Gardeners aren’t the only ones eager for those first spring blooms. After a long winter, bees are beginning to look for spring flowers to offer nourishment. If you win over these workers with nectar-rich flowers in the spring, you’ll be able to establish a good resident bee population – which means plenty of pollinators working to your advantage right through the season.
Honeybees tend to live off of food stored in the hive throughout the colder months, but bumblebees don’t share the practice, and so are likely to be the first bees you’ll see foraging in the spring. It’s not uncommon to find bumblebees sitting within crocus petals as the flowers unfurl on those still-cold spring mornings. Crocus flowers are big on both pollen and nectar content and rank high on the list of most pollinators. Mass plantings in a sunlit spot of your garden will keep your garden abuzz with bees all season.
When it comes to favorite flowers, bees tend to prefer the wilder varieties: think alliums and aconites. Grape hyacinths are another pollinator favorite, especially among furry-footed bee species, which are great pollinators. Flowering hellebore and early snowdrops are among the first flowers to brighten the garden, and they tend to pull in bees, as well. If you’re planting daffodils, consider the species varieties or naturalizing daffodils, which produce more pollen than the showier varieties.
Bees are known to favor flowers with white, yellow and blue-purple color range. Another factor to keep in mind is the flower’s fragrance- it’s a natural mechanism to attract pollinators- one you can use to your
advantage by selecting the more aromatic varieties. Different bee species have different tongue-length and so it’s best to include flowers of varied form and size, ensuring you’re offering sustenance to honeybees and bumble bees alike.
One of the best ways to attract bees: large-scale plantings that offer several pollen-producing flowers in one spot. Plus, a big collection of bountiful blooms will be sure to add a bright note to your yard!
