Urbanization, pollution, and climate change are causing biodiversity to decline at an alarming rate. To counter this, it’s essential to actively stimulate biodiversity. One effective step is to ensure flowers are available for as long a period as possible. In addition, providing shelter and nesting materials is important. This can be achieved by planting a diverse range of vegetation in species, leaf types, and heights. Species selection is therefore key—and we’re here to help.
Food for Bees
Food comes primarily in two forms: pollen and nectar. The goal is to make these available over the longest possible period during the flight season. The only way to achieve this is through diverse planting. A common misconception is that only large, showy flowers, such as fruit blossoms or magnolias, provide food. In reality, many more plant species are suitable. Even wind-pollinated species like willow or hazel produce valuable pollen. Although easier for insects to collect when plants are moist, it’s still an important food source.
And it’s not just honeybees that benefit. Many other insects thrive on diverse planting: hoverflies, wild bees, bumblebees, butterflies and moths, beetles, and true bugs. Both pollen and nectar are essential, depending on the species. A well-chosen planting scheme should therefore include a variety of flower types and blooming times. This ensures a steady food supply over time—a concept known as a bloom sequence.
Accessible Flowers for Bees
Not every flower form is accessible to every insect. Tubular flowers, such as those of the butterfly bush (Buddleja), hide their pollen and nectar deep within, making them accessible only to butterflies with long tongues. Other insects, such as hoverflies and bees, rely more on native plants or those with easily accessible food, such as many bulb species.
Early in the year, the first bumblebees warm themselves in the spring sun and soon begin flying low to the ground, sheltered from cold winds, shopping from crocus to daffodil and landing in islands of pollen. Some flowers, like salvias with their deep-set stamens, may seem out of reach. But bumblebees are resourceful—they crawl to the base of the flower, nibble a small hole, and gain access to the pollen anyway.
Trees for a Well-Planned Bloom Sequence
Certain trees offer abundant food with easily accessible pollen and nectar. Here’s a selection, in order of bloom time:
Willow (Salix): Blooms early in February alongside snowdrops and crocuses. Produces mainly pollen. A hardy pioneer, tolerant of sun and moist soils, and a vital landscape element in floodplains and as pollarded trees.
Flowering cherry (Prunus): Blooms after willow, coinciding with daffodils and early tulips. For pollinators, single-flowered varieties are essential, as double-flowered types produce no nectar or pollen. Excellent options include Prunus × yedoensis, Prunus avium, and Prunus ‘The Bride’.
Crab apple (Malus): Numerous varieties, such as Malus toringo, Malus ‘Evereste’, and Malus ‘Professor Sprenger’, offer sweet nectar highly attractive to bees. Honeybees are particularly efficient at pollinating apple trees, and cross-pollination between varieties boosts fruit set.
Bee bee tree (Tetradium daniellii): In bloom by late July and early August, producing showy, fragrant, cream-colored panicles. A valuable food source for honeybees, wild bees, and other insects. Its red-violet seed capsules are eye-catching and followed by black seeds, which also feed birds.
Linden (Tilia): Species like Tilia henryana are beloved for their fragrant flowers, rich in nectar and pollen, providing bees with carbohydrates for energy and honey production. Their flowers are easily accessible and also attract moths and beetles at night.
Pagoda tree (Styphnolobium japonicum): As the name suggests, it is an excellent nectar producer for honeybees. With its compound leaves, it’s also heat-tolerant and climate-adaptive. Its pruned branches release a sweet, bean-like scent due to pyrazines, adding to its unique character.
Sichuan pepper (Zanthoxylum simulans): Not only benefits from bee pollination but also provides antimicrobial substances in its leaves, bark, and fruit, which bees use to protect their hives. It even produces sanshool, a numbing compound that may reduce stinging frequency in bees.
Seven-son flower (Heptacodium miconioides): Known for its clusters of small, fragrant white flowers blooming late in the season (August–September), when other sources may be scarce. Its bright red fruit persists into autumn, extending its ornamental and ecological value.
