World Bee Day falls on 20 May — and ahead of it, Charles Shi, Botanical Horticulturist at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and Young Horticulturist of the Year 2022, has shared some of the most practical advice we’ve come across on how to make your outdoor space genuinely work for pollinators, ultimately contributing to a bee-friendly garden.
The starting point might surprise you: not all roses are good for bees.
What Makes a Garden Bee-Friendly — and Why It Matters
Creating a bee-friendly garden is essential for supporting local ecosystems and enhancing biodiversity.
As insect populations continue to decline across the UK, the plants we choose for our gardens, particularly those that thrive in a bee-friendly garden, matter more than most of us realise.
Bees are responsible for pollinating around a third of the food we eat and the majority of wild flowering plants. But their needs are specific — and many common garden choices, including many popular rose varieties, quietly fail them.
“If you can’t see the pollen, bees can’t use it,” says Shi. “What matters most to bees is nutrition. Nectar provides energy, but it’s the pollen that carries real value — proteins, lipids, amino acids and plant sterols that bees cannot produce themselves.”
The good news is that creating a bee-friendly garden is less complicated than it sounds. It comes down to flower shape, plant diversity and continuity of flowering across the season.
The Problem With Modern Roses
Roses are often assumed to be good for bees — but this only holds true under specific conditions.
It all comes down to flower structure. When petals become densely layered, pollen and nectar are effectively hidden — and bees simply cannot access them. Many modern cultivated roses fall into this category, bred for visual impact at the expense of function.
Wild roses and near-wild roses are a far better choice. Their open, simple flower structures — traits that haven’t been bred out through decades of cultivation — allow bees easy, unobstructed access to pollen and nectar.
Which Roses to Plant for Bees
The best time to plant roses is during the dormant season — late autumn through to early spring — when bare-root plants establish quickly. Container-grown roses can be planted year-round, avoiding drought or frost.
Ground and shrub level:
- Rosa rugosa — accessible flowers, substantial pollen over long periods
- Rosa canina and Rosa multiflora — reliable early and mid-season forage
- Rosa moyesii — arching habit, blooms placed away from centre, easy to approach
- Rosa palustris — thrives in damper ground, suited to solitary bees
- Rosa willmottiae — open shrub, allows smaller bees to move and land freely
- Rosa × odorata ‘Mutabilis’ — exceptionally long flowering period, multiple flushes
Climbers — to extend the feeding space upwards:
- Rosa filipes — vigorous climber, large numbers of simple open flowers
- Rosa laevigata and Rosa helenae — introduce forage at height, over structures or into trees
“Flowering time is just as important as flower form,” Shi explains. “A short, intense flush, however generous, is less useful than a sequence that carries through the season. Roses can contribute to this — but they cannot do it alone. They need to sit within a broader planting scheme that includes trees, perennials and later-flowering species. Otherwise there are inevitable gaps — and bees don’t cope well with gaps in flowering.”
Building a Bee-Friendly Garden Beyond Roses
Roses alone are not a silver bullet. A truly bee-friendly garden is built around continuity and variation.
“Bees are generalist feeders,” says Shi. “They assemble a balanced diet through diversity rather than specialisation. The question isn’t which rose is best for bees — it’s how roses fit into a wider, continuous supply of forage. Get that right, and even a small space can function well for bees.”
Additional plants to weave through your planting:
- Lavandula angustifolia — long flowering season, loved by honeybees
- Echium vulgare (Viper’s Bugloss) — exceptional for bee diversity
- Phacelia tanacetifolia — fast-growing, prolific, outstanding for pollinators
- Nepeta (Catmint) — easy, long-flowering, attractive to bumblebees
- Allium — structural and beloved by solitary bees
- Sedum and Aster — extend the season into late autumn
Three More Things That Make a Difference
Leave some wildness. A patch of long grass, a log pile, an uncut corner — these are habitats. Ground-nesting bees need undisturbed soil. Solitary bees need hollow stems and wood. Leaving parts of your garden unmanaged is one of the most effective things you can do.
Stop using pesticides. Kew’s zero-pesticide policy has been in place since 2015. Most pest problems resolve themselves when predator populations — birds, beetles, hoverflies — are given the chance to establish.
Add water. A shallow dish with a stone for bees to land on costs almost nothing and makes a real difference, particularly during dry summers.
Closer to Home — Bees in Sussex
Brighton Journal has also covered the extraordinary gardens at Glyndebourne — home to two thriving beehives and wildflower meadows rich in pollinating plants, managed as part of one of the most ambitious biodiversity programmes in East Sussex.
And if you’re looking to bring more honey into your kitchen, we’ve written about Louisa’s Honey — an award-winning Italian honey with a Golden Fork at the Great Taste Awards, with recipes by MasterChef UK finalists. Brighton Journal readers receive 20% off.
For practical inspiration, Charles Shi recommends visiting the Wild Rose Garden at Kew Gardens — kew.org
World Bee Day is observed annually on 20 May. For more on what’s happening in Brighton and Sussex this season, visit our →Things to Do in Brighton| Events Brighton | Arts & Culture Brighton | Food & Drink in Brighton |Wellness in Brighton| Places to Visit Near Brighton | The Best Hotels | Brighton Journal Stays | Contact|
