Bee Guide February

01 Feb, 2024

Bee-friendly Plants In Flower

While we are taking shelter from the summer’s extreme heat this month, the bees are working tirelessly to fill their stores for winter.


Check out these fantastic bee and pollinator-friendly plants this month:

Fennel

A hardy perennial herb that comes from the carrot family, fennel is easy to grow and loved by bees and butterflies alike.

Coleus

An absolutely gorgeous annual that can be grown both indoors and outside in the garden in the shade. The brilliant coloured leaves consisting of reds, pinks, purples and greens attract the humans, and their little blue flowers attract the bees!

Plumbago - Instore only

A sweet, five-petalled flowering shrub that the bees absolutely love, especially the flowers of the blue plumbago. Prized for its extensive flowering time, high pest and disease resistance and drought tolerance.

Gazanias

Aka African Daisies. Another drought-tolerant plant that flowers over an extended period of time, the gazania is a hardy perennial that produces brilliant red, orange, yellow, white and pink mixed daisy-like flowers. Can also be used as ground cover.

Salvia

Flowering like crazy, the salvias have always been a bee favourite. Easy to grow, salvias may need a little more watering but are well worth having in the garden.

Bee-friendly Plants Ready For Planting

Remember to keep the water on your newly planted bee and pollinator-friendly plants, mulch to lock in the moisture and add SaturAid granules to plants in pots or dry areas.

Sunflower

It’s not too late to plant sunflowers in your garden! Get in quick to enjoy sun-faced flowers that can range from 30cm to 6m tall!

Cosmos

Sweet ornamental plants on delicate stems that produce gorgeous, soft flowers with an array of brightly coloured petals. Great for encouraging both bees and butterflies into your garden.

Nasturtium

This popular, hardy vine can also be used as a ground cover. Grown for its edible flowers and leaves, the nasturtium’s brightly coloured flower will also be enjoyed by our fuzzy bee friends.

Lacebark - Instore only

Endemic to New Zealand, lacebark (aka New Zealand Mellow) is great when used for screening, producing clusters of white flowers in spring. Plus the Kereru enjoy nibbling the new leaves in spring too!

Five-Finger plant - Instore only

Native to New Zealand, the Five Finger (or Pseudopanax Arboreus) is commonly found in both North and South Island forests, producing bunches of tiny yellow to red flowers.

Monthly Bee Tip

If you have a small patch of garden on your property that doesn’t get much attention, try throwing a small handful of pollinators-blend seed mix over it and water well. Too many seeds in your hand? Mix it with sand in your hand so you can control the amount of seed that is distributed.

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