One of the questions I'm most asked about is "What types of plants should I grow to attract Bumblebees?" ...
Bumblebees need somewhere to nest, forage, mate and hibernate and most gardens are able to provide some or all of these things, but the most important element in attracting bees of all types to your garden is growing the plants they love.
At the beginning of the season, from early to mid February, when bumblebees first start to appear, it is usually the queens you’ll see emerging from their winter hibernation. So it is essential that they find the early spring flowers such as spring flowering heathers, crocuses, primroses, aubrieta, comfrey, poppies, any flowering currants and vetches and peas are also very useful. They will also gather pollen from hazels and willow catkins and early flowering fruit trees, which are all opening right now. This year has been particularly good, because we have had such a sunny start to our spring.
Another idea is to grow a dense patch of heather, which will serve as a shelter in times when the weather changes suddenly. If your garden has a stone wall, for example, let the heather flop over the wall. The stone absorbs heat during the day and gives it out at night, so in the morning that patch is always full of slow moving queens with just enough energy to climb up the stems to drink their breakfast from the flowers.
In the early days of the nest it is estimated that a queen bumblebee may have to visit as many as 6000 flowers per day in order to get enough nectar to maintain the heat needed to brood her eggs. And during every foraging trip the brood will cool down, so the trips should be short. This is why it is vital that the nest is located close to the flowers they love, and hopefully they'll be in your garden. But don't worry about being stung; bumblebees are particularly laid-back and docile. It is very rare for a bumblbee to sting someone.
Once a queen bee has her nest established she will need an ongoing supply of plants to visit throughout the summer and autumn months, which I’ll cover later this week.
For more inspiration on the types of flowers bees love, I find this site also shows a picture of each; making it much easier to decide what you’d like from a long list of possible choices - http://bit.ly/16qi3a
To Follow: Spring to Early Summer Plant ideas.
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