What flowers can I buy for bees?

[sunflower49]

Total novice here.

If you've read other threads you'll know I'm doing up a ramshackled old house at the moment. It has a garden, albeit a small one, and there is a bumblebee nest next to the shed. It's a pretty sheltered garden too.

I don't think I can feasibly do any planting yet, but are there any pot plants, or such that I could buy that bees will like?
Thank you. :)

[victoryinthekitchen]

Bees in my garden love lavender, foxgloves and teasles. They also seem to like the mint which is flowering (uncontrollably) at the mo!

[sunflower49]

Thank you, shall get on it :)

[ender]

My origano plants (origanum vulgare compacta) have been flowering for ages and are always covered in bees. They're all honey bees, rather than bumbles.

[Thistledew]

Any sort of sage or salvia is popular with bees. Scabious, too, would be good in pots. Almost any native wildflower would do you well.

[TodaysNotAGoodDay]

Penstemons are wonderful bee-magnets, and if you dead-head them regularly they keep flowering for 6 months. They are known as 'the partyers of the flower world'!

[sunflower49]

Thanks :)

I like to do my bit to preserve them, and I love watching them work I don't know why, maybe I need to get out more

:)

[VestaCurry]

Lavender, lavender and more lavender - different varieties and they will be thrilled!

[blueberrycupcake]

They love lavender in my garden.

[PetulaGordino]

they absolutely love the cotoneaster (not sure about growing that in a pot though?)

they love my jasmine too

[Girlwhowearsglasses]

Buddleia

Lavender

Any flowers which are not 'highly cultivated' these tend to have double heads or lots of petals - so difficult to get into if you're a bee. If you're planning a garden it's great as you can plan to have flowers through the year - continuity is good.

Have a wild patch that you maybe sow a meadow flower mix into. If you have a lawn you can do what you sometimes see in parks and leave a patch unmowed. If you sow a meadow mix in there you'll get lots of bees and butterflies: so campions, cornflowers, poppies and the like.

[EmNetta]

When you get round to seed-planting, do search out Limnanthes - Poached Egg Plants, another bee favourite. These germinate easily, do well in poor soil and don't need dead-heading, watering or any fuss at all.

[SugarPlumTree]

The bees here loved the sedum that flowers in the Autumn.

[LetsFaceTheMusicAndDance]

Purple loosestrife is great in damper or wet soil. It'll take a bit of shade too. I've got a few different types and they're alive with bees just now.

[tweetypot]

Our bees love white flowering clover, not sure if you can plant it though.

[DownByTheRiverside]

Mine too, ender. My herb garden is always crammed with honeybees and butterflies.
Early spring, the bees love the lungwort.

[Thumbwitch]

Hebe and buddleia; clover in the lawn too but you might not fancy that!

Foxgloves and snapdragons - they love those!

[Gatekeeper]

purple toadflax
borage
hardy geraniums
foxgloves
lavender
hyssop
marjoram and oregano and chives when in flower
flowring sedums

[MERLYPUSSEDOFF]

They seem to go for purple stuff that ot too over processed. I get lots on the sage, lavender, budlia (which is on wasteland beyond our boundry as I dont like it) sea holly, foxgloves, and next doors orange trumpet shaped thing.

[ocelot41]

Cornflowers!

[mousmous]

look out for year round interet as well.
crocus ar great for very early spring.

[NotAnotherNewNappy]

Have a look at this great bee friendly flowers poster from friends of the earth:

www.foeshop.co.uk/bee-friendly-poster.html

[sunflower49]

I've just finished work and looked on 'All threads I started' , no idea why I didn't get any notifications for this thread-I ALWAYS click on 'I'm on'!

Thanks for the replies everyone!I did heed the replies I'd seen, I bought loads of lavender and purple pansies and the bees seem happy.
I'm going to buy more types as I too, love purple and the garden's looking a bit better now.

Is it just me that loves watching bees :)