There are some flowers which, wherever I see them, I know I will find some insect enjoying itself there.
Right now, one of these reliable wildlife plants is the glorious bushy subshrub from the herb garden, Rosemary Rosmarinus officinalis.
Down here in the south, it has been flowering happily since the end of February, and the Honeybees seem delighted with that fact! I realise that further north it may only just be coming into flower (if you managed to see if safely through the winter that is for Rosemary can be a little sniffy when it comes to wet, cold winters).
Two weeks ago, I popped over to the Isle of Wight, where I visited the Ventnor Botanical Gardens, and the Rosemarys there were radiant. Some, like the one below, carried flowers of such a deep mauve blue that they were intense.
Notice how the pollen baskets on the rear legs of this Honeybee are empty - Rosemary is clearly a plant where nectar is their primary harvest.
As Rosemary grows old, it tends to sprawl somewhat - but don't we all! I love the way it is lounging so seductively under this tree in this garden, again taken just a couple of weeks ago and yet to come into full flower. It reminds me so of the maquis and garrigue, those hot, herby, dry habitats in the Mediterranean where everything grows to about waist high and no more.
So if you like helping Honeybees, and fancy a bit of fragrant seasoning for your lamb dinners or pot pourri, choose a sheltered, warm spot in your garden with free-draining soil and I guarantee* success.
(*Now there's confidence for you!)
Hi Deborah. Yes, I'd agree - lavender would probably be in my top ten flowers for bees, and not too bad for butterflies either (usually Meadow Browns, Gatekeepers, whites and Common Blues). Too early for most of them yet, but have you had any butterflies visit?
I am growing Lavender in tubs this seems to be popular with bees.
You certainly can, Rose Marsh! Growing well (which it doesn;t do on my chalk), I'd have Hyssop in my top ten for butterflies :-)
Can I put in a good word for Hyssop as well? It's grown (from seed) just for the insects and they all love it!