Tis the season — restless and cold-weary — to dream up the summer’s homegrown delights. This year, consider adding a few nectar-rich items to your smorgasbord for neighborhood bees.
Bee Balm (Monarda citriodora)
Bee Balm
Used by Native Americans to brew a tea; replaced black tea during the Boston Tea Party. Citrus-flavored leaves can be minced and added to fruit and used for jellies. Beautiful purplish bracts, 24-30″ tall, aromatic and colorful in fall. Excellent bee forage plant. Hardy perennial in zones 5-9.
Available at SeedSavers
Bee’s Friend (Phacelia tanacetifolia)
Bee's Friend
Can be used to strongly attract bees to your garden. “Bienen-freund” in German translates as “bee’s friend.” Subtle lavender-blue flowers with curved spikes that are absolutely covered by many different species of bees. Excellent results when used as an annual cover crop. Approximately 16,000 seeds per ounce. Annual, 12–24″ tall.
Available at SeedSavers
Borage (Borago officinalis)
Borage
Bushy, fuzzy-leafed plants produce edible 1 in. blue flowers that bees love. Tasty in tea and salads, the flowers also make pretty cake decorations.
Available at SeedsofChange
Cleome, Spider Plant (Cleome hasslerana)
Cleome
Bees and hummingbirds love this flower! Multi- branched plant produces whorls of pale pink to purple flowers at the top of the stems. Flowers have long protruding stamens, giving a spidery appearance.
Available at SeedsofChange
What else?
What have you found attracts bees in the ‘hood?
mistress beek 
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