Interested in providing plants for bees year round? I just found a list and thought I'd share it with you. Although the list claims to be "incomplete," it certainly is a great starting point. Perhaps you will find that you have a great number of these plants already in your garden or growing nearby. This list is for Georgia gardeners, but if you live in another state, you might find a similar list on your state's university website. I found my list on the website for the University of Georgia College of Agricultural & Environmental Sciences.
Unfortunately, some of the plants on this list are very invasive and I would never recommend you plant them. Privet should not be planted in Georgia, but I bet you either have it in your yard or as in my case, on a nearby neighbors property. Privet has escaped into the wild all over the Southeast. Although my neighbor probably did not plant this invasive shrub, it is everywhere.
Also, bloom times on this list might not be the same for you. According to the list Lonicera fragrantissima (Winter Honeysuckle) blooms in April, but it blooms here in January or February, depending on the winter we get. Gelsemium sempervirens (Carolina Honeysuckle) is listed for March and April, but this native vine also blooms in Winter here, and has usually finished blooming by March in our area. These differences are probably because UGA is in North Georgia.
