Favorite Bee Pollinator Plants for Summer

Wallace Gardens
by Wallace Gardens
We are all becoming aware of the importance of protecting our pollinators. Many plants depend upon bees and other insects to reproduce.
So while you are planning a garden, why not include some of these plants? They are not just beautiful and reliable landscape plants, but they will attract pollinators - bees in particular. And because bees are often drawn to a plant by fragrance, several of the plants listed below are also fragrant.
Tips for attracting bees: bees are not only attracted by the fragrance of a flower, but also by the color due to their keen color vision. In particular, bees are charmed by yellow, white, blue, pink, and purple flowers. Mass-planting one particular variety is sure to draw swarms of beneficial pollinators, so allow plenty of room. Designating one area of the garden to Bee Charming will not only attract more bees, but it will allow for easier care and maintenance of pollinator plants. By choosing different sizes, shapes, and colors of flowers for your pollinators, you'll increase the availability of plants throughout the year.
Pollination: Plants for Year-round Bee Forage
http://www.ent.uga.edu/bees/pollination/plants-year-round-forage.html
Coneflowers (Echinacea), perennial.
Chaste Tree 'Shoal Creek' (Vitex agnus-castus), landscape tree.
Bee Balm (Monarda), annual or perennial.
St. John's Wort (Hypericum), perennial.
Cosmos bipinnatus 'Sensation' (easily grown from seed), annual.
Black-Eyed Susan (Rudbeckia hirta), perennial.
Abelia 'Rose Creek' (many varieties to choose from), landscape shrub.
Hosta (choose large-leaf cultivars which produce large funnel-shaped flowers for the bees), perennial.
Rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis), herb perennial.
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  • Frankie Laney Frankie Laney on May 28, 2014
    My Leonotis leonurus (Lion's Tail) is hugely popular with the bees. It simply buzzes each year when it's in bloom. I'm in Oceanside, CA zone 1-b
  • Randy Randy on Jun 23, 2014
    I like the mounding treatment for the Vitex. Hard to tell what you have planted around it. Are those Nandina? I see what appears to be Lantana behind the rock on the right as well.
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