Here is a simple truth that will transform your beekeeping: the single most important thing you can do for your bees — more important than treating for mites, more important than choosing the right hive, more important than anything you will read in any chapter of this book — is to ensure they have enough to eat. And "enough" does not mean barely scraping by. It means abundance. It means a landscape so lush with bloom that your bees never have to choose between feeding brood and storing surplus, because there is plenty for both.
You cannot control the weather. You cannot control your neighbors' pesticide use. But you can plant. You can dig holes in the ground and put things in them that will flower, and flower reliably, season after season. You can turn your yard, your field, your rooftop, your community garden into a fueling station for pollinators. And in doing so, you will produce more honey, lose fewer colonies, and contribute to an ecosystem that desperately needs your help.
Bees need two things from flowers: nectar (carbohydrates — their fuel) and pollen (protein and fat — their food for raising brood). Not all flowers provide both. Some are nectar-rich but pollen-poor. Some produce copious pollen but almost no nectar. The ideal bee garden offers a mix.
They also need continuity. A garden that erupts in spectacular bloom for three weeks in June and then offers nothing for the rest of the season is worse than useless — it trains the colony to expect abundance that vanishes. What bees need is a succession of bloom from the earliest days of spring through the last warm days of autumn. No gaps. No "dearth periods" where foragers return empty and the colony begins consuming its stores.
This is the concept of the bloom calendar: a planned sequence of flowering plants that ensures something is always in bloom within your bees' forage range. It is the single most valuable tool in a bee-friendly gardener's arsenal, and building one for your specific region and climate is the project we undertake in this chapter.
Think of the year in five phases, each with its own forage needs:
Phase 1: Late Winter / Early Spring (February – March). The colony is awakening. The queen has begun laying. Brood is being raised. Pollen is desperately needed for brood food. Nectar is needed to fuel the adult bees and warm the cluster. This is the most critical and most neglected phase of the bloom calendar.
Plant: Crocuses, snowdrops, pussy willows, winter aconite, hellebores, early-blooming fruit trees (plum, cherry). Willows are particularly valuable — they produce massive quantities of both pollen and nectar just when bees need it most.
Phase 2: Spring (April – May). The nectar flow begins in earnest. Colony populations are exploding. This is the season of abundance — dandelions, fruit tree blossoms, clovers beginning, redbud, black locust, tulip poplar. If you are lucky enough to have established trees in your forage area, spring takes care of itself. If not, plant fruit trees. A single apple tree in full bloom can feed a colony for a week.
Plant: Apple, pear, cherry, and plum trees. Crabapples. Redbuds. Black locust (if regionally appropriate). Dandelions — yes, dandelions. Stop killing them. They are the most important early spring forage in most of North America.
Phase 3: Early Summer (June – July). The main nectar flow. Clovers, basswood, wildflowers, sumac, privet, catalpa. This is when the supers fill. In many regions, this is also when the "June gap" occurs — a brief dearth between spring tree bloom and summer wildflower bloom. Filling this gap is one of the most impactful things a bee gardener can do.
Plant: White and crimson clover (sow in fall for spring establishment). Lavender. Catmint. Borage — the ultimate bee plant, blooming continuously from June until frost and producing nectar that refills every two minutes. Bee balm (Monarda). Anise hyssop. Phacelia.
Phase 4: Late Summer (August – September). The flow is waning. Goldenrod and aster carry the load in most regions, but in areas where these are scarce — or where drought has withered them — late summer can be a dangerous dearth. Colonies that run short of stores now will not survive winter.
Plant: Goldenrod (if it doesn't grow wild in your area). Asters. Sunflowers. Sedum (stonecrop) — a magnificent late-season nectar source often overlooked. Joe-Pye weed. Ironweed. Late-blooming clovers (alsike, crimson).
Phase 5: Autumn (October – November). The last chance to top off winter stores. In most regions, little blooms this late, but a few plants can make the difference. Witch hazel. Late asters. In mild climates, rosemary and Mexican bush sage bloom well into November.
Plant: Witch hazel (blooms October–November). Hardy asters. In Zones 7+: rosemary, Mexican sage, autumn-flowering Camellia sasanqua.
If you could plant only twenty things for your bees, these would be the twenty. They are ranked by a combination of nectar production, pollen production, bloom duration, and ease of cultivation.
1. White clover (Trifolium repens). The backbone of American beekeeping. Grows in sun, tolerates mowing, fixes nitrogen, blooms May–September. Seed an area of lawn and stop mowing it. That's it. That's the whole project.
2. Borage (Borago officinalis). Annual. Electric-blue flowers that refill with nectar every two minutes. Blooms June–frost. Self-seeds aggressively. Bees will practically live on borage when it's available.
3. Lavender (Lavandula spp.). Perennial in Zones 5–9. Blooms June–August. Produces light, fragrant honey. The French build entire apiaries around lavender fields.
4. Bee balm / Monarda (Monarda didyma and M. fistulosa). Native perennial. Blooms July–August. Gorgeous red, pink, or purple flowers. Both nectar and pollen.
5. Anise hyssop (Agastache foeniculum). Native perennial. Blooms July–September. Prodigious nectar producer. The honey has a licorice note.
6. Sunflowers (Helianthus annuus). Annual. Plant successive rounds for continuous bloom. Pollen-rich. Some cultivars are pollenless (bred for cut flowers) — avoid these.
7. Pussy willow / native willows (Salix spp.). Trees/shrubs. Bloom February–April. The earliest and most important pollen source in most regions. Plant near water.
8. Linden / basswood (Tilia americana). Tree. Blooms late June–July. Enormous nectar producer. One mature tree can support an entire apiary during bloom. Plant one now; your grandchildren's bees will thank you.
9. Black locust (Robinia pseudoacacia). Tree. Blooms May–June. Produces the coveted "acacia" honey. Fast-growing. Fixes nitrogen.
10. Crabapple (Malus spp.). Tree. Blooms April–May. Reliable, heavy bloom. Both nectar and pollen. Beautiful in the landscape.
11. Goldenrod (Solidago spp.). Native perennial. Blooms August–October. The single most important fall nectar source. Does NOT cause allergies (that's ragweed).
12. Catmint (Nepeta spp.). Perennial. Blooms May–September. Drought-tolerant, deer-resistant, covered in bees from dawn to dusk.
13. Phacelia (Phacelia tanacetifolia). Annual. Blooms 6–8 weeks after sowing. Can be succession-planted. One of the highest nectar-per-acre plants known.
14. Sedum / stonecrop (Hylotelephium spectabile). Perennial. Blooms August–October. Late-season nectar bonanza. Tough, drought-tolerant, virtually unkillable.
15. Buckwheat (Fagopyrum esculentum). Annual. Blooms 4–6 weeks after planting. Can be succession-sown. Cover crop that feeds bees and improves soil.
16. Crimson clover (Trifolium incarnatum). Annual. Sow in fall, blooms the following spring. Stunning red flowers. Heavy nectar. Winter cover crop.
17. Joe-Pye weed (Eutrochium purpureum). Native perennial. Blooms July–September. Tall, stately, beloved by all pollinators.
18. Purple coneflower (Echinacea purpurea). Native perennial. Blooms June–August. More pollen than nectar, but a reliable midsummer source.
19. Rosemary (Salvia rosmarinus). Perennial in Zones 7+. Blooms winter–spring. Invaluable in mild climates for early forage.
20. Asters (Symphyotrichum spp.). Native perennial. Blooms September–November. The last flowers of the year in most regions. Essential for fall stores.
What you plant depends on where you live. Here are recommendations for major beekeeping regions:
Northeast (Zones 4–6): Willows for early spring. Fruit trees and dandelions for spring. Clovers and basswood for summer. Goldenrod and asters for fall. Fill the June gap with catmint, borage, and bee balm. Consider phacelia as a cover crop.
Southeast (Zones 7–9): You have a longer season but a hotter, drier summer. Privet and tulip poplar carry spring. Plant crimson clover as a winter cover crop. Sourwood and basswood for midsummer. Goldenrod and aster for fall. Rosemary and Camellia sasanqua extend the season into winter. Avoid the temptation to rely entirely on wild forage — Southern droughts can devastate natural bloom.
Midwest (Zones 4–6): Clover country. Seed white and sweet clover wherever you can. Fruit trees and willows for spring. Basswood if you can wait twenty years for the tree to mature. Sunflowers and buckwheat as summer annuals. Goldenrod will take care of fall — it grows everywhere in the Midwest.
Mountain West (Zones 4–7): Short season, intense bloom. Alfalfa and sweet clover dominate commercial forage. For the backyard, plant willows, crabapples, lavender (in protected sites), borage, anise hyssop, and blanket flower (Gaillardia). Water is your limiting factor — choose drought-tolerant species.
Pacific Northwest (Zones 7–9): Mild, wet winters and dry summers create a unique forage pattern. Willows and fruit trees dominate spring. Blackberry (wild and cultivated) is the backbone of summer forage — seriously, blackberry honey is the Pacific Northwest's signature. Fireweed in clearcuts and burned areas. Plant borage, phacelia, and lavender for supplemental summer forage.
Desert Southwest (Zones 8–10): Mesquite, palo verde, and catclaw acacia carry spring. Cactus bloom (prickly pear, saguaro) provides a nectar pulse. Summer is brutal — little blooms in the extreme heat. Fall rains bring a second bloom of desert wildflowers. Plant desert-adapted bee plants: desert willow, autumn sage, Mexican honeysuckle.
You don't need acres. A thoughtfully planted quarter-acre yard can make a meaningful difference in your colonies' health. Here are design principles:
Plant in masses. A single lavender plant is a decoration. Twenty lavender plants are a forage source. Bees are more efficient when they can work patches of the same flower, and they are more likely to find a planting if it is large enough to generate a scent plume they can detect from a distance.
Choose single flowers over doubles. Breeding has given us gorgeous double-flowered roses, dahlias, and zinnias — and robbed them of accessible nectar and pollen. The extra petals replace the reproductive parts of the flower. Always choose single-flowered cultivars for bee gardens.
Plant native when possible. Native plants and native bees have been paired together for millennia. Native plants generally produce more accessible nectar and pollen for native pollinators. Honeybees are generalists and will visit almost anything, but a garden rich in native plants supports the entire pollinator community — bumblebees, mason bees, sweat bees, butterflies, and hoverflies.
Provide water. Bees need water daily — for cooling the hive, diluting honey, and feeding brood. A shallow dish with pebbles (so bees can land without drowning) placed near your garden will keep your bees — and your neighbors' — from seeking water in swimming pools and dog bowls.
Avoid pesticides. This should go without saying, but it must be said: never spray anything on or near plants that bees visit. This includes "organic" pesticides like pyrethrin, which is devastating to bees. If you must treat for pests, do it in the evening when bees are not foraging, and never spray open flowers.
Here is the practical exercise. Get a sheet of paper (or a spreadsheet — the modern beekeeper's journal). Create twelve columns, one for each month. Now walk your property and your neighborhood. List every flowering plant you can identify, and mark the months it blooms. You are looking for gaps — months where nothing is flowering, or where the only flowers are species that offer little to bees.
Fill those gaps. If March is bare, plant willows and crocuses. If August is thin, plant sunflowers and anise hyssop. If November has nothing, plant witch hazel. Over three or four years, you can build a landscape where something is always blooming, always feeding, always fueling those sixty thousand lives that depend on your stewardship.
This is the gift of planting for your bees. It costs little. It asks only patience and a willingness to dig. And it repays you — in honey, in thriving colonies, in the quiet satisfaction of watching a bee descend upon a flower you planted with her in mind — a thousand times over.
"The best time to plant a tree for your bees was twenty years ago. The second-best time is this afternoon."
— Every beekeeper who ever planted a linden