Our garden is beginning to stir, green shoots are pushing their way through the cold soil. My goal is to have something in flower for bees to visit for as much of the year as possible. On warmer days our bees are out flying and I’m happy to report that we have a few blooms ready for them in the garden.

Winter Aconites

Snowdrops

At the National Honey Show last year I picked up this book

and I’m so glad that I did. The first part of the book explains why it is important to plant for bees, about different types of bees and why it important that we take care of them. The main part is the part that I find most useful. It has a directory of the best plants for bees. Each plant has a clear photograph of the flower and a detailed description. It also tells you exactly which sort of bees benefit from each plant and whether they can forage for nectar and/or pollen from the flowers. So, I can see that my snowdrops are yielding pollen and a bit of nectar for honey bees, and my Winter Aconites are also yielding pollen and nectar for honey bees as well as buff-tailed bumblebees.
I’ll definitely be referring to this book when I’m next planning some planting.