Bee Friendly Fruit And Vegetables:
Flowering Food Plants  Bees Love!


Many fruit and vegetables are also bee friendly plants, so why not grow your own?   I myself started growing a few items in our small garden, but after an 8 year wait, I finally managed to get an allotment.

Organic, home grown fruit and vegetables provide tasty meals for you (seriously, home grown beats shop-bought for taste any time!), as well as sources of nectar and pollen for bees.

In return, you’ll benefit greatly from insect pollination, which results in a more abundant fruit and vegetable yield.

However, do note that whilst some food crops do not rely on bees or other pollinators to produce fruit, they may rely on them to produce further seeds.

bumble bee flying toward pale, pink-tinged blueberry flowersBumble bee flying toward a blueberry flower


Whilst some fruit and vegetables rely on bees to produce the maximum crop, other vegetables don't need bees at all, such as the leafy vegetables.  However, If you are wanting to help the bees, it's worth allowing some leaf crops to go to flower anyway. 

Kale, and other brassicas provide fantastic foraging opportunities, and the leaves can still be picked. 

Meme explaining that flowers of the kale plant are loved by bees and in the right circumstances, could look pleasing in a flower border.Above - these images were taken from a kale plant in my allotment. It was allowed to flower, and the mass of flowers attracted many bees.

I am not able to go through the many varieties of specific fruit and vegetable varieties that may attract bees.

My aim is simply to show you that you can grow your own fruit and vegetables, and at the same time, accommodate bee friendly plants ( - oh, and this plant list also includes a few species of nuts).

I’m also demonstrating that many different types of foods rely on bees and other pollinators. Partly for this reason, I have decided to add in a few plants that require warmer climates, than for example in the UK and Northern Europe.

As with all my lists, I have endeavored to include plants that may be visited by more than one type of bee, depending on climate and availability of species (although some types of bees will be more efficient pollinators than others, depending on the kind of plant).

Bee Friendly Fruit And Vegetable Plants

bumble bee on raspberry flowerAbove: spot the bumble bee pollinating the raspberries!

Pears
Apples
Peaches
Kiwi Fruit
Cherries
Passion Fruit
Kale
Apricots
Plums
Onions
Carrots
Turnips
Peas
Runner beans
Broad beans
Corgettes
Squashes, pumpkins, gourds
Cucumbers
Tomatoes
Peppers
Aubergines
Blackberries
Raspberries
Logan berry
Cranberry
Strawberries
Blueberry
Currants
Water melons
Avocado
Macademia Nut

Almonds














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Honey bee foraging on the pink flowers of a favourite Winter shrub for bees, Daphne Bholua