Create a Buzz in Your Garden: Bring in the Bees

Use the list below as a starting point for bringing bees and other pollinators to your garden. Many of the plants also attract butterflies. (If you're allergic to bees, either avoid planting them altogether or place them in out-of-the-way areas.)

Spring
Perennials
ajuga (Ajuga reptans) (p)
borage (Borago officinalis)
geranium, scented (Pelargonium graveolens) (a)
rosemary (Rosmarinus) (a or p)

Summer
Annuals, perennials
anise hyssop (Agastache foeniculum) (p)
bee balm (<Monarda didyma) (p)
black-eyed Susan (Rudbeckia) (p)
calamint, lesser (Calamintha nepetoides) (p)
catmint (Nepeta spp.) (p)
coneflower (Echinacea purpurea) (p)
cosmos (Cosmos bipinnatus) (a)
germander (Teucrium canadense) (p)
geranium, scented (Pelargonium graveolens) (a)
hosta (Hosta) (p)
joepye weed (Eupatorium purpureum) (p)
salvias, perennial types (Salvia spp.) (p)
pin cushion flower (Scabiosa) (p)
pot marigold (Calendula officinalis) (a)
rosemary (Rosmarinus) (a or p)
sage, Russian (Perovskia atriplicifolia) (p)
summer phlox (Phlox paniculata) (p)
sunflower (Helianthus annuus) (a)
thyme (Thymus) (p)
zinnia, single-type flowers such as the Profusion series (a)

Shrubs and trees
abelia, glossy (Abelia spp.)
butterfly bush (Buddleia spp.)
chaste tree (vitex agnus-castus)
crape myrtle (Lagerstroemia indica)
holly (Ilex ssp.)
privet, wax-leaf (Ligustrum japonicum)
sourwood (Oxydendrum arboreum)

Fall
Perennials
asters (a)
black-eyed Susan (Rudbeckia) (p)
goldenrod (Solidago spp.) (p)
joepye weed (Eupatorium purpureum) (p)
lemon balm (Melissa officinalis)
Mexican sage (Salvia leucantha) (p)
Mexican sunflower (Tithonia rotundifolia spp.) (p)
pineapple sage (Salvia elegans) (a or p)

Shrubs and trees
chaste tree (vitex agnus-castus)