Native Plant Wildlife Gardening

Create a bee garden. Native shrubs and tree bloom time by month to help provide a continuous source of food for honey bees. This data is based in Georgia so your bloom times may differ. This is my personal foundation planting list I keep for my bee garden and only trees, shrubs for large scale honey bee food sources. Annuals and perennials I consider a bonus and don’t calculate into the foundation plan.

Please understand that some cultivars will bloom at different times i.e. Clethra alnifolia Ruby Spice blooms before Clethra alnifolia Hummingbird. You can extend this excellent food source by planting two different cultivars.

Feb
Mayberry Vaccinium elliottii shrub
Red Maple Acer rubrum tree (Good)

Feb-Mar
Redbud Cercis canadensis tree
Black Titi, Buckwheat Tree Cyrilla racemiflora shrub (Excellent)

March
Alabama Snow-wreath Neviusia alabamensis shrub
Mayhaw Crataegus aestivalis small tree
Native Blueberry Vaccinium elliottii shrub
Sassafras Sassafras albidum small tree
Serviceberry, shadbush Amelanchier canadensis or A. family  (Excellent)
Southern Highbush Blueberry Vaccinium corymbosum, ashei shrub (Excellent)
Spice-Bush Lindera benzoin shrub

March-April
Apple Malus spp. tree
Crabapple Malus angustifolia or Malus Family small tree
Darrow’s Blueberry Vaccinium darrowii shrub
Black Willow Salix nigra tree (Excellent)
Horse Sugar, Sweetleaf Symplocos tinctoria shrub
Jessamine Gelsemium sempervirens shrub
Parsley Hawthorn Crataegus marshallii shrub
Rabbiteye Blueberry Vaccinium virgatum shrub (Excellent)

April
Tupelo Nyssa sylvatica tree (Moderate)
Dwarf Fothergilla Fothergilla gardenii shrub
American Snowbell Styrax americanus shrub
Mapleleaf Viburnum Viburnum acerifolium shrub (Excellent)
Mountain Laurel Kalmia latifolia shrub
Downy Serviceberry Amelanchier arborea small tree
Yaupon Holly Ilex vomitoria small tree

April-May
Blackberry Rubus argutus shrub
Tulip Poplar Liriodendron tulipifera tree
Black Locust Robinia pseudoacacia tree
Possumhaw Viburnum Viburnum nudum shrub (Excellent)
Rusty blackhaw viburnum Viburnum rufidulum shrub (Excellent)
American Cranberry Bush Viburnum opulus var. americanum shrub
Two-Winged Silverbell Halesia diptera small tree
Silverbell Halesia diptera var. magniflora small tree
Carolina Silverbell Halesia tetraptera small tree
Wild Olive, Devilwood Osmanthus americanus small tree
Fetterbush Lyonia lucida shrub
Honeycup Zenobia pulverulenta Fragrant
Eastern Hophornbeam Ostrya virginiana small tree
Winterberry Ilex verticillata shrub
Drooping Leucothoe Leucothoe fontanesiana shrub

May
Possumhaw Ilex decidua small tree
Gallberry Ilex glabra shrub
Black Cherry Prunus serotina tree (Good)
Wild Plum Prunus americana small tree (Excellent)
Chokeberry Red, Black Aronia arbutifolia, A. melanocarpa shrub
Sparkleberry, Farkleberry Vaccinium arboreum shrub
Arrowwood Viburnum Viburnum dentatum shrub

May-June
Bigleaf Snowbell Styrax grandifolius small tree
Blackhaw Viburnum Viburnum prunifolium shrub
Bottlebrush Buckeye Aesculus parviflora shrub
Florida Leucothoe, Pipestem Agarista populifolia shrub
Fringe tree Chionanthus virginicus tree
Ninebark Physocarpus opulifolius shrub
Persimmon Diospyros virginiana shrub/tree
Red Titi, Swamp Cyrilla Cyrilla racemiflora shrub
Strawberry-Bush, Hearts-a-Bustin Euonymus americanus shrub
Virginia sweetspire Itea virginica shrub
Washington Hawthorn Crataegus phaenopyrum small tree

June

June-July
Coralberry Symphoricarpos x doorenbosii shrub
Mountain Stewartia Stewartia ovata
Silky dogwood Cornus amomum (Excellent)
Sourwood Oxydendrum arboreum small tree
Snowberry Symphoricarpos albus shrub
Winged Sumac Rhus copallina shrub/tree (Moderate)

June-Aug
Buttonbush Cephalanthus occidentalis shrub (Moderate)
American Beautyberry Callicarpa americana

June-Sep
Sweet Pepperbush Clethra alnifolia shrub (Excellent)

July

July-Aug
Devil’s Walkingstick Aralia spinosa shrub

Aug

Aug-Oct
Georgia Basil Clinopodium georgianum shrub

Sept-Oct
Groundsel Bush Baccharis halimifolia shrub

Nov
Common Witchhazel Hamamelis virginiana shrub

Dec