Create your perfect Bee Garden with our top picks for the best Bee-Friendly perennials, herbs, flowering shrubs and annuals to help combat the bee crisis.
Plus, check out our quick & easy tips for making the most of your Bee Garden.
Look for our top Bee-Friendly Picks in the PG Greenhouses and JA Pop-Up Garden Centers this spring!
Bee-Friendly Garden Tips
Provide Continuous Blooms
Bees with make return visits to a garden that consistently has nectar. When planting perennials, mix perennials that bloom early-season, mid-season, and late-season…so when one bloom ends, another begins.
Mixing in annuals, which bloom all spring and summer, is also another great way to ensure your garden consistently provides nectar.
Add Variety
We all like a little variety in our diets, and so do bees! Plant different types of flowers to please the taste buds of all kinds of bees. And make sure to plant them in groups, so your bees can spot their favorites faster.
Look for Natives
A lot of hybridizing that has gone on has eliminated the amount of pollen or nectar the variety produces. The closer you can get to original plant varieties the better, so choose native varieties whenever possible.
Make a Bee Home
Provide a place for your bees to nest and seek safely. Piles of wood can help give them the shelter they seek or make this bee home project the kids will love.
Go Organic
Many pesticides are toxic to bees, so use them as little as possible, opting for an organic option instead.
Provide a Bee Bath
Bees need shallow water sources where they can perch and have a drink. Fill a shallow container with water and add rocks where they can land. Maintain the water level, so bees know they can return to a consistent water source.
The Best Perennials For Bees
EARLY–SEASON
Larkspur
Dianthus
Columbine
Ajuga
Lupine
Baptisia
Pulmonaria
MID-SEASON
Coneflowers
Catmint
Penstemon
Milkweek
Monarda
Coreopsis
Phlox
Gaillardia
Yarrow
LATE-SEASON
Asters
Ironweed
Goldenrod
Joe Pye Weed
Rudbeckias
Helianthus
The Best Flowering Shrubs for Bees
Butterfly Bush
Lilac Bush
Hypericum (St John’s Wort)
Pussy Willow
The Best Annuals for Bees
Alyssum
Cleome
Zinnia
Geranium
Lantana
Cosmos
Cuphea
Salvia
Verbena
The Best Herbs for Bees
Sage
Dill
Thyme
Chives
Borage
Basil
Cilantro
Rosemary
Oregano
Lemon Balm
Lavender
Mint
1 Comment
Loved your 2 Saturdays of Spring seminars. The Proven Winners gal from Michigan gave us so much information. I passed it on to my fellow Idea Garden workers who were unable to attend. I’m so glad we can buy those plants she especially recommended as flower of the year or perennial of the year, etc. there at Prairie Gardens. You never stop peaking our interest. Thank you!!