Bee friendly planting

Hi,

I have lots of bee-friendly plants in containers and am about to have some landscaping done which will give me some borders for planting too. I don't know about other people, but I find that some plants on the RHS Perfect for Pollinators list are not visited by bees - leucanthemum and erigeron, for example, never have bees on them in my garden. I wondered what are the most popular bee-friendly plants in people's own experiences? Mine are definitely lavendar, alliums, foxgloves and antirrhinums. Has anyone ever grown echinops, kniphofia or echinacea, for example?

Phil.

 

I find the best thing to do is go to the garden centre and see which plants the bees are visiting and buy those....that's what I did this year.

The best plants in my garden have been antirrhinums, linaria purpurea, linaria purpurea "canon went", nasturtiums, echium russicum, agastache foeniculum and chinese forget me nots.

 

Great photos.....got some echinops seeds for next year.

 

Amazing photos! I will definitely be purchasing some echinops next spring in that case - what do they go well with? Has anybody else had great success with alliums?
And where can I get inula and cirsium? They look fantastic and are the colours I want.

 

Dahlia, Cosmos and Zinnias have been the biggest attractions this year, especially for the Bee's.

 

I forgot about Cosmos....the bees love them and mine are still flowering.

 

Me too, and some budding ready to flower, so hopefully if the frosts stay away for a while, the bee's will be able to dine for a good few weeks yet

 

Not only does Tithonia Mexican Sunflower attract the bees but it is also a beautiful vibrant colour. I grew these from seeds.

 

That's lovely GA. I've been thinking of growing Mexican Sunflowers next year. It's good to know the bees like them.

 

Thanks very much - I know where to find Echinops which is great. I am also keen to grow teasel but can only find seeds. Will it be possible to buy plugs next spring? I prefer to grow from plugs rather than seed where possible!

 

Hi Armandi,

That would be fantastic - yes I would love some teasel to be sent! Thank you very much - how do I send you my address?
Being biennial, does that mean they will flower one year but not the next for the duration of their life? Or will they flower every year after the second year?
Phil.