Bee- and pollinator-friendly plants

Bees most readily visit lavender, phacelia, catmint, sage, borage, dandelion, heather, and flowering trees and shrubs like lime and butterfly bush. What matters is single, open flowers with accessible nectar and pollen, not double ornamental varieties. In the atlas they're gathered under the "nectar-rich" trait.

Choose plants so that something is in bloom from early spring to late autumn — from crocus and willow, through lavender and phacelia in summer, to asters and ivy in autumn. Plant species in larger clumps, as bees prefer to visit dense patches of one flower. Avoid spraying during flowering.

Yes — the same nectar-rich flowers also draw bumblebees, butterflies, hoverflies and other wild pollinators. That benefits the whole garden, since many of these insects control pests. Honeybees and wild bees are usually not aggressive while foraging and rarely sting without provocation.