Favorite Bee Flowers

A honey bee visits 50 to 100 flowers during a collection trip. A bee travels an average of 1,600 round trips in order to produce one ounce of honey; up to 6 miles per trip. I'm exhausted just thinking about all that traveling! To keep my bees happy, I continue to add plants to my garden that offer them pollen sources throughout the year.

According to "The Hive and the Honey Bee" by Dadant and Sons, the following are favorite honeybee flowers: Alfalfa; Asters; Basil; Blackberry; Button Bush; Catnip; Chickweed; Chicory; Red and White Clover; Coneflower; Dandelion; Goldenrod; Honeysuckle; Locust; Milkweed; (yikes) Poison Ivy and Poison Oak; Privet: Redbud; Sage;  Sumac; Thyme; Willow and Yellow Rocket.

In terms of fruits and vegetables, honeybees are also fond of Cantaloupe; Cucumber; Gourds: Melon; Pumpkin; Soybeans: Lima Beans; Squash. Apples; Apricot; Cherry; Peach; Plums and (photo) Pears.