Plants for Honeybees

What Do Honeybees Like?
That was our central question as we combed through many books and online plant lists, consulted various authorities, and asked nurseries what they considered to be their top honeybee plants. We didn’t want plants that honeybees simply visit; we wanted to select plants that honeybees clearly love. We compiled the names of hundreds of plants into a massive Excel file and then began our selection process for The Melissa Garden.

Which Botanicals Best Nourish Honeybees?
An original question was: Which botanicals best nourish honeybees? If, for example, thyme is a strong anti-microbial – and thyme honey clearly has these properties, would thyme be an important plant for honeybee health? And, if thymes, what if we were to expand beyond culinary thymes and include species thymes of the Mediterranean? We learned that honeybees favor pollen from heirloom roses, especially the rugosas. We consulted with authorities, Kate with Dr. Gordon Frankie at U.C. Berkeley whom she has worked with on pollinator gardens, and Priscilla with Dr. Vetaley Stashenko, an apiculturist, naturopath and apitherapist, formerly of the Ukraine and now living in the U.S.

Click here for Dr. Stashenko’s list of honeybee plants.

Against this backdrop of understanding honeybee forage throughout the season in coastal Northern California, the dance began of planning a visually beautiful garden, with final plant selections made by our garden designer, Kate Frey.

Above all, we learned that there are no absolutes. Terroir is an important concept in regard to honeybee forage. The locale is captured in the nectar and honey, and in the pollen. Plants express themselves totally based on where they are planted, the fertility of the ground, and the gardening methods used. Honeybees, from the human perspective, are mercurial. While they might go for pollen from crocuses in one garden in the early spring, they may completely ignore them in another garden if they find botanicals they like better. They are always attuned to finding the best pollen and nectar sources available. The question on relative nourishment from different botanicals remains, and we invite input.

Current Plant List for the Melissa Garden

These are our core plants that we have added as of the winter of 2007/2008. Please check back as we will be constantly adding to this list, annotating it with our observations, and adding images of honeybee visits to these flowers as they come into season. The Melissa Garden is comprised of two acres within a forty-acre ranch that is lush with mixed growth, native vegetation. There is an existing orchard of 20 trees, and many bee-friendly plants in the existing landscape around the house.

Symbols Key:
B	=	Biennial. Grows the first year, the 2nd year flowers, often gloriously, then dies.
N	=	Native to California.
	=	Bee Favorite
	=	Indicates many of the genus or other cultivars are good habitat plants
HA	=	Hardy Annual. These are cool weather lovers. In CA they are planted in the fall to grow over the winter and bloom in the spring. When hot weather comes they die.
HHA	=	Half-Hardy Annuals. Can take some frost.
TA	=	Tender Annual. These are frost sensitive annuals. They are planted at the last frost date to grow over the summer. Some live the whole summer, others live for a more limited period, particularly if conditions are harsh, such as hot and dry.

Annuals

 Bidens ferulifolia Bidens Two-feet wide, one-foot tall annual with delicate foliage that is covered with cheerful, yellow daisy flowers almost all year in a frost-free climate. Easy to grow, full sun, drought resistant. In fairly frost free areas may live 1 year or more.

 Borago officinalis Borage Blue-flowered herb that prefers cool growing conditions. Blooms in spring or early summer.

  Cleome hasslerana Spider flower 

  Cosmos bipinnatus Cosmos, Sensation 

  Cosmos sulphureus Cosmos, sulphur Orange cosmos to four-feet covered in small, burnt red-orange flowers, blooms slightly later and longer than the pink cosmos. Easy.

  Helianthus annuus Sunflower Single, large flowers or multi-headed. Short bloom season mid-summer. Varieties like Japanese, Italian and others have small, multiple blooms from midsummer until late summer. Some very good varieties are native.

    Phacelia tanacetifolia Phacelia Late spring blooming annual to 4 feet. Fragrant, light blue flowers.

   Phacelia bolanderi Phacelia Phacelia to 14 inches with soft blue flowers in hanging bells. Likes shade and some summer water.

   Eschscholzia californica California poppy 

  Papaver rhoeas Shirley poppy 

  Papaver ssp. Greek poppy A rhoeas type poppy with scarlet blooms with black blotches at base of petals. To 16 inches.

   Madia elegans Tarweed Three to four-foot tall, late summer blooming annual with lots of bright yellow daisy flowers. Has sticky foliage with a distinctive resinous smell. Grows in adverse conditions in full sun with no irrigation. Great plant.

   Hemezonia congesta ssp. Tarweed Summer blooming

Biennials

Angelica stricta purpurea Angelica 

Echium wildpretti Tower of Jewels Six to ten-feet. First year this Echium is a large rosette of leaves, second year the plant sends up a fantastic blue flowering spike to seven-feet or more in late spring/summer, then dies.

Perennials

 Achillea filipendula  

 Achillea ‘Sonoma Coast’ yarrow 

 Agastache aurantiaca Apricot Sunrise 

Agastache foeniculum Licorice mint 

 Agastache ‘Tutti Frutti’  

 Agastache rupestris  

  Angelica hendersonii Angelica 

  Asclepias fascicularis Narrow leaf milkweed Gray-foliaged plants with narrow to wide leaves from one to five feet tall, with large rounded umbels of white or pink flowers that are often fragrant. Dies to ground in winter. Blooms early summer to midsummer. Very drought resistant. Main food plant for Monarch butterfly caterpillars. Can be prone to orange aphids late in season.

 Aster lateriflorus Prince Clump forming aster to 2X2 with dark purplish, green foliage with an abundance of small pink/white flowers with reddish centers. Late summer bloomer.

 Aster lateriflorus Lady In Black Aster that forms colonies of dark purple, upright stems and has tiny, white blush pink flowers. Late summer bloomer.

 Aster Little Carlow 

 Ballota pseudodictamnus All Hallows Green Low, Mediterranean perennial similar to horehound. Species has gray, aromatic, felt-like leaves. 'All Hallows Green' has striking, rough green leaves. Blooms spring/summer.

 Calamentha nepetoides  

 Caryopteris incana Bluebeard 3X5 perennial/shrub with intense dark purple flowers that encircle the stems. Blooms late summer.

 Centaurea gymnocarpa Velvet centaurea 

 Echinops bannaticus ‘Blue Glow’ Globe Thistle 2X2. Perennial with globes of metallic blue blooms. Like moderate water and good drainage.

  Epilobium California fuchsia selections and cultivars ‘Catalina,’ ‘Chaparral Silver,’ ‘Schieffelins Choice,’ many other good ones

  Eriogonum fascicularis California buckwheat Evergreen, narrow, gray leaved, Buckwheat to two by two-feet with white flowers. Very drought resistant; long summer bloomer.

  Eriogonum grande rubescens California buckwheat 

  Eriogonum giganteum California buckwheat 

 Eryngium tripartitum Blue sea holly 

  Grindelia camporum Gum Plant 

  Helenium puberulum Helenium 

 Helenium autumnale Sneezeweed Long, late summer flowering Midwest native with daisy-like flowers with prominent disc florets and ray florets in autumn shades of orange/yellow red/brown. From three to five-feet. Clump forming and dies to ground in winter. Likes moisture.

 Helianthus hirsutus Hairy sunflower To six-feet that bloom in the fall. Many small flowers.

 Helianthus giganteus Giant Sunflower 

 Gaillardia ‘Oranges and Lemons’ Blanket flower 

 Gaura lindheimeri Gaura 

 Lantana camara ‘Radiation’ Lantana for butterflies 

 Lavender ‘Goodwin Creek Gray,’ ‘Grosso’ 

 Lavandula stoechas Spanish lavender 

 Linaria purpurea Linaria From southern Europe. 3 ft, narrow perennial with purplish foliage and violet/lavender flowers in summer. Will reseed slightly.

 Marrubium cyllemeum Horehound 

Melissa officinalis Lemon balm 

  Mimulus hybrids Sticky monkey flower 

 Monardella villosa ‘Russian River’ Coyote Mint Rangy perennial with rounded, aromatic leaves to about one- foot, and fuzzy heads of mauve flowers. Likes dry conditions. Stems are brittle.

 Nepeta faassini Catmint Clump-forming perennial with spreading stems with ovate leaves to one-foot high and two-feet wide; blue, mint-like flowers. Blooms spring to midsummer.

 Origanum ‘Betty Rollins‘ ornamental oregano

 Origanum ‘Herenhausen’ ornamental oregano

 Origanum ‘Kent Beauty’ ornamental oregano

 Origanum heraclitoticum Greek oregano 

  Pentsemon heterophyllus ’Margarita BOP’ Blue bedder pentstemon 

 Papaver atlanticum Morocco poppy 

 Perovskia atriplicifolia Russian sage Upright sub-shrub with gray-white leaves and tall spikes of violet-blue flowers.

  Rosemarinus officinalis Rosemary Upright or prostrate, evergreen aromatic plants with needle-like leaves. Blooms early spring through late summer. Drought resistant.

 Rudbeckia ‘Goldstrum’ Rudbeckia 

  Salvia apiana White Sage 

  Savia brandegei Brandegee Sage 

  Salvia clevelandi ‘Alan Chickering’ 

  Salvia clevelandi ‘Winifred Gilman’ 

  ‘Indigo Spires’ 

  Salvia mellifera Black sage 

 Salvia mellisodora Grape scented sage 

 Salvia ‘Purple Rain’ 

  Salvia sonomensis Sonoma Sage 

 Salvia uliginosa Bog sage 

 Scabiosa ochroleuca, Sedum telephium ’Autumn Joy’ Sedum Pale yellow scabiosa flowers on 1-2 ' carefree stems and blue/green foliage. Very easy and floriferous. Avg/low water and sun.

  Solidago californica California goldenrod Late blooming perennial with wispy, bright yellow panicle blooms to about two to three-feet. Can be slightly invasive.

 Solidago rugosa ‘Fireworks’ eastern goldenrod 

 Scuttulaia suffretescens Pink Texas skullcap 

  Teucrium chamaedrys Germander Evergreen perennial to 1.5-feet with glossy, small leaves and mauve to deep purple flowers. Can be cut back in winter; blooms summer.

 Teucrium cussoni ‘Majoricum’ 

 Thymus vulgaris ‘Dot Wells’ Common thyme Common thyme to 1x2 with mauve flowers in late spring/early summer. Dependable. Needs good drainage. Sun.

 Thymus serpyllum ‘Red Creeping’ red thyme 

Verbena bonariensis  

 Verbascum olympicum  Biennial that has a striking rosette of silvery, felt-like leaves the first year, than a spike of bright yellow flowers to four to five-feet the second year. Reseeds nicely.

Shrubs

 Arbutus unedo Strawberry tree Evergreen shrub to eight-feet with coarse, deep green leaves and muscular, deep brown exfoliating bark. Blooms January/February.

  Arctostaphylos Manzanita Any good

  Ceanothus arboreus  Any good

 Ceanothus ‘Glorie de Versailles‘ 4X6 hybrid deciduous Ceanothus (Ceanothus x delileanus) with pale blue, fragrant blooms mid-summer and broad, oval leaves. Likes moderate moisture, well drained soil.

  Ceanothus gloriosus ‘Anchor Bay’ Low, creeping California lilac from coastal bluffs and pine forest of Marin, Sonoma and Mendocino counties. Has leathery, distinctly toothed leaves. Good, garden tolerant selection to 3 feet with deep, blue flowers. Spreads to 6 ft

  Ceanothus hearstiorum Hearst ceanothus California lilac from Hearst castle area on central coast. 6'' to 1' high and 6 plus ft spread. Narrow leaves have crinkled texture. Low water use.

  Cercis occidentalis Western redbud 

Euonymus fortunei Euonymus 

  Heteromeles arbutifolia Toyon 

  Mahonia aquifolium ‘compacta’ 

  Rhamnus californica Coffee berry Dense, evergreen shrub to eight-feet with dull green oval leaves and small gold flowers; late spring/early summer; insects love.

  Rhus ovata Sugar bush 

  Philadelphus lewesii Mock orange 

 Vitex agnus-castus Chaste tree 

(updated August 2010)

Honeybee plants for an ornamental garden (Dr. Vetaley Stashenko).