Grow a garden buzzing with bees all summer long.
Butterflies,bees, andflower-feeding birdsall have a sweet tooth.
They need pollen and nectar from flowers to power their flight and nourish offspring.
Credit: Ultra Violet Buddleia
Bees can see colors well and rely on vision to find nectar.
They are most attracted to blue, purple, violet,white, and yellow flowers.
Bees are responsible for pollinating much of the food we grow.
Credit: Ultra Violet Buddleia
Flowers provide food and habitat for these pollinators, whose populations are dwindling.
Planting flowers that attract them is an easy way to bring them to your yard.
Add colorful bee-friendly flowers likezinniasand flowering herbs ascompanion plantsto your vegetable garden.
The bees spread pollen around your vegetable plants, encouraging them to grow and increasing your harvest.
For a garden buzzing with bees all summer, here are 22 flowers that attract many native bee species.
From early spring to fall, it produces heavy orange flowers with yellow tips and a central cone.
It is drought-tolerant and prefers low water use.
Gaillardia thrives in full sun and average soil.
Deadhead to increase the plant’s life and encourage more blooms.
Also known asSpike Speedwell, use it in mass plantings or mixed with roses and perennials.
Its compact shape is ideal for containers.
Place them in full sun and add a layer of mulch to protect moisture.
‘Princess Dark Lavender’ Verbena
This verbena is a true garden performer with no breaking apart.
Vivid green foliage provides a backdrop for crowns of rich, pale purple blooms that form masses of color.
This beauty blooms from spring until fall.
Credit: Ultra Violet Buddleia
Provide full sun and well-drained soil.
Too much moisture can cause rot or decrease blooms.
Deadheading will keep them flowering into fall.
Azure SkiesTM Heliotrope
This low-growing, spreading perennial features light lavender flower clusters and light green leaves.
It is incredibly heat tolerant.
Use as ground cover or in planters where it will trail and make an excellent spiller plant.
Blooms open in the spring and re-bloom through summer.
This fast-growing plant is also drought-tolerant.
Give it partial shade in warmer climates and fertile, well-drained soil.
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These flowers are also a magnet for butterflies and hummingbirds.
Provide afternoon shade in warm climates.
Deadhead to prolong flowering.
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Its fragrant violet blooms draw butterflies and honeybees, and it reblooms well from late spring into fall.
Use it as an accent, in a border, or in a container.
Plant it in full sun and well-draining soil and prune in late fall or early spring.
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Crazy WhiteTM Echinacea
Large daisy-like flowers with drooping, pure petals surround a large orange button-shaped cone.
Blooms appear earlier than otherconeflowers.
This plant brings power blooming to the border garden, capable of over 100 flowers on a mature plant.
Credit: Ralph Anderson
It is fast-growing, low-maintenance, and tolerates drought, heat, and poor soil.
Clusters of orange, trumpet-shaped flowers bloom in spring.
They are great for light shade and even sunnier locations.
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With the added attraction ofhoneysuckle fragrance, these are a perfect addition to your garden.
Allium
Plant these bulbs in the fall for delightful purple flowers in spring.
While bees love to indulge by eating these ornamental onions, humans should not eat them.
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Blooms range in size from a few inches tall to dramatic 4-foot pom-poms.
The easy-to-grow flowers like full sun and soil that’s not wet.
They are drought-tolerant andattract pollinators.
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Beardtongue
The spikes on these perennials feature bell-shaped pink, purple, or white flowers.
Give themfull sunwith good drainage.
Most varieties grow up to 3 feet tall, blooming spring through summer.
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These late-bloomers show off red, purple, pink, or white flowers in mid to late summer.
They are a favorite for flower beds.
Give bee balm moist soil and partial to full sun.
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The perennial offers a good source of nectar late in the season.
Catmint
A perennial herb, catmint features lavender-blue flower clusters accented by gray-green leaves.
Bees love this fragrant, mounding plant thatspreads over timebut is not invasive.
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It is low-maintenance, tolerates drought, and resists disease.
Provide full sun and well-draining soil, and cut it back for control.
They are easy to grow and are relativelyheat- and drought-tolerant.
They are deer-resistant, but bees like them for their nectar and their centers filled with pollen.
Full sun helps them bloom.
It makes a lively border.
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Expect a colorful show from late spring through fall.
Plant in soil mixed with compost and water when dry.
Snapdragon
Snapdragons draw bumblebees to them by their scent.
Credit:Southern Living/Adrienne Legault
Bees kick off the closed flowers to pull up the nectar.
Give the plants plenty of sun exposure and rich soil.
Some varieties reach 6 feet tall.
Provide afternoon shade for asters grown in hot climates.
Lantana
Brightly colored lantana is a magnet for bees, who love its nectar.
Theyre easy to grow and tolerate almost any soil thats well-drained.
Grow in flower beds or containers.
Pentas
Also calledEgyptian starcluster, pentas has a steady display of blooms from spring through fall.
Bees love them for their nectar, and deer avoid them.
Zinnia
Grow these boldly colored flowers in almost any soil.
Purple Coneflower
Southern Living/Adrienne Legault
Tall purple daisy-like blooms continue from summer through fall.
Coneflower adapts to various soils and tolerates drought, adding color to borders and natural areas.
It resists deer, drought, salt, and humidity.
Flowers grown from seed will re-seed the garden for next year.
Bees and butterflies are attracted to the flowers, andbirds enjoy the seeds.
