Why the calendar matters as much as the colour

A garden that looks glorious in July can still leave bees hungry. What matters far more than a single spectacular flush of colour is a larder that stays open from late winter right through to the first frosts. A honeybee colony builds steadily through spring, peaks in midsummer, then spends autumn packing away stores for winter. Bumblebee queens need early nectar to found their nests, and the new queens they raise need late nectar to fatten up before hibernation. Our solitary bees — and there are around 270 species of bee in Britain, the great majority of them solitary — often fly for only a few weeks each year, and those weeks are fixed. If the flowers they need aren't open when they emerge, they cannot simply wait for next month.

So the trick is to think in waves rather than in one grand display. Here's how to keep something worthwhile in flower in every month that bees are on the wing.

Late winter and early spring: feeding the queens

The first bumblebee queens usually appear on mild February days, and they are desperate. Anything flowering now is worth its weight in gold, particularly if it's planted in a sunny, sheltered spot where the air warms quickly.

• Early crocus — Crocus tommasinianus is the earliest and most generous, often out by mid-February. Plant the corms in gravelly grass or at the front of a border.
• Hellebores and lungwort (Pulmonaria) — both give nectar when little else dares to open.
• Willow — goat willow and pussy willow catkins are one of the single best early sources of pollen in the British countryside.
• Dandelions — leave them. A lawn full of dandelions in March is a feast, not a failure.
• Flowering currant, apple and plum blossom — all reliable, and the trees earn their keep twice over.

Early summer: the great build-up

Once the willow finishes and before the lavender opens, many gardens hit a lull. Beekeepers call it the June gap, and it can be genuinely tough for colonies. Fill it deliberately.

• Alliums and chives — the ornamental alliums hold their globes for weeks on end.
• Borage and comfrey — borage refills with nectar remarkably fast, so bees work it again and again in a single day.
• Clover — white clover in the lawn and red clover in the rough grass at the back. Both are superb.
• Phacelia — cheap seed, sown as a green manure, and one of the finest bee plants you can grow.
• Cranesbill geraniums, thyme and sage — undemanding, long-flowering and happy in most soils.

High summer: the long, warm days

This is where a garden can really earn its keep, because bee numbers are at their height and demand is enormous. Aim for a long succession rather than a single burst.

Lavender is the classic, and rightly so — but it needs sun, sharp drainage and a gravelly soil to do well. English lavender (Lavandula angustifolia) is the hardiest and the most attractive to bees; clip it lightly after flowering, but never cut back into the old, leafless wood. Plant it alongside catmint, which will flower its heart out from June until September if you shear it back after the first flush.

Add oregano and marjoram, viper's bugloss with its brilliant blue spires, hyssop, bergamot and the taller salvias. If you have a damp corner, purple loosestrife will draw in bees from right across the neighbourhood.

Autumn: the ivy that saves the year

By September many gardeners are tidying up, just when bees need them most. Common ivy, Hedera helix, flowers from late September into November and is arguably the single most important autumn nectar plant in Britain. A mature ivy-covered wall or tree can hum audibly on a warm October afternoon. Please don't cut it back in autumn — wait until February, after the berries have fed the birds.

Alongside it, plant for the season:

• Sedum (Hylotelephium spectabile) — flat pink heads that butterflies and bees adore.
• Michaelmas daisies — the old single-flowered kinds are far better than the frilly modern doubles.
• Single-flowered dahlias, cosmos and helenium — open centres mean easy access.
• Verbena bonariensis — airy, tall and still going strong when everything else has finished.

Planting it well: small choices that make a big difference

Bees are practical creatures. They follow the food, and a few simple habits will multiply the value of whatever you grow.

• Plant in clumps, not singletons. A metre-wide drift of lavender is worth ten scattered plants, because bees can work it efficiently without wasting energy flying between them.
• Choose single flowers. Doubles and highly bred varieties often have little or no nectar, and the petals block access anyway.
• Give them warmth and shelter. A south-facing border backed by a hedge or wall will be visited long after colder parts of the garden are abandoned.
• Skip the pesticides. Even a single spray can undo a season's good work.
• Leave a little mess. Seedheads, hollow stems, undisturbed ground and a patch of long grass are all nesting and overwintering habitat.

Start with one good early plant, one reliable midsummer stalwart and one late-flowering ivy or sedum, and you'll have done more for your local bees than most gardens manage in a lifetime.