How to Attract Bees to Your Garden (2024)

• Use organic-approved pesticides. Avoid pesticide use around plants that attract bees, and read the label on your products to learn the safest ways to use them. When possible, use non-toxic insecticides, pest barriers or repellents.
• Grow bee-friendly plants. Bees need nectar, which has sugars for energy, and pollen, a “food” rich in proteins and fats, so choose plants that provide these. Keep the bee buffet stocked throughout the year by planting flowers, trees or shrubs that bloom in different seasons; for example, try crocus and hyacinths in spring, zinnias in summer and asters in autumn. Native plants and wildflowers are also excellent. See our list below for suggestions.
• Grow colorful flowers. Bees are especially fond of blue, white, yellow, purple and violet blooms. Plant in clumps, so they’re easier for bees to spot, and grow blossoms with different shapes. There are thousands of species of bees with differently shaped tongues, so this helps attract a variety. Go for single flowers; it’s harder for bees to get into doubled blossoms.
• Shrink your lawn. Lawns don’t have to be sterile carpets of grass. Try leaving part of yours natural, or plant shrubs and trees. Bonus: you get a break from all that mowing.
• Offer water. Bees need drinking water. They’ll visit a shallow birdbath or other water feature, or sip drops of water from sprinklers orirrigation systemsthat you use in your garden.
• Add a bee box. Although honeybees live in hives, many wild bees take shelter in dead trees or branches, weedy hedgerows, abandoned animal burrows or underground nests, so consider leaving a portion of your yard untended for them. Mason bees, which are especially helpful for pollinating fruit trees, use holes in dead wood left by beetles and other insects. They’ll also use a bee box you can put up in the yard or garden.
• Plant a patch of wildflowers. Bees are drawn to native plants and wildflowers, which often produce much more pollen and nectar than modern, hybridized flowers.

Planting these flowers will attract butterflies, birds and other pollinators, but they’re great for luring bees that can help pollinate fruit trees and orchards. Look for a wildflower seed mix formulated for your region of the country; it will probably include many of these flowers.

For Southern Gardens:

• Purple coneflower, cornflower, clover, thistle, poppy, foxglove, aster, goldenrod, milkweed, Joe Pye weed, wild bergamot, African marigold, Black-eyed Susan, zinnia, lupine, echinacea, agastache, liatris, gaillardia, sunflower, rudbeckia, daisy.

For Northeastern Gardens:

• Purple coneflower, cornflower, coreopsis, foxglove, sunflower, poppy, Black-eyed Susan, aster, azalea, rhododendron, bee balm, goldenrod, hawthorn, lobelia, lupine, milkweed, wild indigo, wild mint, sunflower, turtlehead, wild geranium.

For Western Gardens:

• Liatris, penstemon, gaillardia, California poppy, corn poppy, lupine, coreopsis, cleome, Clarkia amoena (Farewell-to-Spring), bluehead or blue field gilia, nemophila, California bluebell, sage, sunflower, Mexican hat, Shasta daisy, African daisy.

For Gulf Coast Gardens:

• Purple coneflower, Shasta daisy, coreopsis, cosmos, larkspur, cornflower, California poppy, primose.

For Pacific Northwest Gardens:

• Columbine, cornflower, Shasta daisy, coreopsis, larkspur, California poppy, lupine, corn poppy, Black-eyed Susan.

For Texas and Oklahoma Gardens:

• Sage, Black-eyed Susan, Texas bluebonnet, cornflower, coreopsis, cosmos, Prairie coneflower, primrose.

For Midwestern Gardens:

• Black-eyed Susan, New England aster, coreopsis, purple coneflower, Indian blanket, lupine, primrose, corn poppy.

Trees and Shrubs for Bees:

• Tulip poplar, orange, sourwood, broom, alder, blackthorn, holly, rhododendron, willow, apple, pear, most fruit trees, blackberries, raspberries, blueberries, oak, maple, roses, sumac, crabapple.