Which Hedge Plants Are Best For Bees?

All native plants, which make up our conservation hedge mixes, are great for bees, especially blackthorn and hazel, which open their flowers and catkins before most other trees and shrubs.

The other native classics are Hawthorn, Crab Apple, Dog Rose, Common Dogwood & Red Dogwood, Field Maple, Guelder Rose, Spindle, Sweet Briar Rose or Wayfaring Tree.

By mixing several varieties together (five is a good number), you ensure a good spread of flowering times.

Honey bee hives do not really hibernate; they are active on warm winter days, so plants that flower in cold weather are extra important.

Other great hedge plants for bees include:

• Viburnum tinus Eve Price (Winter flowering)
• Rosemary (Summer flowering)
• Forsythia Spectablis (Winter flowering)
• King Edward VII Currant (Early-Spring flowering)

These plants are too small or low growing to be a privacy hedge, but they are perfect for low ornamental hedging / edging.

• Lavender (Summer flowering)
• Sweet Box - Sarcococca confusa (Mid-Winter flowering)