The short version: A pollinator garden is a patch planted to feed and shelter bees and other beneficial insects, which in return help pollinate your crops and keep pests down. The recipe is simple: a long succession of flowers across the seasons, a few flower shapes, a shallow water source, some undisturbed ground for nesting, and few or no sprays. Let your herbs flower, add easy annuals like alyssum and calendula, and the patch can start to look after itself.
A good pollinator patch does two jobs at once. It brings in bees that can lift your fruit set, and it feeds the predators that help hold aphids and caterpillars down. You are building a small system that does some of the work for you.
Why bees and beneficial insects matter
They pollinate your crops and help control pests, which is why a thoughtful pollinator patch can take on much of the work itself.
Bees move pollen between flowers, which for many crops is the difference between a light crop and a generous one. Pumpkins, zucchini and many tree fruit rely heavily on insect visits, while tomatoes and beans are partly self-fertile but still set better with bees about.
The second job is pest control. Hoverflies, ladybirds, lacewings and small parasitic wasps prey on common pests, and their young work through a surprising number of aphids. Feed that whole crew, and the patch tilts the balance your way.
What pollinators actually need
They need food, water, shelter and safety, spread across as much of the year as you can. Get those right and the insects tend to find you.
- Food: a long succession of flowers rather than one big flush, so fewer hungry gaps.
- Variety: flat daisies, small clustered blooms and tubular flowers, since different insects suit different shapes.
- Water: a shallow saucer with pebbles or twigs as landing spots, so insects drink without drowning.
- Shelter: some bare soil and a few hollow stems, since many native bees nest in the ground.
Shelter is the part most gardeners forget, yet a quiet, undug corner is often all a ground-nesting bee needs.
The best plants for Australian pollinators
The easiest wins are flowering herbs, simple annuals, and a few flowering cover crops, most of them cheap, fast and generous with nectar.
Start by letting your culinary herbs flower. Borage, English lavender, rosemary, thyme, oregano, coriander, dill and basil all draw bees and hoverflies once they bloom, so let a few flower and keep others for the kitchen. A coriander plant bolting in the heat is a small gift to hoverflies.
Then add some easy annuals. Alyssum, calendula, cosmos, sunflower, salvia and cornflower give a range of shapes and a long season of bloom, and many sit among our wider flower seeds. Flowering cover crops earn a place too: buckwheat and phacelia flower quickly, feed a lot of insects, and can be dug in afterwards to feed the soil. Both are in our cover crop seeds.
Supporting native bees in particular
Supporting native bees comes down to leaving some undisturbed ground and offering a variety of flowers, since many are solitary ground-nesters. Australia has a very large number of native bees, with published estimates of roughly 1,700 to 2,000 species, many needing slightly different care from the familiar honey bee.
The European honey bee (Apis mellifera, introduced) is the one most people picture, but it is only part of the story. The blue-banded bee (Amegilla cingulata) is a native buzz-pollinator, vibrating flowers to shake the pollen loose, which makes it especially good on tomatoes and their relatives. In warmer areas you may also see stingless bees such as Tetragonula carbonaria, social bees of the subtropics and tropics along the east coast from Queensland into New South Wales.
Since many native bees nest in bare ground, leave some undisturbed soil and a few sunny, sheltered nooks. Bee hotels can help, but they need cleaning between seasons or they can harbour pests and disease. For more, see the BeeAware guide to supporting native bee populations from Plant Health Australia.
Protecting your pollinators from sprays
The safest rule is to avoid spraying flowering plants at all, because even organic sprays can harm bees. A pollinator patch and a heavy spray habit do not mix.
Organic does not mean automatically safe. Pyrethrum, for example, is a broad-spectrum organic insecticide that can kill beneficial insects along with pests, so it is not a free pass. If you must spray, do it late in the day when most bees have stopped foraging, keep well away from open flowers, and treat it as a last resort. Our guide to organic pest control covers gentler options.
Planting for pollinators across Australia's climate zones
What flowers when varies by zone, so aim for continuous bloom across as much of the year as your area allows. The plants are similar everywhere, only the timing shifts.
In tropical and subtropical gardens, from Darwin to Brisbane, you can keep something flowering nearly year round, and the cooler dry months are often easiest for growing. In temperate areas such as Sydney, Melbourne and Canberra, spring and summer carry the bloom.
Mediterranean zones, including Perth and southern Western Australia and coastal South Australia, have mild wet winters and dry summers, good for autumn sowing for winter and spring flowers. In arid areas such as Alice Springs, heat and low rainfall narrow the window, so choose tough, quick-flowering plants. In cool and alpine areas such as the southern tablelands, frost shortens the season, so favour hardy plants. Whatever your zone, spread the flowering out and mix the shapes to support pollinators for longer.
Frequently asked questions
What are the best plants for bees in Australia?
Flowering herbs such as borage, English lavender, rosemary and thyme are excellent, along with easy annuals like alyssum, calendula, cosmos, sunflower and cornflower. Flowering cover crops such as buckwheat and phacelia help too. Aim for variety and a long flowering season.
How many native bee species does Australia have?
Australia has a very large number of native bees, with published estimates of roughly 1,700 to 2,000 species. Many are solitary and ground-nesting, unlike the introduced European honey bee. Leaving some bare soil gives them somewhere to nest.
Do native bees pollinate tomatoes?
Some do, and the blue-banded bee (Amegilla cingulata) is a standout. It is a buzz-pollinator, vibrating the flower to release pollen, which suits tomatoes and their relatives and can help with fruit set.
Should I choose single or double flowers for pollinators?
Single, open flowers are usually the better choice. Double blooms often carry extra petals that hide the nectar and pollen from insects, so simple daisy-shaped and tubular flowers feed bees and hoverflies more reliably.
Are organic sprays safe for bees?
Not always. Broad-spectrum organic sprays such as pyrethrum can harm bees and other beneficial insects, so if you must spray, do it late in the day, away from open flowers, and never on anything in bloom.
Should I put up a bee hotel?
You can, but treat it as a small extra. Bee hotels need cleaning between seasons or they can harbour pests and disease. Undisturbed bare ground and a steady supply of flowers usually do more for native bees.
A pollinator patch is one of the most rewarding things to add to a garden, and much of it happens on its own once established. Plant a good spread of flowers, leave a little ground undisturbed, go easy on the sprays, and the insects do much of the rest. If you are raising your own flowers for the patch, our step-by-step guide to starting seeds indoors is a good place to begin.
Related growing guides
- Flowers in the vegetable garden for bees
- Chickens and vegetable gardens
- What is in a beneficial bug mix
Ready to plant? Browse our Vegetable Seeds.