Shrubs that bees and other pollinators like to visit when in flower. Each plant page gives the flowering time.
71 plants from our verified database, by name. A plant is only listed when the data this list relies on is not in doubt. How our data is made
Callicarpa bodinieri 2 m × 1.7 m after 10 years
Beautyberry is grown not for its small lilac summer flowers but for the clusters of glossy violet berries that appear in autumn and stay on the bare…
Kolkwitzia amabilis 3 m × 3 m after 10 years
A large deciduous shrub with arching branches that are smothered in pale pink, yellow-throated bell flowers in late spring. It is very undemanding:…
Sambucus nigra 4 m × 3.5 m after 10 years
A native, very fast-growing, spreading shrub or small tree that carries large, creamy white, strongly scented flower plates from late spring and…
Prunus spinosa 3 m × 2.5 m after 10 years
A native, very thorny shrub that is covered in white blossom in early spring before the leaves, and one of the best wildlife hedges: impenetrable,…
Caryopteris × clandonensis 90 cm × 1 m after 10 years
A low, mounded deciduous shrub with aromatic grey-green leaves that covers itself in a haze of blue flowers in late summer and early autumn, when…
Viburnum × bodnantense 2.5 m × 1.5 m after 10 years
An upright deciduous shrub 2 to 3 m tall that carries strongly scented pink flowers on bare branches from late autumn to early spring, when little…
Spiraea × vanhouttei 2 m × 2.5 m after 10 years
An old, proven flowering shrub: in May its arching branches are covered along their whole length with small white flower clusters, as if dusted with…
Viburnum × burkwoodii 1.8 m × 1.8 m after 10 years
A dense, semi-evergreen shrub whose white flower clusters open from pink buds in April and carry a sweet scent a long way, so plant it near a terrace,…
Buddleja davidii 3 m × 3 m after 10 years
Its fragrant summer flowers attract butterflies and work well at the back of a sunny border. Give it freely draining soil, prune in spring, and remove…
Amelanchier canadensis 3 m × 2 m after 10 years
An upright, multi-stemmed deciduous shrub or small tree that is covered in white flower clusters in April before the leaves open, ripens edible,…
Vitex agnus-castus 2.5 m × 2.5 m after 10 years
A loose, spreading shrub with a Mediterranean feel: grey-green, aromatic, hand-shaped leaves and fragrant lilac flower spikes from midsummer into…
Chaenomeles speciosa 2 m × 2 m after 10 years
A dense, spiny shrub that reaches head height and flowers in early spring before the leaves: depending on the cultivar the white, pink or red blooms…
Cercis chinensis 2.5 m × 2 m after 10 years
A multi-stemmed ornamental shrub with upright branches whose bare twigs and stems are smothered in vivid purplish pink flowers in April, before the…
Cytisus scoparius 1.5 m × 1.5 m after 10 years
An upright shrub of whippy, almost leafless green stems that disappear under pea flowers in May: the species is yellow, while the hybrids sold by…
Cornus sanguinea 3 m × 2.5 m after 10 years
Common dogwood is a tough native shrub of woodland edges: its white flower heads feed insects in early summer, the black berries feed birds, the…
Syringa vulgaris 3 m × 2 m after 10 years
A large, long-lived deciduous shrub grown for its strongly scented flower clusters in spring. It copes well with sun, heat and limy soil, and with…
Symphoricarpos × doorenbosii 1.5 m × 1.8 m after 10 years
This hybrid snowberry is an almost indestructible, dense shrub with arching branches: its tiny, inconspicuous flowers are popular with bees and are…
Lagerstroemia indica 3 m × 2 m after 10 years
A heat-loving flowering shrub or small tree that blooms from midsummer into autumn, with crinkled flower clusters, good autumn colour and smooth,…
Hypericum × dummeri 70 cm × 1 m after 10 years
A low, spreading, semi-evergreen shrub with reddish stems and blue-green leaves that bears large golden yellow cup-shaped flowers from early summer…
Sorbaria sorbifolia 1.5 m × 2 m after 10 years
An extremely hardy shrub with finely divided, rowan-like leaves and creamy white feathery flower plumes in summer; the compact cultivar most often…
Viburnum farreri 2.2 m × 1.7 m after 10 years
An upright, open-branched shrub that flowers on bare wood before the leaves: clusters of white, almond and vanilla scented flowers opening from pink…
Pyracantha coccinea 3 m × 2.5 m after 10 years
A dense, fiercely thorny evergreen shrub with clusters of white flowers in late spring and masses of red or orange berries from autumn to late winter,…
Ribes sanguineum 2.2 m × 1.8 m after 10 years
A fast-growing, upright then arching, thornless ornamental shrub that is covered in April, as the leaves emerge, with hanging clusters of crimson,…
Chaenomeles × superba 1.2 m × 1.5 m after 10 years
A low, spreading, thorny deciduous shrub that covers itself in large, waxy, mostly red flowers in early spring before the leaves, when little else…
Prunus incisa 1.5 m × 1.5 m after 10 years
In nurseries you will find almost only the dwarf 'Kojo-no-mai': a slow, compact shrub with zigzag twigs that is covered in white, pink-centred blossom…
Deutzia scabra 2.5 m × 1.8 m after 10 years
A tall, upright shrub with arching branches that is covered for about two weeks in early summer with lightly scented flower clusters, white or flushed…
Abelia × grandiflora 1.2 m × 1.2 m after 10 years
A semi-evergreen shrub with arching branches and glossy leaves that carries small, white, pink-flushed, scented bell flowers from early summer until…
Hypericum patulum 1.2 m × 1.3 m after 10 years
A dense, rounded, semi-evergreen shrub that carries large, golden-yellow, cup-shaped flowers from early summer into autumn, in sun or part shade. It…
Santolina rosmarinifolia 60 cm × 80 cm after 10 years
A Mediterranean subshrub with bright green, thread-fine aromatic foliage that forms a dense cushion and is covered with pale yellow button flowers…
Spiraea × cinerea 1.5 m × 1.5 m after 10 years
A dense, rounded bush with thin, arching shoots that are covered along their whole length with tiny snow-white flowers in April, before the leaves…
Viburnum opulus 3 m × 2.5 m after 10 years
A fast-growing, large native shrub with lobed, maple-like leaves, flat white lacecap flowers in May and June, red autumn foliage and glossy red…
Deutzia × hybrida 1.8 m × 1.8 m after 10 years
Hybrid deutzia covers its arching branches with masses of pink, star-shaped flowers in late spring and early summer; it is mostly sold as 'Mont Rose',…
Pieris japonica 1.5 m × 1.5 m after 10 years
A slow-growing evergreen shrub with scented white or pink sprays in spring that recall lily of the valley, and new shoots that are bright red or…
Chaenomeles japonica 1 m × 1.5 m after 10 years
Japanese quince is a knee to waist high, wide-spreading thorny shrub that covers itself in orange-red flowers in early spring before the leaves, a…
Viburnum plicatum 2.5 m × 3 m after 10 years
A broad, spreading deciduous shrub with horizontal, tiered branches that are lined with two rows of white flowers in late spring: the lacecap forms…
Spiraea japonica 1 m × 1.2 m after 10 years
A low, dense, mounded deciduous shrub that carries flat pink flower heads for weeks in summer and is popular with butterflies. It is undemanding and…
Viburnum carlesii 1.3 m × 1.3 m after 10 years
A slow-growing, dense, rounded shrub that carries snowball-like clusters of white flowers opening from pink buds in April, into early May; their…
Viburnum tinus 2 m × 2 m after 10 years
A Mediterranean evergreen viburnum with dark, glossy foliage that flowers from late autumn in mild winters, otherwise from late winter into spring:…
Syringa patula 1.5 m × 1.5 m after 10 years
A dense, slow-growing, compact lilac that flowers after the common lilac, in late spring to early summer: purple buds open to pale lavender,…
Syringa meyeri 1.2 m × 1.5 m after 10 years
A slow-growing, dense, rounded dwarf lilac with small leaves that is covered in strongly scented, pale lilac-pink flower clusters in late spring. It…
Philadelphus coronarius 2.5 m × 2 m after 10 years
A large, upright then arching deciduous shrub grown for its white, intensely sweet-scented flowers in late May and June: plant it near a patio or seat…
Hydrangea serrata 1 m × 1 m after 10 years
A smaller, more compact and somewhat hardier relative of the bigleaf hydrangea: its flat lacecap heads carry tiny fertile flowers ringed by a few…
Physocarpus opulifolius 2.5 m × 2 m after 10 years
An undemanding, fast-growing deciduous shrub with arching branches, rounded clusters of white or pinkish flowers in May and June and reddish, inflated…
Spiraea nipponica 1.5 m × 1.5 m after 10 years
A dense, tough shrub with arching branches that are covered along their whole length with clusters of tiny white flowers in late spring and early…
Mahonia aquifolium 1.2 m × 1.2 m after 10 years
A slow-growing evergreen shrub with glossy, holly-like, spiny-edged leaves that copes with shade and part shade under trees, where few other shrubs…
Cornus alternifolia 2.5 m × 2.5 m after 10 years
The smaller cousin of the wedding cake tree: a multi-stemmed large shrub or small tree with horizontal, tiered branches, fragrant creamy white…
Hydrangea paniculata 2 m × 1.6 m after 10 years
The most sun-tolerant and least fussy hydrangea: from midsummer into autumn it carries cone-shaped white or greenish-white panicles that age to pink…
Ceanothus × pallidus 1.5 m × 1.5 m after 10 years
A deciduous, summer-flowering ceanothus almost always sold as the cultivar 'Marie Simon': from midsummer to autumn its reddish shoots carry fluffy…
Viburnum × pragense 2.5 m × 2.2 m after 10 years
A fast-growing, dense evergreen shrub with glossy, dark green, veined leaves; in late May it carries flat heads of creamy white, lightly scented…
Syringa × prestoniae 2.5 m × 2 m after 10 years
A large, upright then rounded lilac that flowers a week or two after common lilac, in late May and June, with big conical panicles in pink, purplish…
Salix purpurea 1.5 m × 1.5 m after 10 years
A willow of river banks with thin, pliable purplish shoots that grows into a 3 to 5 metre bush in the wild, but gardens almost only get its dense,…
Cornus alba 2.5 m × 2.5 m after 10 years
A fast, undemanding deciduous shrub grown mainly for its stems, which turn bright red in winter; it bears creamy white flower clusters in late spring,…
Aronia arbutifolia 2 m × 1.2 m after 10 years
An upright, slender shrub grown for its flaming red autumn foliage and for the glossy red berries that stay on the stems well into winter; white,…
Cornus sericea 2.5 m × 3 m after 10 years
A vigorous, multi-stemmed shrub grown for its winter stems: bright red in the species, yellow-green in the widely sold 'Flaviramea', while the dwarf…
Salix gracilistyla 2.5 m × 2.5 m after 10 years
A broad, bushy pussy willow that carries its striking catkins in late winter before the leaves: 'Mount Aso' has pink ones, while 'Melanostachys',…
Rosmarinus officinalis 1.2 m × 1 m after 10 years
An evergreen, needle-leaved culinary shrub whose strongly aromatic shoots you can pick all year, and whose pale blue spring flowers are covered in…
Salix rosmarinifolia 1.5 m × 1.5 m after 10 years
A fine-textured, airy willow shrub with narrow, rosemary-like grey-green leaves that are silvery and downy beneath, and small catkins in spring that…
Hibiscus syriacus 2.5 m × 2 m after 10 years
An upright, vase-shaped deciduous shrub that carries large, hollyhock-like flowers from midsummer into autumn, when most shrubs have finished. It…
Hydrangea aspera 2 m × 2 m after 10 years
A large, open shrub with huge velvety leaves and flat lacecap flower heads in late summer: lilac in the centre, ringed by pale pink or white sterile…
Potentilla fruticosa 1.2 m × 1.2 m after 10 years
A dense, rounded little deciduous shrub that flowers almost without a break from late spring until the first frosts. It is undemanding and copes…
Rosa Shrub Group 1.5 m × 1.5 m after 10 years
A large, varied group of roses that grow into big, loose bushes; modern shrub roses and English roses belong here. Use them as specimens, at the…
Caragana arborescens 3.5 m × 2.5 m after 10 years
An extremely cold-hardy and drought-tolerant upright large shrub or small tree that copes where others give up: on poor, sandy or limy soil in…
Deutzia gracilis 1 m × 1.2 m after 10 years
A low, tidy deciduous shrub with arching stems that is almost hidden under pure white, lightly scented flower clusters in late spring. It suits the…
Diervilla sessilifolia 1.2 m × 1.5 m after 10 years
A low, tough deciduous shrub that spreads slowly by suckers and grows in almost any soil, taking drought and even dry shade under trees, so it is…
Euonymus europaeus 3 m × 2.5 m after 10 years
An undemanding large shrub or small tree with green twigs whose main season is autumn: the leaves turn red and purple, and the pink capsules split…
Tamarix tetrandra 3 m × 2.5 m after 10 years
A loose shrub with arching, almost black stems and tiny scale-like leaves, covered along their whole length in pale pink flower sprays in late…
Tamarix ramosissima 3 m × 2.5 m after 10 years
An airy shrub with tiny scale-like leaves and pink flower plumes over a long period in summer. It copes with drought, heat, poor sandy and salty soil,…
Hypericum × inodorum 1 m × 1 m after 10 years
Tutsan is a low, dense, semi-evergreen shrub that carries golden yellow flowers from early summer into autumn while already ripening its showy, fleshy…
Weigela florida 2.5 m × 2.5 m after 10 years
An easy, dependable deciduous shrub that is covered in funnel-shaped pink, red or white flowers in late spring and early summer, often with a…
Buddleja × weyeriana 2.5 m × 2 m after 10 years
A vigorous, arching butterfly bush that swaps the usual purple for yellow, apricot or yellow and lilac scented flowers packed into ball-shaped…
Mahonia × media 2 m × 1.5 m after 10 years
A sculptural, upright evergreen with long, fern-like spiny leaves that carries sprays of fragrant yellow flowers from late autumn to the end of…
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