I've always been fond of Borage (Borago officinalis). It has lovely fuzzy buds, stems and leaves, and its star-shaped blue-pink flowers are highly attractive to bees. It makes gardening on my allotment such a pleasure, hearing the varied sounds of different pollinators as they take advantage of this tough and opportunistic annual.
It's also a valuable companion plant, and luckily for me it has self-seeded between my spinach, tomatoes and strawberries. Left to its own devices it can form large clumps, but even just a few plants will help the bees.
As it's so easy to grow I decided to add it to the garden, and last season collected the seeds from my allotment plants. This spring I sowed them in a tray in my small grow-house.
They grew vigorously and I transplanted them to larger pots, then finally to tubs.
I've been rewarded with several plants that are now drawing in the bees.
Its seems a favourite with honeybees, but the bumbles are attracted to it too (I think the one below is a Buff-tailed bumblebee Bombus terrestris). Photographing them is another matter however, as they don't stay still for long!
