A bee-friendly garden offers experiences for all senses. Bees are attracted by bright colors and sweet scents, which are also great fun for hobby gardeners and nature lovers. The more varied the choice of plants, the richer the food supply. Nectar plants are not only a valuable food source for honey bees. Certain flowers also attract wild bees, which are becoming increasingly rare in nature.
Bee friendly garden
The bee-friendly garden is characterized by a wide range of nectar-producing flowering plants. Choose as different flowers as possible that bloom at different times of the year. In this way, you guarantee an uninterrupted supply of food and ensure that phases with few flowers are bridged. Varieties with double flowers are not suitable for bee pasture. These plants were bred to only develop petals. The floral organs are greatly reduced and have lost their function. Therefore, double flowers cannot provide nectar.
honey and wild bees
While honey bees fly to a wide variety of nectar plants, wild bees often specialize in certain species. Before you start choosing plants, you should get an overview of possible bee species in your garden. There are publicly accessible wild bee registers where you can find out about the distribution of wild bees.
Native plants for bees
If you want to make your garden bee-friendly, your choice should be native species. These are optimally adapted to the environmental conditions and are therefore particularly valuable for bees. By cleverly combining the plants, you can offer the bees nectar-filled flowers from April until the first frosts.
Tip: Look out for seeds from the region. These plants are optimally adapted to the climate.
columbine
- botanical: Aquilegia vulgaris
- Flowering period: May to June
- Location: sunny to semi-shady
- Soil: well-drained, moderately nutritious and fresh to moist
Columbine 'Maxistar', Aquilegia caerulea
catnip
- botanical: Nepeta cataria
- Flowering period: July to September
- Location: sunny
- Soil: barren and permeable, dry to fresh
- good food for wild bees
meadow clover
- botanically: Trifolium pratense
- Flowering time: April to October
- Location: sunny to semi-shady
- Soil: rich in nutrients, moderately moist and permeable
- high attractiveness to wild bees
wild mallow
- botanically: Malva sylvestris
- Flowering period: May to September
- Location: sunny
- Soil: loose, rich in nutrients and nitrogen
Wild mallow, Malva sylvestris
Tall perennials
With these plants you offer bees a welcome source of nectar and at the same time give structure to your garden. Tall perennials can be planted to border beds and mark paths. Some plants grow up to two meters tall and serve as privacy screens at the property boundary, at least in summer.
Tip: Even when the perennials have withered, they do not become useless and should be left in winter. Many wild bees use the hollow stalks to hibernate.
Alpine Aster
- botanically: Aster alpinus
- Flowering period: July to September
- Location: sunny to off-sun
- Soil: fresh, moderately nutritious
tuft beautiful
- botanically: Phacelia
- Species: Silky Hairy Phacelia, Tansy Phacelia, or Sticky Phacelia
- Flowering period: from June to the first frosts
- Location: full sun
- Soil: normal garden soil that is very well drained
marigold
- botanically: Calendula officinalis
- Flowering period: May to November
- Location: sunny
- Soil: well drained and loamy
sunflower
- botanical: Helianthus annuus
- Flowering time: July to the end of October
- Location: sunny
- Soil: rich in nutrients and permeable
Sunflower, Helianthus annuus
flowers for tubs
Even small front gardens, balconies and terraces can be laid out and designed to be bee-friendly. The more colorful and diverse the range of flowers, the more bees are attracted to the plentiful food source. When choosing plants, make sure that they have the same requirements, otherwise different species will not feel comfortable next to each other.
Verbena
- botanical: Verbena
- Varieties: 'Carpet Violet', 'Merlot', 'Estrella'
- Flowering time: depending on the variety from May to the first frost
- Location: sunny
- Soil: humic and slightly acidic, moist but well drained
- attracts wild bees
Nasturtium
- botanically: Tropaeolum majus
- Flowering period: May to October
- Location: sunny to semi-shady
- Soil: moist and rich in nutrients
Lantana
- botanical: Lantana camara
- Flowering period: May to October
- Location: sunny
- Soil: normal potting soil
Lantana (Lantana camara)
crops and useful plants
These plants are not only popular with bees, but also enrich your diet. The more pollinators find their way into your garden, the greater the later crop yield. Therefore, make sure you have a varied supply of nectar that is available at different times of the year.
broad bean
- botanical: Vicia faba
- Flowering period: May to June
- Location: sunny
- Soil: deep with high water storage capacity
borage
- botanically: Borago officinalis
- Flowering period: May to September
- Location: sunny and sheltered from the wind
- Soil: moist, well drained and calcareous
cucurbits
- botanically: Cucurbita
- Species: Giant Squash, Garden Squash, Musk Squash
- Flowering time: depending on the species, around 60 days after sowing
- Location: sunny and sheltered
- Soil: rich in nutrients and humus, evenly moist
Hokkaido pumpkin
carrot
- botanically: Daucus carota
- Flowering period: June to September
- Location: sunny
- Soil: dry, well drained and calcareous
- special forage plant for wild bees
kitchen herbs
Spice plants not only enrich various meals, but also serve as a valuable source of food for bees. With a suitable composition of plants, you can offer nectar to the flying pollinators from April to autumn.
basil
- botanically: Ocimum basilicum
- Flowering period: June to September
- Location: sunny
- Soil: rich in nutrients, permeable and constantly moist
wild garlic
- botanically: Allium ursinum
- Flowering time: April to May
- Location: semi-shady to shady
- Soil: humic and slightly moist
Allium ursinum, wild garlic
coriander
- botanical: Coriandrum sativum
- Flowering period: June to August
- Location: sunny to semi-shady, sheltered from the wind
- Soil: nutritious and loose
sage
- botanically: Salvia officinalis
- Flowering period: May to July
- Location: sunny
- Soil: sandy and poor in nutrients
- special forage plant for wild bees
lemon balm
- botanical: Melissa officinalis
- Flowering period: June to August
- Location: full sun to shade
- Soil: humus and loose
- high attractiveness for wild bees
Melissa officinalis, lemon balm