Flowers that attract bees??

[Ezzrider]

What flowers are good at attracting bees into your garden area?

[Zurdita]

Originally Posted by Ezzrider

What flowers are good at attracting bees into your garden area?

Sunflowers and borage, especially, bring in the bees. They also are attracted to rosemary and thyme when in bloom. I am also constantly amazed at how many bees visit the squash, in season, of course. A friend of mine planted most of her front yard in California natives, including many sages, and it attracts bees, hummingbirds and native bees.

[Dreyadin]

Mint and clover too... There are a lot of different kinds of bees and they have their quirks. Mostly solitary bees and a few honey bees would swarm my squash flowers... more honey bees in the wild sunflowers... equal amounts of honey bees and bumble bees in the mints... and little sweat bees were loving the mustard flowers. Yellowjackets also around, but as they stung me twice this year I refuse to acknowledge their contributions. lol darn evil wasps.

Plant in big clusters and check the timing of the flowering. You can check out what native wildflowers are in your area and go from that too. Honey bees are wonderful, but those solitary bees are pretty amazing pollinators.

[elmtree3]

I like to plant my earliest radishes in the middle of my garden. When they go to seed, there are literally thousands of flowers on them that the bees just seem to love.

[garnetmoth]

We have swarms on our echinacea, some like the liatris, bee balm, goldenrod, New England asters- I've heard that you should aim for an all season long blooming variety so there is always food for the bees you attract. Oh, the taller sedums that bloom in August or so are covered with bees too! And they seem to like the balsam flowers (they got mildew real bad this year, but are easy to weed, and colorful).

[greenfinger]

I copied a neighbor this past year, and planted a row of zinnias. They bloom all season and are a nice addition to the table as cut flowers. But they esily self sow, becoming a potential nuisance. Even so, I'll do the same again, or perhaps I'll do echinacea.

[beehappy]

This is the first year chives made it to flower for me, smothered in bees. I was a little surprised, as they don't seem to be capable of "giving" a lot.

[smwlindy]

Jerusalem Artichokes attract bees like crazy, but be careful where planting them! Ours got 12 feet tall this year and took over the corner of the garden where they were planted. Still they are delicious and beautiful and we love that they attracted so many bees to our garden.

[WI_HO_C]

To attract bees, I use a mixture of sunflowers, cosmos, basil, and "Zebrina" flowering mallow. The "Zebrina" blooms almost continuously, and attracts a wide range of bees... but be warned, it self-sows vigorously. To me, that is a desireable trait - I choose my "weeds" carefully.

Squashes, cucumbers, bitter melon, limas, and runner beans round out the edible bee plants.

I also grow cleome & yardlong beans to attract wasps. When the yardlongs begin to bloom, they really attract wasps; but the substance they feed on (from the pads beneath the flowers) seems to pacify them. Never been stung. Still, if you are allergic to bee stings, you might think twice before planting them. The cleome, like the "Zebrina", self-sows vigorously... and along with the runner beans, is attractive to hummingbirds as well.

In case you might wonder why I attract wasps, they control several pests within my garden. There is hardly a caterpillar to be found, no large spider webs either. The peppers I grow for seed are covered with Agribon for several weeks, and aphids (which can penetrate the cover) can multiply quickly in the protected environment. When I open up the cages, wasps - in large numbers - will begin to attack & feed on the aphids within hours. They have virtually eliminated them within several days.

[Larisa Walk]

We have honeybees and lots of native bees, so we do a fair bit of observing to see what's happening in our garden. In spring, besides the dandelions, bees are feeding on violets and gound ivy. Lots of action in trees for pollen. Clouds of bees, both honey and bumble, in summer in Norway spruce where I think they were going for propolis. Seed poppies full of bees rolling around in the pollen. Honeybees on corn tassels and sorghum heads. Fruit trees as well as strawberries, blackberries and raspberries, and of course the cucurbit family. As seed savers many garden plants that don't get to the flowering stage in most gardens are very popular with bees: radishes, lettuces, and anything in the brassica family. We have native roses including the Illinois Wild Rose which is a huge, sprawling climber. Clouds of honey and bumble bees are present during its flowering season. All of the herb flowers attract many species of bees and may help with bee health as well. Garlic chives have a long bloom time in late summer and can be put in an area where they will self seed and make quite a patch of bee forage. Several species flowering at all times will supply the diversity necessary for the bee's well-beeing :>).

We also have a bird bath with stones in it that is the watering hole for honeybees and yellow jackets. It's important for them to have water and easy to supply.

Glad to hear the positive plug for wasps. Everyone is liking bees now due to the publicity regarding declining bee populations but wasps don't get as good press coverage. Wasps are like bees only they're omnivores which means they will do some pollination at times but will do much in terms of pest control. Given respect, they will go about their business as the gardener goes about their's, and both will benefit.

[papaver somniferum]

Poppies, cosmos, foxglove, or most any wildflower mix you would buy. Try to get the natives for your area. They will probably do the best for you.

[SULLY]

Lemon balm, Borage, zinnias, and lavender seem to have done really well for me but the lemon balm and Borage reseed like crazy.

[dcarch]

Crown vetch flowers year round, comes back every year. Really attracts bees.

dcarch

[Suze]

IME, a nice stand of bush beans or cowpeas will attract plenty of various buzzing insects to an area - including bumble bees, all sorts of wasps, and also the tiny little Halictidae (which usually do a lot of pollinating.)

Vitex is also a good bet to attract tons of bees - they love it.

[garden kid]

Zinnias. I've found that feverfew attracts bees too. My feverfew flowered abundantly this year, and was always covered in bees and butterflies. Sunflowers and marigolds are always good bets too, as they are very easy to grow.