I rent, so I got a limited space to work with. That said, I counted 12 bees buzzing my 3 anise hyssop plants (Two are 2 years old in the ground, 1 in a container from seed this year) and my (Monarda Citriodora) lemon bee balm! This is the most I have seen in my yard so far!
Walking conservation areas around here I’ve noticed they show extreme preference toward common milkweed and butterfly weed, and somewhat to nearby mountain mint. I have seen a few buzzing my salvia as well.
What other native species have you seen bees go crazy for?
Bee balm. They fuckin love it so it’s aptly named haha
The mason bees really enjoy my Texas lantana (Lantana urticoides).
Anything in the Lamiaceae.
I’ve seen a bunch hanging around my Prarie Onions. They have pretty blooms too
Key resource for optimizing pollinator habitats - https://www.nwf.org/Garden-for-Wildlife/About/Native-Plants/keystone-plants-by-ecoregion. Pick your region and pick some of the keystone herbaceous perennials for bees, then find species you like that are native or near-native to your region in those genera.
Native Allium has had a lot of success for me; I’ve seen a variety of bumble bee, wasps, carpenter bees, and cuckoo bees on them this year. My Monardas and coneflowers are always very popular. I’ve seen some decent activity on my Gaillardias too. Unfortunately I haven’t seen much activity on my non-cultivar sunflowers but the little activity I have seen has included some really interesting Ichneumonoid wasps.
Zone 5b northern plainsIf you’re in the US, I recommend aster. They bloom in fall and bees love them. I have bush growing in my yard and last fall it was completely covered with bees every day until winter. The bushes aren’t large but they don’t really looking like much until fall.
Native to which country are you talking about? Bees love lavender, maybe that’s native where you are?
Ceanothus in bloom is the most popular I’ve had with the local bees.
They really seemed enthusiastic about my downy wood mint (Blephilia ciliata) this spring, especially the bumbles. Zone 7b, southeast US.
Seems like absolutely everyone (bees, wasps, beetles) loves goldenrod when it’s in bloom later in the year here in the northern US.
You’ve probably already seen it (the next post in this community) by now but if you’re in North America, here’s a guide to keystone native plants for bees and butterflies: https://www.nwf.org/Garden-for-Wildlife/About/Native-Plants/keystone-plants-by-ecoregion
If you’re not, I suggest dropping that info, since “native” is relative.
