garden if the flowers are there. A bee friendly garden helps wild bees whether or not anyone keeps hives nearby, and it will improve pollination of your fruit and vegetables.
What is a bee hotel, and does it work?
A bee hotel is a shelter with hollow tubes or drilled holes where solitary bees can nest. It works well if placed in a sunny, sheltered spot facing south or south-east, and left undisturbed. Use untreated wood and canes, clean or replace tubes each year, and do not move it once bees are using it.
Are bees dangerous in a garden?
Garden bees are generally gentle and focused on flowers, not people. Solitary bees rarely sting at all, and bumblebees sting only if handled or trapped. Leave them alone, do not wave at them, and teach children to watch quietly. If someone in your household is allergic to bee stings, take medical advice and site bee hotels away from seating areas.
Should I leave dandelions for bees?
Yes, in spring. Dandelions are one of the first and most important foods for bees emerging in spring, when little else is in flower. Let them flower, then mow or deadhead them before they set seed if you do not want them to spread. A lawn with some clover and daisies is a bee friendly lawn.