First of all please check out Victory Gardens for Bees by Lori Weidenhammer available through the library. This is a great resource covering most of our pollinating bees, including the honey bee. I have developed a presentation on this subject to be delivered at a future COBKA monthly meeting. It is based on my own personal experience in my garden and my Master Gardener based knowledge of what plants work well in Central Oregon. This spring and summer please visit the OSU Demonstration Garden at the OSU Extension Office at the fairgrounds in Redmond to see real life bee plants in action.
In the meantime, here's my list of bee friendly Central Oregon plants and trees:
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Borage
Black-eyed Susan
Calendula
California Poppy
Catmint
Coneflower
Cornflower
Desert Sweet
Gaura
Crocus
Lacy Phacelia
Lavender
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Lemon Queen Sunflower
Lewis Flax
Milkweed
Purple Prairie Clover
Rocky Mt. Bee Plant
Rocky Mt. Penstemon
Russian Sage
Salvia
Sea Holly
Veronica Speedwell
Wild Bee Balm
Mountain Hollyhock
Yarrow
Zinnias |
Chokecherry
Flowering Crabapple
Apple
Pear
Linden
Serviceberry
Vine Maple |
If I were to only have one plant in my garden for bees it would be Borage. Its flowers refresh their nectar every five minutes during the day. The only caution is this plant can spread easily so care must be taken to contain it. Raised beds work great for that. I am sure others have favorite plants that work as well. Have fun planting.
