of floral units with short flowers, including late-flowering sedum, Astrantia, different angelicas and Cenolophium denudatum are also a magnet for bees.
How to attract more bees to your garden By Hannah Stephenson, PA As gardeners, we want to see as much beneficial wildlife in our outside space as possible – and bees provide us with not only the feelings of a healthy garden but also hope that we’ve more chance of a good harvest of edibles thanks to their presence. On the run-up to World Bee Day (May 20), an initiative to raise awareness on the essential role bees and other pollinators play in keeping people and the planet healthy, there are a few simple things you can do to encourage them into your garden.
For a list of pollinator-friendly plants and download its plants for pollinators list, visit rhs.org.uk.
Think about what you plant in containers
If you’re going for brightly coloured bedding found in garden centres and DIY shops, like pelargonium, busy lizzies, pansies and petunias, you may not be doing much for your bees, as extensive selective breeding has resulted in some flowers losing nectar. You can make bee-friendly containers using many other plants. There’s a Cosmos Apollo series with shorter stems which look great in containers, as do vibrant yellow dwarf rudbeckias, while single dahlias (which have flowers which
Plant bee-friendly flowers
There are over 270 species of bee in the UK and good planting is essential to get different types into your garden. Honeybees, for example, have short tongues so are able to access flowers that are open such as those daisy-like types from the aster family, as well as, alliums, clovers and herbs including marjoram. Bumblebees have longer tongues and like plants including foxgloves, honeysuckle, bluebells, borage, aquilegia and lavender.
Umbelliferous plants which have an umbrella with a mass
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