The best native flowers for bees are goldenrod, mountain mint, bee balm, coneflower, and native asters. Penn State and USDA research backs all six as top performers. Plant them in your yard and you give bees food from spring through the first frost of fall.
I grew all of these in a 10-by-15 foot bed last year and the results blew me away. When I first walked out on a warm July morning, I counted bumble bees the size of my thumb on one stem. Tiny green sweat bees and fuzzy leafcutter bees worked the next stem over. The range of bee sizes and shapes surprised me. I had no idea that many types lived in my area until I gave them the right native bee-friendly plants to visit.
The United States is home to more than 3,500 native bee species and they all have different needs. Some are generalist bees that visit many flower types to gather food. Others are specialists that can only gather pollen from one native plant family. A squash bee feeds only on squash flowers. A sunflower bee needs native sunflowers. If you skip native plants in your garden, these specialists have nowhere to eat and they fade away from your area.
Penn State's trial of 4,500 plant plugs across 85 species found that goldenrod and mountain mint attracted the most insect groups of any species tested. The USDA confirms that these 3,500+ native bee species help boost crop yields across the country. Your backyard matters for keeping these bees around. Even a small patch of the top native plants for bees makes a real dent in the local food supply for wild pollinators.
Spring Bloomers
- Willow (Salix): One of the first food sources for bees in early spring, giving your pollinators much-needed pollen after a long winter fast.
- Wild columbine (Aquilegia): Tubular red and yellow flowers that feed long-tongued bumble bees and draw in your first hummingbirds of the season.
- Redbud (Cercis): Small pink flowers packed along bare branches that offer your bees easy access to early nectar before leaves come in.
Summer Bloomers
- Bee balm (Monarda): Bright red or purple tubular flowers that bring bumble bees and hummingbirds right to your garden throughout your hottest months.
- Coneflower (Echinacea): Flat pink blooms with raised centers that let small bees land and feed with ease during your peak garden season.
- Mountain mint (Pycnanthemum): Dense white flower clusters that attract the widest range of bees, wasps, flies, and beetles to your beds.
Fall Bloomers
- Goldenrod (Solidago): The top pollinator plant in Penn State tests that feeds 50+ insect species on a single stem in your fall garden.
- Native asters (Symphyotrichum): Purple and white daisy-like flowers that give your bees their last big meal before winter sets in.
- Wild bergamot (Monarda fistulosa): Lavender blooms that extend your feeding season into late fall for bumble bees still out gathering stores.
Mix different flower shapes in your garden to serve different bee mouth sizes. Tubular flowers like bee balm feed long-tongued bees. Flat open blooms like coneflower feed short-tongued bees and beetles. Clustered heads like goldenrod serve everyone at once. This mix of shapes gives your whole local bee population a place to eat no matter what size they are or what type of mouth they carry.
Start with 3 to 5 of these species and add more each year as your budget allows. Plant them in clusters so your bees can find them fast. Your garden will build on itself as these perennials spread and fill your beds over time. Within two or three years you'll have a full patch of native bee-friendly plants. It will feed dozens of species and cost you almost nothing to keep going.
Read the full article: Best Native Pollinator Plants for Ecosystem Health
