When planning my boarder, and after planting my David Austin roses, I decided that I wanted a boarder that was not ordered and that bees would love. Mr Google was great inspiration and often the plant that would show up in searches would be Verbena. With more research I found that bees love blues and purples as bees can see some colours better than others. Apparently red is a colour bees struggle with. Maybe they are colour blind as my husband also has trouble seeing red and much prefers blues and purples. Anyway, once I had decided on purple tones to be planted along side my roses I set to work. The Verbena was the first perennial I purchased and because of its height I planted it at the back of my boarder. The Verbena has a simplicity about it that is always appealing. It grows straight and strong, flowers all through the summer, is not dense and thick so does not over power the garden and best of all the bees and butterflies love it. It has an elegance and style that makes it stand out and blend in to your garden all at the same time. When I get home from work, before going inside, I look over my garden and count the bees.
Gardening for bees 