The best way to help bees is to feed them. A garden full of the right flowers gives bees nectar from early spring to late autumn. Here are twelve of the best plants for bees in the UK, set out by season.
Why plants matter more than a kit
A bee revival kit helps one tired bee at a time. Flowers feed bees all season long. A kit is for emergencies. Habitat is the long-term fix. Plant for bees and you give them what they need most: a steady supply of food.
Spring plants
Spring flowers feed hungry queens fresh out of hibernation.
- Lavender (early varieties): rich in nectar and loved by bumblebees.
- Alliums: round purple heads that bees cover in spring.
- Borage: refills its nectar fast, so bees return again and again.
- Apple blossom: a feast for bees and the start of your fruit.
Summer plants
Summer is peak foraging time. These flowers keep bees fed through the busiest months.
- Foxglove: tall spires that bumblebees climb right inside.
- Phacelia: one of the best nectar plants you can grow.
- Sunflowers: wide heads packed with pollen.
- Cornflowers: bright, easy, and full of nectar.
- Sweet peas: scented blooms that bees work all summer.
Autumn plants
Late food helps bees build reserves before winter.
- Sedum: flat pink heads that bees crowd in autumn.
- Ivy: a vital late food source, and the ivy bee depends on it.
- Michaelmas daisies: colour and nectar into October.
Year-round tips
Leave a patch of your garden wild. Dandelions and clover are among the best bee plants there are, and they need no work. Mowing less, and later, gives bees more flowers for free.
No garden? No problem
A window box or balcony can feed bees too. Lavender, borage, and thyme all grow well in pots. A small space planted well still gives bees a meal.
Plants first, kit second
Flowers are the long-term answer to the UK bee crisis. For the days when there are no flowers in reach, a bee revive kit is the emergency backup. Learn more about helping a tired bee, and check when do bees come out in the UK so you know which plants to have ready. To understand the bigger picture, read why bees are dying, and see our tips on supporting urban bees.