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Plants to feed bees and other pollinators

Posted on: 29/06/2022

Citizens are becoming aware of the various issues of biodiversity in general, and the role of bees and all pollinators in particular. Numerous articles and news broadcasts are devoted to this theme and to the interest of honey plants*.

It is our turn to stick our oar in by proposing these 5 points of reference to guide you in the choice of a plant palette favorable to pollinators.

* We name honey plants, those whose flowers produce nectar and pollen in great quantity and good quality, essential sources for the food (and the reproduction) of pollinators.

Here are 5 principles that we suggest you adopt:

1) No single dish, in the garden, prefer a varied buffet!
2) A restaurant open most of the year
3) Pollen on every floor, forming paths
4) Shapes, colors, fragrance to please all pollinators!
5) The flower festival at night too!

We explain them to you below, with some examples, among the many varieties of the SAPHO catalog.

1- Plant a diversity of flower species which offers a variety of pollens

No single dish in the garden, prefer the varied buffet!

Diervilla Splendens
Honey Surprise 'DIWIBRU02'

The Bee Institute has demonstrated the importance of a varied food for the health of bees, the vitality of young workers but also the ability to resist parasites (eg Nosema). Indeed, flower pollen has different compositions depending on the species of the plant: protein, lipid, sugar and amino acid content. Thus, if for humans, we advocate "5 fruits and vegetables per day" for a balanced diet, for bees the good advice could be "four pollens per day". 
Read more about it


Long live diversity!

2- Offer in your garden, flowers to be foraged at least from March to October

A restaurant open most of the year!

Some insects live only one season, others spend the winter idle or warm. They need to "stock up" for the winter.
As soon as the sun rises, the bees start flying again. The earliest bee species are active from 8-10°C, which is very early: February, March...
Conversely, other species (of butterflies for example) are capable of migrating thousands of kilometers at the end of the summer (this is the case of the famous Canadian Monarchs, which travel 5,000 km to spend the winter in Mexico). They need to refuel before traveling.

In any case, this means that you have to plan a very wide flowering period to offer pollen and nectar during the whole activity period. To do this, you can combine plants in your garden that bloom at different times and complement each other.  Some examples below:


Early bloomers

Such as winter heathers, Japanese quince, forsysthia, flowering apple trees, resistant elms

Particularly long or remontant blooms

Such as abelia, sage, lavender, wig trees, ... but we could also mention hibiscus, lavatera ...

Flowers for the end of summer and/or autumn

Flowers that will still be present in September, October such as single-flowered hibiscus, caryopteris, lagerstroemia, paniculate Hydrangea, ... and for the fall-winter the carneous heathers.

3- Don't forget about trees, flowering shrubs and climbing plants

Pollen on all floors, forming paths

The literature tends to focus on summer bedding plants. We have just seen that the spread in the season is essential. We can consider that the spread in space is also important. Think of the herbaceous layer but also of the shrub and tree layer, which can also contribute to the continuity of the green network from one space to another. (You can also talk to your neighbors about this!)

Also note: Many species of trees or shrubs with catkins are an important source of pollen early in the season, at a time when herbaceous flowers are few.

4- Shapes, colors, fragrance to please all pollinators!

All styles are in nature!

Each species of pollinator has its own preferences in terms of flowers. This is not the story of the fox and the stork, but rather the story of the bee, the pea and the butterfly! So let's vary the shapes!
Some examples:

Flowers with single petals have in general more stamens and therefore more pollen.  The cut-out, star-like shapes are well perceived by the bees' vision. If the color red is not perceived as such, many red flowers have attractive patterns that reflect UV light to attract the eye. So don't deprive yourself of any color in the garden!

See the fascinating documentary 'l'abominable mystère des fleurs' on France 5

The scent improves the location once the bee is nearby. Fragrant flowers are a bonus for pollinators (and for the pleasure of all garden inhabitants).

5- Day and night flowers

Make the flower party at night too!

As you know, some bumblebees see well at dusk, and many butterflies forage at night.  So let's also think about the flowers that stay open at night.  

Some examples :

In short, one piece of advice!

Let's cultivate plant diversity to preserve the biodiversity of bees and pollinators!

The bee: charismatic leader of pollinators

Bees have their own world day declared by the United Nations: May 20 each year.

In France, we also have the "flowers for bees" week, in mid-June, a campaign federated by Val'hor, relayed by professionals. The objective is to raise awareness among French people of the importance of acting in favor of pollinators, and to install melliferous plants in gardens.

In communication, it is always convenient to have a symbol, a mascot! But did you know that behind the "bees" are hidden hundreds of thousands of pollinating species!

Pollinator biodiversity is immense but in worrying decline

It is estimated that there are about 200,000 pollinating animal species, mainly insects:

  • Hymenoptera (bees, bumblebees, wasps,...)
  • Diptera (flies, hoverflies...)
  • Lepidoptera (butterflies) of which 95% are night species.
  • Coleoptera (beetles, weevils,...)


It also includes some birds and even bats (in tropical environments)

The Ministry of Ecological Transition devotes a beautiful page of presentation to pollinating insects with sublime photos: to discover here

This biological diversity is in decline worldwide, both in quantitative and qualitative terms: species diversity. According to the United Nations, pollinators have an extinction rate that is now 100 to 1000 times higher than normal. About 35% of invertebrate pollinators, particularly bees and butterflies, are now threatened with extinction. Source: United Nations

The FAO estimates that nearly 35% of the world's agricultural production depends on pollinators.

It's time to act! Let's plant!

At SAPHO, the criteria of abundant, melliferous and long-lasting flowers are part of our selection grid for good nature plants!

Additional information sources

Thanks to Juliette AUBERT, student in L3 Landscape at the Agro institute of Angers, and in internship at SAPHO, for her work of bibliographical research, which was useful for the drafting of this article. You will find in her powerpoint many bibliographical references

On the occasion of World Bees Day on 20 May 2022, the BNF (Bibliothèque Nationale de France) has published a very rich thematic bibliography, which you can discover here

We also greatly appreciated the web conference "Trees for bees" hosted by Yves Darricau, organized by the SNHF, February 28, 2022

Posted in: Plant palette

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