The native flowers that feed honey bees, bumblebees, and the hundreds of solitary native bees most gardeners never notice. For Tennessee, the right natives are shaped by Cumberland Plateau, Ridge & Valley, cedar glades and a humid, four-season climate. Every species below, from Culver's Root and Oakleaf Hydrangea to the rest of the list, is genuinely native to Tennessee and the wider flora of the Southeast and hardy through zones 6–8. Most of our native bees are solitary and unfussy, but they depend on a steady supply of pollen-rich, single (not double) flowers. Open daisy and umbel shapes are easiest for short-tongued bees, while tubular flowers reward the long-tongued bumblebees. Skip pesticides entirely and leave some bare, undisturbed ground and pithy stems where ground- and stem-nesting bees raise their young.
Each one native to your region and hardy in zones 6–8 · see this collection in other states.
Veronicastrum virginicum
Pollen-rich and bee-friendly — feeds the specialist bees that depend on it, along with butterflies and native bees, white candelabra flowers and flowering from Jun to Aug.
Hydrangea quercifolia
Bee fuel — pollen-rich, single flowers — feeds native bees — 4–8 ft wide, blooming from May to Jul.
Dicentra eximia
A bee plant first and foremost — feeds native bees and hummingbirds, cold-hardy to zone 3 and flowering from Apr to Aug.
Symphyotrichum novae-angliae
Bee fuel — pollen-rich, single flowers — feeds the specialist bees that depend on it, along with butterflies and native bees; royal purple flowers, it flowers in Sep and Oct.
Bignonia capreolata
One the bees find first — feeds native bees and hummingbirds — orange-red flowers, blooming in Apr and May.
Physostegia virginiana
One the bees find first — feeds native bees, hummingbirds, and butterflies, 2–4 ft wide and flowering in Aug and Sep.
Penstemon digitalis
Pollen-rich and bee-friendly — feeds the specialist bees that depend on it, along with hummingbirds and native bees — cold-hardy to zone 3, blooming in May and Jun.
Cercis canadensis
One the bees find first — feeds the specialist bees that depend on it, along with butterflies and native bees; happy in clay, rocky, and loam soil, it flowers in Mar and Apr.
Phlox divaricata
A bee plant first and foremost — feeds native bees, hummingbirds, and butterflies; 10–15 in tall, it flowers in Apr and May.
Hydrangea arborescens
One the bees find first — feeds native bees — good through zone 9, blooming from Jun to Aug.
Geranium maculatum
Bee fuel — pollen-rich, single flowers — feeds the specialist bees that depend on it — lavender-pink flowers, blooming from Apr to Jun.
Asclepias incarnata
Bee fuel — pollen-rich, single flowers — feeds native bees and butterflies — 3–4 ft tall, blooming in Jul and Aug.
Eutrochium maculatum
A bee plant first and foremost — feeds the specialist bees that depend on it, along with butterflies and native bees, spreading 2–4 ft and flowering from Jul to Sep.
Helianthus maximiliani
One the bees find first — feeds native bees and butterflies — golden yellow flowers, blooming from Aug to Oct.
Monarda fistulosa
One the bees find first — feeds the specialist bees that depend on it, along with hummingbirds and butterflies — lavender flowers, blooming from Jun to Aug.
Liatris pycnostachya
A bee plant first and foremost — feeds the specialist bees that depend on it, along with butterflies and native bees, spreading 1–2 ft and flowering in Jul and Aug.
Pycnanthemum muticum
Bee fuel — pollen-rich, single flowers — feeds the specialist bees that depend on it, along with butterflies and native bees, silvery bracts flowers and flowering from Jul to Sep.
Cephalanthus occidentalis
One the bees find first — feeds native bees, hummingbirds, and butterflies, reaching 5–10 ft and flowering from Jun to Aug.
Liatris spicata
Bee fuel — pollen-rich, single flowers — feeds the specialist bees that depend on it, along with butterflies and native bees; 2–4 ft tall, it flowers in Jul and Aug.
Pulsatilla patens
A bee plant first and foremost — feeds the specialist bees that depend on it — cold-hardy to zone 3, blooming in Mar and Apr.
Aquilegia canadensis
Bee fuel — pollen-rich, single flowers — feeds the specialist bees that depend on it, along with hummingbirds and native bees; red & yellow flowers, it blooms Apr through Jun.
Achillea millefolium
Pollen-rich and bee-friendly — feeds the specialist bees that depend on it, along with butterflies and native bees; cold-hardy to zone 3, it blooms May through Aug.
Echinacea purpurea
A bee plant first and foremost — feeds native bees and butterflies; reaching 2–4 ft, it blooms Jun through Sep.
Monarda didyma
Pollen-rich and bee-friendly — feeds native bees, hummingbirds, and butterflies, cold-hardy to zone 4 and flowering in Jul and Aug.
34 more also qualify: Virginia Bluebells, Serviceberry, Foamflower, Showy Goldenrod, Great Blue Lobelia, Prairie Smoke, Arrowwood Viburnum, Black-Eyed Susan, Aromatic Aster, Butterfly Weed, Flowering Dogwood, Anise Hyssop, Cup Plant, Winterberry, American Beautyberry, Golden Alexanders, Lanceleaf Coreopsis, Spicebush, Red-Twig Dogwood, Compass Plant, Inkberry Holly, Stiff Goldenrod, Bearberry, Fragrant Sumac, Common Milkweed, American Elderberry, Purple Prairie Clover, Blue Vervain, Wild Lupine, Common Boneset, New Jersey Tea, Creeping Phlox, Rattlesnake Master, Ninebark.
Seed packets, plugs, and starter plants for many of these species ship to your door.
Browse on AmazonSome links here are affiliate links — we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. The surest source of locally-adapted stock is a native-plant nursery or a native plant society sale in your area.