Garden and Ornamental Plants

Garden and ornamental plants are a dense, long-lasting source of nectar and pollen in a small area, especially for bees around towns and cities. Well-chosen single flowers, aromatic herbs and autumn-flowering species can fill the periods when forage in the countryside dries up. This page covers choosing plants for a bee-friendly garden, a seasonal calendar and the risks of using pesticides in the garden.

Is every ornamental plant good for bees?

No. The most common aim of ornamental plant breeding is a fuller-looking flower; this is often achieved by turning the male organs (anthers) into petals. The result is a double flower that looks pretty but gives no pollen, and whose nectar is often out of reach as well.

The practical rule is simple: single-flowered varieties are almost always more valuable. Choosing the single variety of rose, chrysanthemum, aster, poppy and camellia on its own changes the garden's value for bees.

What are the strengths of gardens for bees?

• Long flowering: Many ornamentals flower for weeks, some for months.
• Diversity: Many species in a small area means varied pollen.
• Watering: A garden that is watered during a drought can keep producing nectar while wild plants stop.
• Late forage: Species such as sedum, asters and ivy flower in autumn and fill the late-summer gap.

Bee-friendly garden plants: choosing by season

The aim is to have something in flower in the garden at all times from early spring to late autumn. The dates are general ranges; they vary with climate zone and year.

The kitchen garden and aromatic herbs

Kitchen gardens are often more valuable than ornamental gardens. Aromatic herbs such as thyme, sage, rosemary, lavender, mint, basil and marjoram give plenty of nectar. Letting parsley, dill, fennel, onions and leeks flower also creates a valuable source. Cucurbits such as squash, cucumber and melon are both a source for bees and need bees for pollination.

Why are autumn-flowering garden plants important?

In many regions the natural landscape empties in late summer, yet the bees that will go into winter are reared exactly at this time. Stonecrop (sedum), asters, single chrysanthemums and ivy on hedges or walls keep nectar and pollen coming into the hive during this period. Ivy is especially valuable: it flowers in September–November and in most places is the last important source of the year.

How do you create a bee-friendly garden?

1. Choose single-flowered varieties: When buying plants and seeds, check that the anthers in the centre of the flower are visible.
2. Spread the flowering: Have at least a few species for every season.
3. Plant in clumps: A square-metre clump of one species is far more productive than scattered single plants; bees work by concentrating on one species.
4. Let herbs flower: Leave some of your kitchen herbs unharvested so they can flower.
5. Mow the lawn less often: Infrequent mowing that lets clover and dandelions flower is the cheapest forage improvement there is.
6. Leave nesting sites: A little bare soil and dry stems left over winter provide nesting sites for wild bees.
7. Put out water: Fill a shallow dish with pebbles and water so bees can drink without drowning.

What should you watch out for when using pesticides in the garden?

Insecticides used in the garden harm bees too. In an apiary that relies on gardens, this risk must not be ignored.

• Don't spray plants in flower: Carry out any unavoidable treatment outside flowering and in the evening, when bees are not flying.
• Read the label: Don't use products labelled as toxic to bees in areas with flowers.
• Try other methods first: Against aphids, spraying with water, picking them off by hand and protecting natural enemies (ladybirds etc.) are often enough.
• Talk to your neighbours: If you keep bees in town, inform the garden owners around you and find out when they apply treatments.

Urban beekeeping and balcony gardens

Taken together, city gardens, parks, balconies and street trees can add up to a more varied resource than many rural areas. Street trees such as lime, horse chestnut and black locust can be the main honey source for city bees.

On the other hand, colony density in cities can quickly exceed the limit, and honey bees compete with wild bees for forage. Setting the number of colonies according to the carrying capacity of the surroundings is especially important here. Even someone who keeps no hive can help bees by growing lavender, thyme, rosemary or single-flowered plants in pots on their balcony.