Looking for raised bed plant - like lavender but something bees don't like!

[lechatnoir]

I've got a raised bed running along the side of our garden that I'd love to fill with lavender, but it's right next to the dining area & don't want to spend the summer dodging bees. Any suggestions? West facing decent size and soil will need some work regardless.

Dodging bees, thankyou I needed a good laugh. What you're looking for OP is artificial plants.

If you have what you want - lavender, the bees will be focused on it and not one bit interested in you or what is on your table so you will be able to eat in peace.

If you get a plant bees like then you'll find they don't actually bother you because they're only interested in the plant.

Bees are lovely. I love hearing entire plants vibrate when they are on them.

Id definitely have a bee plant near me. Its wasps that are the issue.

Bees don’t bother people, they’re not wasps!

Anything with complex multiple petals makes it harder for the bees.
Or plant something evergreen with no summer flowers, like winter jasmine.
Or a herb bed that you clip before it flowers.
Plant a bee-friendly section in your garden, with multiple varieties that flower over a long period and they’ll tend to hang out there.

Concrete?

Dandelions! I've never once seen any insect on one of those.

Sorry, only joking (and getting out my frustrations about weeds).

Lavender has a huge number of tiny flowers meaning it can support a lot of insects at a time.

Maybe something with (much) bigger flowers to reduce the insect traffic! 😀

I found an insect net for my gazebo on Amazon, we have a few members of the family who are terrified of wasps we usually eat inside to avoid them - just a thought - they pull back to the corner poles when not being used

Don’t put nets up, bees get trapped inside and die.
Maybe eat in the house if you’re worried about insects, otherwise plant lavender and enjoy the bees and butterflies.

Bees have no interest in humans.

I've never once been bothered by a bee when eating outside and I have lots of bee friendly plants.

Why don't you plant Periwinkle?

www.bhg.com/gardening/plant-dictionary/perennial/periwinkle/

Flowers are literally designed by nature to attract bees, like tits attract straight men.
Sorry OP.

Someone on Beesnet right now calling this OP a CF

We have quite a bit of lavender, bees live it but don’t bother us at all.

OP...

My whole garden is planted for bees and butterflies. A huge bumblebee sat on my shoulder whilst I was planting another bee friendly plant yesterday. I've never been bothered by them (or stung by one) as they are just interested in the flowers.

Jeez alright calm down I'm not going to concrete or plant artificial flowers but sitting directly next to a large swarm of bees whilst it might sound relaxing, is actually quite stressful for lots of people. Small garden means limited space to be any sort of distance from the beds and being raised they are literally at head height (& I agree these aren't interested in people but add a tasty spread to your table and they most definitely do come).

S

@DrJoanAllenby periwinkle is a great suggestion especially for the corner that is more shaded by the corner fence.

Pinks. Clumps of them.

Old fashioned glass wasp traps will weed the wasps from the bees.

Anything that flowers is going to attract insects of some sort or other. That's what the plant produces the flowers for - so insects can pollinate them.

Why not choose something that flowers in the winter or has attractive foliage instead?

Whilst it's not what I'd do, you can just cut the flowering stalks off the lavender when they appear. Bees will then have no interest. Bees are important though so perhaps only do this to the plants near your table and chairs.

OK, so flowers attract bees and other pollinators, so you're looking to avoid plants with showy flowers.

How about ornamental grasses (lots of different ones available), small conifers or pines or ferns if its shady.

Or plants like hellebore or winter jasmine that flower in winter and spring when you're less likely to be outside?

If you want flowers which won't attract pollinators, hydrangeas (mophead not lace cap) aren't of any use to pollinators. Or something with a double/triple flower as they can't get inside them - so lots of multi-petal roses for example.
But like other PPs I love bees & have never been bothered by them when eating outside - wasps are another thing!

We eat daily at an outside table surrounded by bee-friendly plants including lavender and have done so for years. We have never seen the bee behaviour you describe