Queen Bee Garden – bees, flowers and a garden they love

A flower garden with bees and a beehive in warm morning light — A garden full of flowers is a kingdom for bees.

Every bee colony has a queen – but every queen depends on flowers. Queen Bee Garden is a friendly guide to the bees that visit our gardens and to the plants that keep them fed. Learn how a hive works, why bumblebees fly on chilly days, where solitary bees nest, and how to plant a bed that blooms from early spring to late autumn.

In flower right now

These bee plants usually flower this month. Switch to the Southern Hemisphere if you live south of the equator.

In flower this month

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Garden tools

Plan, explore and play – everything works right here in your browser, and your garden plan is saved on your device.

Bloom CalendarWhat flowers for bees, month by month.

Garden PlannerPlant a bed and close the hungry gaps.

Bee, Wasp or Hoverfly?Ten quick questions, a crown for each.

Honey MathsHow many flowers fill one jar?

Meet the bees

The Queen Bee – the mother of the whole colony and how she is made.
Honeybees – honey, wax and the famous waggle dance.
Bumblebees – furry, hardy and brilliant at buzz pollination.
Solitary Bees – most bee species live alone. Here is how to help them.
Pollination – why flowers and bees need each other.

A colourful wildflower meadow with bees and butterflies — More flowers, more bees – it really is that simple.

Royal facts

Bee speciesThere are around 20,000 known species of bees in the world.
Living aloneMost of them are solitary bees, not honeybees or bumblebees.
One queenA honeybee colony normally has just one queen and tens of thousands of workers in summer.
Your gardenA mix of flowers from early spring to late autumn helps bees more than any single plant.