Plants which may be visited by honey bees

Plants are listed in (approximate) order of bloom.

Click ↕ in the table header to sort data alphabetically (may take longer than 10 sec.).

Click ↗ to open external links. Some links may not open in the desktop version of Chrome web browser (works in Safari).

Click on the menu at the top to view the best plants or plants for each season.

Column 3: Blooming periods are based on observations during 2017 - 2023 (Zone 8, elevation 70 ft, North Seattle, Washington, USA). 'All year' excludes periods with snow cover. Plants that bloom through fall to spring may lose flowers during cold weather. Plants with open-ended periods may lose flowers during summer drought or keep them until frost.

Columns 4,5: Pollen colors were captured from photos of pollen-carrying bees using the 'Digital Color Meter' app. Click on HEX color codes to view reference photos. Photos in external links may be subject to copyright. When appropriate bee photos were not available, pollen chunks collected for microscopic analysis were photographed.

Column 6: Links to microscopic analysis are provided, and related plants are grouped together.

Column 7: N (native), F (feral/naturalized), C (cultivated), noxA-C (class A-C noxious weed in 2023 Washington State Noxious Weed List).

Other links

List of plants in Puget Sound lowlands (spreadsheet download, last update 1/19/2024)

List of pollen sources, Wikipedia
Plants that bees love, HoneyBeeSuite