Bumblebees and their young eat only nectar and pollen, and so are entirely dependent on an adequate supply of the right kinds of flowers through the year. As wildflowers have become scarce in the countryside, gardens can provide a stronghold for bumblebees and other wildlife, if the right plants are grown.
Gardens cover more than 1 million hectares of Britain, far exceeding the combined area of all our nature reserves. However, at present a lot of gardens are not especially friendly to wildlife. Many are covered with paving or decking, or are populated with exotic or highly cultivated garden flowers that produce little or no pollen and nectar, or keep it hidden away from the bees. Pansies, petunias, busy-lizzies and begonias undoubtedly add a splash of colour, but years of selection for increasingly showy blooms have resulted in the flowers losing their original function (to attract pollinating insects).
Bumblebee species differ in the length of their tongues, and as a result prefer different flowers, so it's important to grow a range of different things. It is also essential to provide flowers throughout the bumblebee season from March to mid September.
The list below is a selection of plants that provide pollen and nectar throughout the bumblebee season. If everyone provided just one plant from each of the seasons shown in the table below, the future of our surviving bumblebee species would be a little more secure.
Flower time and suggested plants
March and April
Bluebell Bugle
Rosemary Pussy willow
Dead-nettle Flowering currant
Lungwort Winter flowering heather
May and June
Aquilegia Foxglove
Laburnum Comfrey
Geranium Lupin
Campanula Monkshood
Ceanothus Bird’s foot trefoil
Chives Thyme
Cotoneaster Everlasting pea
Honeysuckle Everlasting wallflower
Sage Viper’s bugloss
Catmint Lesser knapweed
July and August
Buddleia Lavender
Cornflower Rock-rose
Centaurea Scabious
Delphinium Marjoram
Escallonia Sea Holly
Hollyhock Sunflower
Heathers Phacelia tanacetifolia
Source: Bumblebee Conservation Trust