Late winter treats for bumblebees

I’ve now seen my first bumblebee of the year! Perhaps if 95% of my daylight hours in winter weren’t sat in front of a computer screen or incarcerated in meetings I’d have seen more (don't worry,  I’m not bitter about my job, but there’ve been some glorious sunny days down here this week which tug mercilessly at the heartstrings).

The bee paused on a mahonia in flower in a neighbour's garden before bulleting up into the sky in that amazing way they have – seemingly so cumbersome and devoid of aerodynamics and yet so nippy when they want.

These very early bumblebees are emerging queens, usually but not always the Buff-tailed Bumblebee Bombus terrestris, who are looking for nectar as a post-hibernation pick-me-up. It is a great reminder to check if you have the flowers they need at this lean time of year.

My top choices are:

* Winter-flowering heathers, such as Erica carnea and Erica x darleyensis (left - and you don't need a full-on acid soil for them, unlike most heathers)

* Winter-flowering honeysuckles Lonicera fragrantissima or x purpusii

* Hellebores - also known as Christmas Rose (Helleborus niger) and Lenten Rose (Helleborus orientalis) and cultivars (right). (The only problem is that the bees disappear up into the nodding flowers so photographing them requires lying on your belly on wet ground for ages waiting for a bee to come by - as you can see, success still awaits me on that front.)

* Viburnum tinus (a really easy to grow shrub)

* And, if pushed, some crocuses and snowdrops, although bees don;t always go a bundle for them.

Of course what I'd really love to know now is if you have some winter flowering plants that are bumblebee magnets for you. If you've seen a nectaring bumblebee, I WANT TO KNOW :-)