BLOOMS FOR LATE SUMMER
These top plants will keep your plot looking fresh and colourful as well as provide food for our pollinating pals
10 top plants that busy bees will feast on for the rest of the year
We often hear about the ‘hungry gap’, when veg plots are short of things to harvest in late spring when most edible crops are still in their early stages. But what about the ‘bee gap’ in late summer? If the garden is only stocked with spring and early summer bloomers, it can be a barren place for bees now, especially as many of those flowers have now turned to fruits and seeds.
Bumblebees are actively foraging from March to October, still on the look out for nectar-rich flowers for the rest of summer and early autumn, with queens preparing for hibernation. The plants we’ve picked are not only valuable food sources for bees but also brighten up the garden for weeks to come, keeping it fresh and colourful.
A lot of these late flowers have the added benefit of providing winter food for birds if you leave them to form seed heads. Before you know it, an afternoon spent in the garden can be once again accompanied with that finest of soundtracks – the gentle hum of bees at work!