Basswood Tilia americana
Left: © 2016 Brenna Anstett / LEAF. Right: 2023 Millie Baird / USDA Forest Service dedicated to the public domain under CC0.
Basswood is a majestic tree, distinguished by its tall stature and broad, heart-shaped leaves. Its straight trunk supports a symmetrical rounded crown of arching upper branches. It serves as an excellent shade tree, particularly well-suited for spaces where many other shade trees may be too large. Basswood is a graceful, versatile and practical choice for yards.
Starting in June, it blooms with clusters of creamy whitish-yellow blossoms. The flowers are fragrant and are especially rich in nectar during warm, humid conditions, which attracts bumle bees, sweat bees and other pollinators from miles around. As a bonus, the basswood is renowned for producing one of the world's finest honeys!
Pagoda dogwood Cornus alternifolia
Left: © 2016 Brenna Anstett / LEAF. Right: 2010 United States Environmental Protection dedicated to the public domain under CC0.
The pagoda dogwood has an open, irregular, layered crown that grows in a unique twisted/whirl pattern. As a naturally understory species, it thrives in partially sunny to shady conditions, making it adaptable to various growing environments. Whether as a single-stemmed tree or a multi-stemmed shrub, it typically reaches a modest height and width of about 15 to 20 feet at maturity. Its ornamental appeal and versatility make it a beautiful addition to yards.
The flowers of the pagoda dogwood appear in late spring as small, white, fragrant, flat-topped clusters. Their alluring scent and abundant nectar attract both long-tongued and short-tongued bees, along with wasps, flies and butterflies. It’s especially important for the lifecycles of the fragile miner bee (Andrena fragilis) and the bare dogwood miner bee (Andrena integra) since dogwoods are the only pollen source capable of sustaining them.
Grey dogwood Cornus racemosa
Left: © 2016 Brenna Anstett / LEAF. Right: 2020 Peakaytea / iNaturalist.org by CC0 license.
The grey dogwood is a resilient native shrub that can adapt to various environmental conditions. It has a dense, spreading form with distinctive greyish-green foliage that makes it ideal for creating privacy screens and hedgerows. It’s well known as a valuable wildlife plant due to the clusters of white berries it produces. These berries persist through winter, providing essential food for birds and other wildlife.
Another lovely feature of grey dogwood is the delicate clusters of fragrant, creamy-white blossoms that begin blooming in late June. These flowers are a source of nectar and pollen that attract a diverse array of bees like bumble bees, little carpenter bees, cuckoo bees, sweat bees, masked bees and miner bees, along with many other pollinating wasps, flies and butterflies. Like the pagoda dogood, the grey dogwood is a vital pollen source for the fragile miner bee (Andrena fragilis) and the bare dogwood miner bee (Andrena integra).
Common ninebark Physocarpus opulifolius
Left: © 2014 Brenna Anstett / LEAF. Right: © 2016 Dave Behm / iNaturalist.org by CC0 license.
The common ninebark is a medium-sized shrub, typically reaching an average height and spread of six feet, making it an ideal choice for privacy screens and hedges. Its name originates from the distinctive bark, which undergoes a transformation into multicolored, exfoliating strips as it matures. With its upright, rounded to irregular crown and dense, wide-spreading, arching branches, this shrub adds both structural interest and visual appeal to any yard.
The flowers of the common ninebark are striking in appearance. Beginning in June, they form dense, round clusters that not only appeal to people aesthetically but also attract a diverse array of bees such as carpenter bees, masked bees and mason bees, along with other pollinators like butterflies and hoverflies.
Check out Part 1 and Part 2 of this series to learn about early and mid spring blooming native trees and shrubs that attract bees. By planting native trees and shrubs in your yard, you will be promoting Backyard Biodiversity and supporting the lifecycle of our native bees. Ready to get started? Plant for less through our subsidized Backyard Tree Planting Program! Check out our Homeowners page to get started on native tree planting and our Shrubs page to order native shrubs.
Justin Lewis is the Marketing and Communications Lead at LEAF.
The #BackyardBiodiversity campaign is a partnership initiative with the Toronto Wildlife Centre and is supported by Ontario Power Generation.
LEAF offers a subsidized Backyard Tree Planting Program for private property. The program is supported by the City of Toronto, the Regional Municipality of York, the City of Markham, the Town of Newmarket, the Regional Municipality of Durham, the Town of Ajax, the Township of Brock, the Municipality of Clarington, the City of Oshawa, the City of Pickering, the Township of Scugog, the Town of Whitby and Ontario Power Generation.
