I'm not sure if others have recommendations, though I'm about to go pick up a couple. I'd like to build a solid community of bees and butterflies around the area of the back deck. Though there's many bees and butterflies around the area already, same goes for hummingbirds, though Id like to add to this.

Going to pick up these couple today:

FIRST pic: Monarda didyma [Bee Balm]

SECOND pic: Perovskia atriplicifolia [Russian Sage]

Mints n sages

(These are google pics)

I find bees around my neck of the woods love poppies when they are in bloom!


And some of our 1st to Flower plants/weeds they love are
Onion Chives & Dandy lions. Some of the earliest blooms and a great source if early spring food. We don't spray or use any pesticides or weed killers on our property and let our dandelions grow for them.

SkunK

Nice! I never knew.

I still have some 'persian white' papaver somnif. seeds from a few years back. Maybe I need to plan to put a small bit of them somewhere. Such beautiful plants to just look at.

Also, never got to get those couple plants I mentioned . About an hour after posting a small storm rolled in and lasted off and on for several hours. It's almost the weekend, so I'm going to go hunting for them here in a couple days. Will snap a few pics once they're planted.

Maybe plant them all, those seeds might loose germ power over the years. I had a lot of datura seeds going bunk by waiting too long, I think that goes for other plants too, though I'm not a botanical expert head

Thankya Jees

Didn't realize that with p. somniferum seeds. Only have like 15 or so seeds left. Will find a spot this weekend for them and amend some of the soil on the property if need be and get'em planted.

^Speaking of Datura viability, I just had another Datura sprout out of nowhere in one of my San Pedro pots. The cactus has been in that pot for at least three years and there's no way that a seed could have dropped into the pot. Either it was dormant in the compost for 3+ years, or the elves put it there

Beeswise, I'm growing a couple of Agastache varieties this year - they smell very nice as well, they might end up in an absinthe - and the usual Salvia nemorosa, Nepeta sibirica and Ipomoea sp. I guess the bees should like the Datura when it comes to flower, too.

I have so many Devils Trumpets popping up everywhere in pots they flowered beside it's not even funny.

Bees are also said to like Datara plants. A YouTube Google of "Hallucinogenic Honeybees" shows and claims native locals harvest this Hallucinogenic honey for use. And it's said in the documentary to be active honey....
Honeybee Documentary:
https://youtu.be/O0nziQIh0dE




SkunK

Nice! Never had heard of agastache before. Just did a google search, and wow there's some beautiful species of those , especially the agastache hybrid 'blue fortune'.




Yeah I've heard of that documentary, though I still haven't watched it yet, looks really fascinating.

I used to have a cutting of a brugmansia that I had for a period, until my oversight eventually killed it. Miss having that on the back deck and being able to smell it from several feet away. Very lovely plant.

Well finally went shopping at this local nursery, very beautiful place. Ended up getting the perovskia atriplicifolia [russian sage] and monarda didyma [bee balm], though the sage is a dwarf [lacy blue]. The bee balm is awesome. When I was taking it out of the greenhouse to the register there were little what looked like tiny bees flying around it.

Both are perennial and the sage you can prune to about 12 inches or so before the first snow, so come spring it'll make nice, beautiful growth/flowers [or if you want to leave it high throughout the winter - which is fine, though you'll have to cut it after winter for solid growth.] The bee balm doesn't need touched. Both can take full sun and heavy rains. Much more beautiful in person, especially the sage, and I guess from reading about the russian sage it seems to go through color phases during the season. So pumped.

Also the citrus plant [citrosa geranium], produces a nice citronella/lemony type scent. Figured id just pot that to keep on the deck.

Soil in the ground was amended with fox farm happy frog, same goes for the citronella plant.

Gave them a nice soak.

ooooh pretty plants!

The one garden center close by is open for a few hours today, so I might go up there and take a look. Going to see if they have Asclepias turbosa [butterfly weed] and hunt around n' see if there's anything else worth getting.

The goal for right now is to build a nice traffic of active pollinators of butterflies and bees [not like there ain't tons of them around already ], just an overall active environment and beautiful to have them around.

I'd like to interplant some papaver somnif. between them eventually if I'm able to.

EDIT: Threw the rest of the p. somnif. seeds I had on the other side of the deck, mixed in some potting soil, gahh those seeds are soo tiny.

From my experience bees really like catmint/mint and salvia flowers.
Also onions are a great food for early in the year.

If you want to go for massive bee feeding rhododendron is the way to go but make sure you dont cause a poor apiarist trouble with mad honey.

So ended up planting a echinacea purpurea [coneflower 'salsa red'] and asclepias tuberosa [butterfly milkweed]. Both perennial and can take full sun and good amounts of water. It's been raining pretty good over the past few months, temperatures have been between 70-90f [highs].

Just thought I'd bump and share some friendly helper plants for the bees and butterflies that grow really close wildly around my place. And that flying saucer I grew myself. They've been quite busy today with pollinating. I'll upload some moar later on. Enjoy!

Beautiful flowers, especially the MG.

Some moar here for viewing pleasure.

Lovely flowers, CH! What species is the one I've reposted? I have the same in my garden but have no idea what it is, nor how it got there.

Edit: OK, so that didn't work by several methods!
It's the one in post #14 above, 4th photo down, purple flowers, three petals, plant has a reed-like appearance at first glance - but of course those flowers tell it different.

Yes, I was curious as to what was going on behind the scenes, so to speak.



Ah, yes. If by you really do mean the 14th post w/image that is in fact a domesticated Malus apple tree, and those are the fragrant flowers it produces. Typically not something you'll suddenly "find" in your back-door garden but nonetheless generates immense support for pollination for years to come. Apple trees have a high populous in these here parts. That one just happens to be quite near-by and gets lotsa bzz bzz. So I hope that clears up your question.

Also, two plants I've seem to forgotten about posting but grow abundantly in and around the plants are primrose - of which normally produces bright, yellow, temporary and brilliant blooms, as well as vinca major.. which has taken over the garden at the ground level. It seems to be getting out of hand at the moment and shading areas that typically don't need shade but produces pretty purple flowers that last for some time. Phalaris arundinacea(a true reed) is another plant that comes back every so year and spreads its yearly seedlings. Not exactly a 'stunning' plant grass but surely will have its uses if enough harvest is collected and research completed. Not something on my to-do list, really, as there are a number of other specimens that are easier to extract tryptamines and beta-carbolines.

OK, so this is what I meant!

(I've got a couple of apple trees too )

I've a patch of that too, purportedly a nootropic but quite poisonous. Keeps the ground elder at bay to some extent (which I see you also have).

Also there's lemon balm and yarrow - incidentally, the balm growing by/with the yarrow is much more fragrant! And they're another pair of plants that try to take over given half a chance.