Picture Credit: Aaron Burden

Best Plants for Bees

Introduction

Bees are essential to the pollination of many plants. They help us grow our food, and they also produce honey, which is a sweet treat that we use for cooking and baking. Bees need flowers to make honey—and also nectar and pollen to feed themselves! If you want to keep bees happy, then you need the right plants in your garden or yard. Here are some of my favorite plants for bees:

Asters

Aster is a hardy annual plant that can be grown from seed or transplanted. The flowers of aster are white, purple, yellow and orange. These flowers attract many types of bees to their nectar source.

Asters are good nectar sources for bees in the fall because they bloom then and provide them with food until winter comes again.

Borage

Borage is a perennial plant that grows in USDA zones 5-9. It’s an annual in colder zones, but when it does flower, it produces large flowers with purple centers and white petals. The flowers are edible and make a nice addition to salads.

Mints

Mints are perennial plants that grow to about 2 feet tall. They have aromatic leaves and flowers, which bees love.

Mint has been used for centuries as a medicinal herb, so it's no surprise that mint makes an attractive addition to your garden or lawn. It's also easy to grow indoors or outdoors—and its large foliage provides plenty of shade to keep bees out of your other plants' blooms while they're trying to pollinate them!

Coneflowers

Coneflowers are an excellent choice for bees, as they provide both nectar and pollen. They're easy to grow and flower year-round, so you can enjoy their beauty all year long. Coneflowers make wonderful cut flowers that can be dried or used in arrangements. They also propagate quickly, so if you're looking for a good way to fill your garden with these beauties without spending hours in the sun every day tending them, this is it!

Fennel

Fennel is a perennial plant that grows to about 2 feet tall. It has pink flowers and feathery leaves, which make it look like an exotic feathery fern. The leaves have a licorice flavor that makes them attractive to bees. Fennel plants can be grown in your garden or container garden, but they also make great additions to bee-friendly landscaping plans as well!

Marjoram and oregano

Marjoram and oregano are both good for bees. Marjoram is used in cooking, while oregano is popular with the herb-growing community. Both plants have a strong flavor that can be quite strong if you're not careful—so again: use it sparingly!

Lavender

Lavender is a bee attractant and companion plant. It thrives in the shade, so it’s perfect for tall hedges, or ground cover where you want to keep your bees away from the flowers on their way to nectar. Lavender can also be used as a border shrub around any other plants that need extra protection from hungry insects like aphids and scale insects.

Lavender has many uses in gardens:

Milkweed

Milkweed is a good source of nectar and pollen. It's also attractive to bees, which can help you attract them to your garden or yard.

Penstemons

Penstemons are a good choice for bees and butterflies, but they're also great for hummingbirds. Their flowers can be white, pink or red. The plant grows best in full sun and dry soil conditions.

Sage

Sage is a perennial plant that is easy to grow and has many benefits for bees. Sage can be easily grown in your garden, and it makes an excellent companion plant for other plants such as tomatoes and peppers.

Sage also provides some extra protection against the cold winter months, which could be beneficial if you live in a colder climate or if you have bees that nest in your home.

These plants help bees

• Bees are essential to the ecosystem. They're a vital part of the food supply, pollinating plants and trees so that beeswax can be harvested for beekeeping products like mason jars or plastic hives. In fact, bees are responsible for about one-third of all crops grown in North America—including apples and blueberries—which means that if you want to keep those fruits on your plate this year (or next), you'll need to help them along by planting some good-bee friendly plants around your yard or garden!

• Beehives are important economically as well: each hive produces honey that sells at an average price per pound of $1/lb., with prices ranging from $3-$10/pint depending on location; it's worth noting that annual production numbers vary widely across different regions but still averages around several hundred gallons per hive annually (which isn't bad considering how much work goes into maintaining them).

Conclusion

If you are looking for a way to attract bees, try planting some of these plants. With their flowers and seeds, they will be able to fertilize the bees in your area. You can also add some more native plants to keep them healthy as well!