Bee-Friendly Garden Flowers

Your garden will be buzzing with excitement with our un-bee-lievable collection of flowers and plants that attract bees.

By: Jessica Yonker

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Bee Balm

Monarda, commonly (and conveniently) called bee balm, is a striking perennial related to the mint family. Its flowers come in a variety of reds, pinks and purples that bloom in mid-summer to early fall.

Honeysuckle

Lonicera, honeysuckle, are popular garden plants with highly perfumed flowers. There are climbing honeysuckles, which are wonderful draped over pergolas and supports, and evergreen shrubby types, which make good hedging plants.

Sunflower

This family sticks together. Sunflowers are easy to grow with big results that will attract not only bees but birds and butterflies as well.

Cosmos

Cosmos is a bright, showy annual that is easy to grow and attracts bees, birds and butterflies.

Coneflower

Purple coneflower ‘Magnus’ has purple-pink to rosy purple flowers that develop like a cone that falls back as they age.

Strawberries

Bees love strawberries just as much as your family does.

Dahlia

Flamboyant, glamorous, and alluring, dahlias are the divas of the horticultural world. Their head-turning blooms draw the crowds from mid- to late summer until the first frost in fall.

Butterfly Bush

Butterfly bushes are large, fast growing, deciduous shrubs whose lilac pink flowers are irresistible to butterflies, but also a favorite of bees.

Crocus

The spring crocus has a deep lilac color and does not flower until late spring.

Pot Marigold

The calendula, or pot marigold, is an annual flower native to the northern Mediterranean countries. Its name refers to its tendency to bloom with the calendar, usually once a month or every new moon. The petals can be added to salads.

Geraniums

Geranium himalayense, cranesbill, bears rich violet blue flowers in early summer, and blooms sporadically throughout the summer. It makes a great ground cover, and can take full shade.

Summer White Clematis

Cup-shaped, white and mauve flowers appear on the Huldine clematis after the height of summer and last into fall.

Summer Squash

Bees are attracted to the bright, nectar-filled flowers of zucchini and other members of the Cucurbita family.

Magnificent Magnolia

Grand white flowers don the tips of the magnolia branches. These dramatic blooms make this tree a Southern favorite.

Snapdragon

The playful snapdragon adds bright pops of color to a border. These sturdy blooms are fun for children to pinch to make the "mouth" open and close.

Roses

Even the bees can't resist the romantic rose. 'Sweet Compassion' is a strongly scented, bushy climbing rose with dark green leaves whose salmon-pink double blooms are tinted with apricot.

St. John's Wort

The arching branches of Hypericum ‘Hidcote’ are covered with lance-shaped leaves, and throughout the summer clusters of golden yellow flowers are borne in profusion.

Goldenrod

Goldenrod, or Solidago, is a perennial that grows back each year. Its bright yellow flowers add color to a late summer garden. It is often thought to provoke allergies, but goldenrod pollen is innocent. Goldenrod is attractive to bees and butterflies.

Phlox

Phlox 'Chattahoochee' is notable for its tolerance of shade and heavy flowering habit. It displays an abundance of dainty, fragrant, lavender flowers on low, spreading plants, that are highly attractive to butterflies.

Poppies

Plant a natural mix of wildflowers if a backyard space is big enough. A colorful mix of red poppies and other nectar rich flowers will attract pollinating insects.

Lavender

English lavender has flowers that appear in terminal spikes in late spring to early summer. Both foliage and flowers are highly aromatic. Leaves are evergreen in warm winter climates.

Hyacinth

Fragrant hyacinth is popular for pollinators. In late spring, 'City of Harlem' produces a dense spike of intensely fragrant primrose-yellow flowers.

Snowdrop

The snowdrop produces single, nodding, white flowers that appear as early as late winter and into early spring.

Catmint

An excellent companion bloom, versatile catmint gets along famously with its neighbors. Catmint complements almost any garden style, whether you’ve got a formal parterre with hybrid tea roses or a wild swath of prairie perennials. It starts blooming lavender blue late in spring and keeps going until frost—and the foliage smells heavenly when you brush past it.

Blueberries

Bees can help pollinate these juicy summer fruits, but watch out: birds also enjoy blueberries. To prevent your crop from disappearing, cover plants with anti-bird netting.