Creating a bee-friendly garden: what bees need, best plants & seasonal jobs

Hi, I’m Nicola – a horticulturalist and the face behind The Bonnie Gardener. I help people choose the right plants for their garden spaces.  I also design gardens, and even offer a year-long one-to-one gardening tuition course. 

In this post I want to give you some tips on how you can transform your garden into a thriving haven for bees and other pollinators. 

What bees need from our gardens

There’s a quote that has been attributed to Einstein -  “If bees disappeared off the face of the earth, man would only have four years left to live.”  While nobody is sure whether Einstein actually said those words, the premise of them certainly gives us food for thought.  Bees are pivotal to our existence on earth because they pollinate the vast majority of our food crops.  Without them we would struggle to survive.

In the UK there are more than 250 different species of bee. That includes around 24 species of bumblebee, honeybees and around 225 species of solitary bee.  They each have their own specific requirements, but on the whole they all require:

• Continuous food: A steady supply of nectar and pollen for energy and nutrition.  This should be available across the seasons and is delivered by flowering plants. 

• Water: bees always need access to water, just like humans.

• Shelter and habitat: Areas that offer nesting sites, such as long grass, sheds, compost heaps, old tree stumps and piles of wood.

Dos and don’ts for a bee-friendly garden

DO:

• Extend the season of interest:
  Plant for a long flowering season (from February through November). Use spring bulbs (snowdrops, crocus, daffodils, muscari, tulips, alliums) for early food; autumn flowers like perennial rudbeckia, asters, and sedums for late-season nourishment; and winter-flowering plants such as Mahonia, Hamamelis, Viburnums, and Hellebores to provide nectar during the cold months.

• Offer variety in bloom shape and size:
  Different blooms appeal to different bee species, so mix up your plant choices. Think daisies, spires, balls, umbels and plumes.

• Use colour wisely:
  Incorporate blues, yellows, and purples - these are the colours that bees can see most visibly.

• Plant in swathes:
  Mimic natural settings by grouping similar plants together (in groups of 3, 5, or 7). This makes it easier for bees to find food and enhances the visual impact of your garden.

• Create a wildflower meadow:
  Allow areas of your lawn to grow long, or try transforming an area of lawn or bed into a perennial wildflower meadow to add interest, colour, and habitat.

DON’T:

• Use double flowering or fancy bedding plants:
  There are lots of double flowering plants on the market that have been bred for their fancy blooms - some common ones include Peonies, Roses, Tulips and Hellebores. Try to avoid them - they have overly dense blooms that are hard for bees to access.

• Rely on chemicals:
  Avoid using herbicides and pesticides - they can be extremely harmful and often fatal to bees and other beneficial insects.

• Aim for a ‘perfect’ lawn:
  A manicured lawn can leave little room for wild, bee-friendly flowers to grow - clover, buttercup and dandelions are all excellent sources of nectar for bees. They can be so beautiful to look at too.

• Be dogmatic about only using native plants:
  While native plants are great, don’t overlook non-natives - they both offer excellent forage for pollinators

• Be too tidy:
  Leaving a natural, slightly untidy corner (with an old tree stump or a small pile of logs) can provide fantastic shelter and nesting sites for lots of wildlife

Best plants for a bee-friendly garden (by season)

Spring

• Bulbs: Snowdrops, crocus, daffodils, muscari, tulips, alliums
  Why? They provide the first food sources for bees emerging from winter hibernation.

• Herbaceous Perennials: Early flowering perennials such as Primrose, Hellebores and Pulmonaria are excellent for this too.

• Shrubs and trees: in Scotland we mostly garden on acidic soil, which is perfect for early flowering Rhododendrons, Camellias and Pieris. Members of the rose family are excellent choices too, such as flowering cherries, crab apples, apples and plums.

Summer

• Herbaceous Perennials:
  Choose plants with single, open blooms that are easy for bees to access. Hardy Geraniums, Leucanthemums, Salvias, Primulas and Iris are all good choices.

• Roses:  Choose fragrant, repeat flowering roses that will deliver flowers over a long period.  Make sure they are single flowering varieties for accessible blooms.

• Shrubs and trees: there are so many flowering shrubs to choose from in summer, such as Weigela, Philadelphus and Hebes. Lime trees are a favourite amongst bees, but only plant one if you have adequate space in your garden - they get very big over time. 

Autumn

• Herbaceous perennials: There are lots of late summer and autumn flowering perennials - make sure you include lots in your borders.  Good options are Asters, Sedums, Rudbeckia, Eupatorium, Solidago and Veronicastrum. 

• Shrubs: Continue to support pollinators with late-season flowering shrubs such as Buddleja, Roses and Eucryphia.

Winter

• Winter flowering shrubs: Mahonia, Hamamelis (witch hazel) and a number of Viburnums offer nectar when other sources are scarce.

Top seasonal jobs to keep your garden interesting for bees

Spring Jobs:

• Sowing and dividing:

• Sow seeds of annuals and perennials under cover from March/April onwards.  Pot them into individual 9cm pots when they grow large enough.  Plant out in May after risk of frost has passed. 

• Divide established clumps of herbaceous perennials in your garden and move them to fill empty spaces, or give them away to friends and family.  Clumps of bulbs can be lifted while they are ‘in the green’ and moved too.  This works especially well for snowdrops and daffodils. 

• Wildflower areas:

• Prepare and sow wildflower areas.  Soil preparation is key - the seed must be sown onto bare soil, which has been freshly rotavated.  Remove grass first, or use a membrane to cover it and kill it off before turning over the soil to create a seed bed.  

• Use the right seed mix.  If you buy cheap, you will often end up buying twice.  Use a good quality supplier to source your perennial wildflowers and grasses.  Incorporate yellow rattle (Rhinanthus minor) which helps with meadow establishment by keeping grass levels under control.

• Tidy up:

• Clear away winter debris to create a clean slate for new growth.

Summer Jobs:

• SuccessionpPlanting:

• Continue sowing seeds at 6-8 week intervals so that you have a succession of blooms all through the summer months and into autumn. 

• Cuttings:

• Take softwood cuttings of shrubs like lavender and sage in early summer.

• Take semi-ripe cuttings of currants, raspberries, ivy, and mahonia in late summer.

• Deadheading:

• Regularly deadhead spent blooms to encourage more flowering.

Autumn Jobs:

• Bulb planting:

• Plant spring-flowering bulbs and ensure you plan for a succession of blooms (from January to May).

• Herbaceous perennials:

• Continue planting and dividing these to build long-season interest through your borders.

• Bare root planting:

• Order bare root trees and shrubs and plant them while the ground is soft.  Avoid planting on frosty days. 

• Hardwood Cuttings:

• Take hardwood cuttings of shrubs like buddleja, roses, willows, and Cornus.

• Sow seeds:

• Sow seeds of biennials (e.g. foxgloves, sweet William) and annuals like sweet peas, to get them off to a really strong start in the spring.  Keep these under cover all through the winter to protect them from frosts.

Winter Jobs:

• Planting and mulching:

• Continue planting spring-flowering bulbs - this can really be done all the way through till December or the start of January.

• Plant hedging, trees, and roses as bare root plants.

• Mulch herbaceous perennials to protect them through the cold.

• Embrace Natural Chaos:

• Don’t overtidy your garden—if something’s brown, cut it down; if it’s structural, let it stand.

• Leave a few untidy corners to provide shelter and nesting sites for pollinators.

• Bare Root Tips:

• Plant deciduous trees, shrubs, and hedging from November to February.  When they arrive, ensure the roots don’t dry out.

• Stake tall plants to prevent wind rock over the winter months.

Where to Source Your Seeds and Plants

For a bee-friendly garden, having the right suppliers makes all the difference.  I personally like using local suppliers for plants as the plants are acclimatised to our conditions and have a better chance of thriving in our gardens.  

• Seeds: Scotia Seeds, Chiltern Seeds, Landlife Wildflowers

• Plants and Bulbs: McLarens Nurseries (Barrhead), Binny Plants (Midlothian), Glendoick (Rhododendrons), Macplants (Pencaitland), Ballyrobert Gardens

Final Thoughts

Creating a bee-friendly garden is about more than just aesthetics—it’s about supporting the vital ecosystem that sustains our planet. By understanding what bees need, following the dos and don’ts, choosing the right plants for each season, and keeping up with essential gardening jobs throughout the year, you can transform your garden into a thriving haven for pollinators.

Remember, nature doesn’t require perfection; it thrives on diversity and a little bit of wildness. 

If you need personalised advice or a helping hand, I’m here for you. Together, we can create a garden that not only looks beautiful but also supports the bees that are so crucial to our world.

Happy Gardening!

Nicola
The Bonnie Gardener