Plant These to Save the Bees

Create your perfect Bee Garden with our top picks for the best Bee-Friendly perennials, herbs, flowering shrubs and annuals to help combat the bee crisis.

Plus, check out our quick & easy tips for making the most of your Bee Garden.

Look for our top Bee-Friendly Picks in the PG Greenhouses and JA Pop-Up Garden Centers this spring!

Bee-Friendly Garden Tips

Provide Continuous Blooms

Bees with make return visits to a garden that consistently has nectar. When planting perennials, mix perennials that bloom early-season, mid-season, and late-season…so when one bloom ends, another begins.

Mixing in annuals, which bloom all spring and summer, is also another great way to ensure your garden consistently provides nectar. 

Add Variety

We all like a little variety in our diets, and so do bees! Plant different types of flowers to please the taste buds of all kinds of bees. And make sure to plant them in groups, so your bees can spot their favorites faster.

Look for Natives

A lot of hybridizing that has gone on has eliminated the amount of pollen or nectar the variety produces. The closer you can get to original plant varieties the better, so choose native varieties whenever possible.

Make a Bee Home

Provide a place for your bees to nest and seek safely. Piles of wood can help give them the shelter they seek or make this bee home project the kids will love.

Go Organic

Many pesticides are toxic to bees, so use them as little as possible, opting for an organic option instead.

Provide a Bee Bath

Bees need shallow water sources where they can perch and have a drink. Fill a shallow container with water and add rocks where they can land. Maintain the water level, so bees know they can return to a consistent water source.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Best Perennials For Bees

EARLY–SEASON

Larkspur

Dianthus

Columbine

Ajuga

Lupine

Baptisia

Pulmonaria

MID-SEASON

Coneflowers

Catmint

Penstemon

Milkweek

Monarda

Coreopsis

Phlox

Gaillardia

Yarrow

LATE-SEASON

Asters

Ironweed

Goldenrod

Joe Pye Weed

Rudbeckias

Helianthus

The Best Flowering Shrubs for Bees

Butterfly Bush

Lilac Bush

Hypericum (St John’s Wort)

Pussy Willow

The Best Annuals for Bees

Alyssum

Cleome

Zinnia

Geranium

Lantana

Cosmos

Cuphea

Salvia

Verbena

The Best Herbs for Bees

Sage

Dill

Thyme

Chives

Borage

Basil

Cilantro

Rosemary

Oregano

Lemon Balm

Lavender

Mint

Prairie Gardens & Jeffrey Alans

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1 Comment

  • Beverly Herman says:

    Loved your 2 Saturdays of Spring seminars. The Proven Winners gal from Michigan gave us so much information. I passed it on to my fellow Idea Garden workers who were unable to attend. I’m so glad we can buy those plants she especially recommended as flower of the year or perennial of the year, etc. there at Prairie Gardens. You never stop peaking our interest. Thank you!!

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