Asters, a mid summer to late fall blooming flower. One of the lattest blooming in our northern climate up to Thanksgiving some years. Colors range from white to dark purple or as some call them dark blue. Asters can be trimmed for a few weeks during the summer to make the clump a low thick grower or just left natural to grow about 24" to 30" inchs tall. Bee Balm, A herb really, rangeing in color from red to a deep purple. A Mid summer till early fall bloomer. Easly growen from seed, can be problimiac with mildew, grow in loose open clumps for best results at avoiding mildew. Salvia, We bought "Purple Rain" based soley on the bee count on the plant at the nursery. I do believe a few strays arrived home with us. Blooms early summer, Late May here. Lasts till the late fall if protected from the early killing frost. Here is a good one too, be aware of it's invasiveness though. It can be kept in check by using a 6" wide lawn edgeing ring buried deep enough you can't see it completlely around the clump. Also be sure to dead head any spent flowers. Perennial Cornflower, Mountain Bluet, and as we know it Bachlor Button. Blooms early in the spring last nearly all summer, Growes in full to part sun 18" to 24" tall. Columbine, There are many different color combunations for this favorite of mine. Bloons early in the spring, last nearly all summer if spent blooms are dead headed. Due to the long tube like flower head the honey bees have a tought time with this one but do go to it. If you are limited on space and wish to have plants the bees like better then pass on this one. Penstemon, Husker Red & Pink Chablis are two that the girls like. They will actually crawl right inside the half tubular blooms till you only can see their little bee hinds. This plant is native to Mexico so does very well in the south & north. Blooms early summer prefers full sun gets 8" to 36" tall depending on type. Verbascum, grows well in the north likes full sun, growes to 20" to 60" tall Blooms late spring. Dead head this one as they self sow readily. Butterfly Weed, This one is a mid summer bloomer, easy to grow, can be invaseivive if you don't pick the seed pods off before they dry and pop open. It also attracts Butterflyts hence it's common name. They have a yellow, orange and red colors on the market now. Purple and White Cone Flowers are an all time favorite of the honey bee. A lot of pictures of bees are taken while gathering off this one. Bloom time is from early summer to the first killing frost, can be extended with proper protection. Grows 24" to 40" tall, in either full or part sun. Blanket flower or more commonly called Gaillardias in this area. They come in a couple different colors from a mix of reds and yellows known as Goblins, a yellow called Golden Goblin and the red one knowen as the Burgandy Gaillardia. They do best in full sun, grow 24" to 36" tall depending on type. Perennial Geranium, sold as Cranesbill here in Michigan, Blooms very early in the summer go till late fall. Can be had in many shades of blue to purples. Grows well in full shade or full sun 15" to 18" tall. Our woods are full of the wild strain. A major sourse of necter for all the wild bees. Perennial Sunflower, A tall growing plant at 48" to 60" . Blooms mid to late summer, likes full sun in the north, but likes shade during the hotest time of the day in the south. A Sedum, Autum Joy. This plant blooms in the late summer last well into the start of winter. During 60F degrees days last fall you could not see the blooms on ours because of the amount of bees on it. They were crawling on each other to get at the necter, or they waited on a leaf for their turn. This one is a sure winner for a late pick me up for the honey bees. Al
