Apiary yard at Living Hope Farm CSA in Harleysville Pa Beekeeper Keith Snyder

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Accepting preorders for wintered  over nucleus honey bee colonies .  $210.00 donation , includes a cardboard wax coated transport hive , 5 frames of honey bees , honey and brood. Donation due at time of pickup.

While planting flowers is the best thing for pollinators, there are still other things they need and other important considerations that will make your garden especially pollinator friendly.
Plant plants that provide nectar and pollen. Nectar provides carbohydrates and pollen provides protein.
Provide a water source. Be sure to clean containers often and keep water fresh and filled. A shallow dish with flat rocks for pollinators to land on is easy to create and appreciated by bees and butterflies alike.

Plant some Early-Blooming, Cold-Hardy, Pollinator Friendly Varieties

Learn more , a few suggestions on some Bee Friendly flowers you can plant are shown below!

Gold Heart Bleeding Heart
What: A darling of the shade garden, bleeding hearts were loved by Grandma and are just as popular today. Poetically and aptly named, these plants are heavy with pollen-rich flowers that seem to drip from the stems. This variety’s vivid golden foliage can be used for contrast and to brighten darker shade gardens. Heart-shaped pink flowers dangle from long wands. Zone: 3 – 9
Attracts: Native bees, honeybees

Trevi Fountain Lungwort
What: Lungwort blossoms change from pink or red to blue as the flowers age. Younger pink or red flowers have more pollen and nectar which signals to pollinators that dinner is served while blue blooms are not going to be as rewarding. Cool, huh?  Bees, its primary pollinators, see very well into the ultraviolet and in that range of light, the color change is dramatic.
Attracts: Bees, night moths



Early Scout Fernleaf Peony
What: The redolent scent of peonies is a “come hither” lure for pollinators letting them know there’s yummy pollen and sweet nectar hidden inside those pretty petals. This one’s among earliest hybrid peonies to bloom! The open petals with huge clusters of pollen-rich, golden stamens make for easy pickings. Zone: 3 – 8
Attracts: Bees, moths, hummingbirds



Variegated Jacob’s Ladder
What: Many pollinators swarm for blooms with bell-shaped flowers that hint at nectar inside. Jacob’s Ladder produces sweet little blue blooms where little bees fit just right. This variety, Brise d’Anjou is particularly interesting with cream and green striped variegation that lends a pop of light to the shadier spots in the garden. Zone: 4 – 8
Attracts: Bees, hummingbirds, hoverflies

Miss Kim Korean Lilac
What: Who can resist a lilac shrub? Not most gardeners, and certainly not bees. It’s like planting perfume. Just remember they don’t like wet feet, and they set buds in summer, so only prune right after flowering is complete. Zone: 4 – 8
Attracts: Honeybees, leafcutter bees, hummingbirds, and butterflies including Two-tailed Swallowtail and Milbert’s Tortoiseshell.



Genti White Bellflower
What: Compact flowering plants like this bellflower can have scores of bees working the plant at the same time. Clusters of tightly grouped, pure white, bell-shaped flowers bloom profusely  through the summer. Remember, large blocks of the one plant are more attractive to pollinators than ‘one each of everything,’ so plant this one in a mass of many. Zone: 4 – 8
Attracts: Hummingbirds, bees, butterflies.


Blue Ribbons Bush Clematis
What: Hummingbirds love tubular flowers, especially pendant-shaped blooms that nod downward, as this helps stop nectar from being diluted by rain. This new bush-type clematis has indigo blue flowers that are larger and more prolific than similar varieties. After blooming, silvery seed heads develop, lasting into early winter, feasted on by migrating birds. Zone: 3 – 9
Attracts: Hummingbirds, hoverflies, bees.


Pink Beauty Potentilla
What: Plants with a long flowering period are especially valuable to bees. During bad weather they cannot leave their hive which can result in completely missing a short flowering period. This sweet little shrub (only 3-ft. tall and wide–so useful!) blooms from spring through fall and it’s flat, open petals makes it easy to drink up. Zone: 3 – 7.
Attracts: Honeybees, native bees, moths, hoverflies.

Happy Gardening!