Bees' Corner advice

Hello all,

I have a bit of a sad corner behind our garden beds which I'd like to spruce up a bit.
I am thinking about creating a bees' corner, i.e. plants flowers that bees will like.

I was thinking about planting the following:

Lavender
Anise Hysop
Meadow Sage
Wild Valerian
Orpine/Live Forever
Goldenrot/Woundwort

I have to be honest, all I have done was to google "perennial plants for bees" and then picked the ones that I liked the look of.

Would you advise *against* any of the above? Maybe because they propagate like crazy and turn into pests? Or maybe you have better ideas for plants that attracts bees and look nice at the same time?

 

Hello again,

Since we popped to the garden centre and there were no replies we got some hardy perennials for the stone garden - not the ones mentioned above.

I'd still appreciate general advice on the plants above as I'm still keen on getting them for the garden.

Thanks.

 

@MrsTea sorry for late reply ...bad storm here so no internet until now
I think all of the above plants are super for bees and can highly recommend them apart from placing the Valerian somewhere where it can romp away happily as its the most prolific self seeder that you have chosen i think the rest will do very nicely for you in your Bee corner I must confess that i do grow Valerian and dont mind it seeding itself around its a small price to pay to have some many polinaters visiting ...mine are always smothered in all varieties of Bees bumble, leaf cutter,honey, carder,ladybirds and too many Butterfly and Moth varieties to list....but most magical is the Humming bird hawk moths that bless my garden
Nice links for advice
https://www.foe.co.uk/page/bee-cause
http://www.prinevillehoneybeehaven.com/pollinator-plants/
Plus you can purchase bee/butterfly seed mixes from any Wilkos or Morrisons store a packet is very cheap often only a £1.00 to sow direct

Please check out my photo albums for more ideas ALL my plants are grown for the buzzy bees ... you might see plants that you like in there too

 

Hello BeeHappy!

Thank you so much for your reply!

So better no Valerian then. I much rather not have anything that quite easily takes over the garden. At least for now .

The stone corner will now be turned into a stone garden with low plants, but I am already eyeing up a spot for the bees, to plants lots of nice flowers. We have two very sad corners that need sprucing up and having a stone garden in one and a bee haven in the other would be great!

Thanks for the links, too and I will have a look at your album to get even more inspiration!

 

How big is your corner Mrs Tea? My current favourite shrub is Teucrium fruticans:

https://www.dobbies.com/products/plants/teucrium/teucrium-fruticans/

It flowers in every month of the year so it's useful for the early bees and the late ones too. It likes well drained soil and a sunny position and can be clipped to size.

Also Verbena bonariensis which is a herbaceous perennial but it does get rather large.

 

@Redwing thanks for the info.... just clicked on yr link its a very pretty shrub can see why you like it Do you notice many Bees visiting it as i see from the blurb on the link it says
Attracts bees No
Attracts butterflies No
I'd like it for one of my sloping banks but im confused with the mixed info ...well mind you theres no change there i spend most of the time confused

 

Oh this is nice, Redwing! I will make a not of it too. I like the fact that it can be interwoven with other plants. Maybe we can work it a bit towards the hedge.

The corner is not very big, but I am sure we can keep it at a reasonable size.

Thank you Redwing!

 

You can't grow wrong with Sedums or Buddleias (butterfly bush).and they reckon that the poached egg plant (Limnanthes douglasii) is also good for bees.

As Redwing says letting us know the size and aspect of the piece of ground you want to put the plants in it will help people on here advise what sort of plants will be suitable.

 

It does attract bees. Mine has bumbles on it as I write this. I chose that link for the photo, obviously a bad choice of links!

 

How about some scabious @Mrs Tea, the bees love those

 

well with that confirmation ...i'm on me way to source one as we speak
@Redwing for enlightening me to your fabby shrub ...... isn't GC just great for this kinda hands on info...its gonna look superdooper tumbling down the bank

 

Does anyone have the mixed variety please ?, they look lovely i must have a few of them.

Edit, it looks like three different ones planted together.

http://www.spaldingbulb.co.uk/product/buddleia-butterfly-bush-mixed/

 

Just make sure you plant it in well drained soil in a fairly sunny, sheltered spot. It is a Mediterranean plant that I first saw it a year ago in Provence. Here is a picture taken in my garden last November.....not a great pic but if you look closely you can see a few flowers.

 

On the subject of bees it looks like i have a nest in my house wall, ive just noticed one going into the old waste pipe for the kitchen, there more than welcome i just hope the hole is plugged on the inside.

 

Well-drained is a bit of an issue with my garden... .. it's a shame because this plant is beautiful!