When the sun slowly warms up the earth, the bumblebee queens crawl out of their winter quarters. Now they need protein and vitamin-rich pollen for the development of the ovaries in order to reproduce, explains the German Wildlife Foundation.
In the wild, the number of flowers unfortunately decreases. Therefore, suitable plants in gardens or on balconies are good. Grape hyacinths, snow shine, crocuses, winter aphids and squills, for example, also grow in tubs or window boxes.
Garden owners can help bumblebees by planting early-flowering stone or pome fruit such as plums, cherries or apples, as well as willow and maple varieties, service pear and dogwood, and berry bushes. Wild perennials such as hellebore, coltsfoot and shepherd’s purse also provide pollen and nectar early in the year.
Later it gets tight again: Due to the increasingly hot and drier weather from May onwards, bumblebees often need support until August. The following plants, which usually grow all by themselves with a bit of wilderness in the garden, provide this: red, horn and white clover, viper’s bugloss, knapweed, kitchen herbs and thistles.
