For thirty years our family has worked alongside bees. This summer, every Natural Life order comes with a free spoonful of bee-friendly flower seeds. This guide shows you how to turn it into a garden full of native pollinators, whether you have a backyard, a courtyard or a sunny balcony.
Scanned the QR code on your seed pack?Welcome! Find out what's inside and how to grow it.
Free seeds in every order, all summer long
Bees, butterflies, hoverflies, beetles and even honeyeaters move pollen from flower to flower, so plants can set seed and fruit. Loss of habitat, pesticides and gardens with few flowers mean our pollinators often struggle to find enough to eat. Every flowering pot or garden bed gives them somewhere to feed.
About one in every three mouthfuls of food we eat depends on pollinators, from almonds and apples to pumpkins and berries.
Australia has around 2,000 native bee species. Most live alone, many are tiny, and plenty don't sting at all.
Blue-banded bees "buzz pollinate", vibrating pollen loose from tomato, eggplant and blueberry flowers. Honey bees can't do this.
As beekeepers, we see every day how healthy bees depend on a steady supply of flowers. Planting for all pollinators, not only honey bees, is the simplest way to help.
Native plants and native bees evolved together, so local flowers are the best food you can offer. These hardy, easy-care choices suit beginners and flower for long periods. Find your climate zone below.
Darwin, Cairns, Townsville, the Kimberley
Sow seeds Dry season, April–July
Brisbane, Gold & Sunshine Coasts, Northern NSW
Sow seeds March–May or August–September
Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide, Perth
Sow seeds September–November, March–April
Hobart, Canberra, Blue Mountains, alpine Victoria
Sow seeds October–December, after frosts
Alice Springs, Broken Hill, Mildura, Kalgoorlie
Sow seeds Autumn, March–May
Plants native to your own suburb feed your local bees best. Ask a nearby native or community nursery, or your council, for local plant lists. Many councils also run free plant giveaways.
Your free pack holds a spoonful of a "shake and rake" wildflower blend: tiny seeds mixed with vermiculite, a natural mineral that spreads them evenly and holds moisture while they germinate. The 17 varieties include Aussie natives and flowers bees love, chosen to bloom in waves so there's food all season long.
Seed mix: Bee Friendly Flower Mix by Mr Fothergill's. Want more natives? Pair your pack with the local plants in section 2.
Choose somewhere with at least six hours of sun a day: a garden bed, a raised planter or a pot at least 30cm wide.
Rake the soil until it's fine and crumbly, removing weeds and stones. In pots, fill with a quality seed-raising mix.
Scatter the mix thinly and evenly on a still day. The seeds are light and blow away easily.
Rake over gently or add a light dusting of soil (2–3mm), then press down with your palm so the seed touches the soil.
Mist or water gently every day or two until seedlings appear, usually in 7–21 days. Once established, water deeply once or twice a week.
Bees need food all year, not only in spring. Combine your seed mix with a few winter-flowering natives and your garden never goes hungry. Timing shown is for temperate gardens; warmer regions flower earlier and for longer.
| Plant | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Swan River Daisy Native In your pack | In flower in Jan | In flower in Feb | In flower in Mar | In flower in Sep | In flower in Oct | In flower in Nov | In flower in Dec | |||||
| Native Violet Native In your pack | In flower in Jan | In flower in Feb | In flower in Sep | In flower in Oct | In flower in Nov | In flower in Dec | ||||||
| Alyssum In your pack | In flower in Jan | In flower in Feb | In flower in Mar | In flower in Apr | In flower in Aug | In flower in Sep | In flower in Oct | In flower in Nov | In flower in Dec | |||
| Californian Poppy In your pack | In flower in Jan | In flower in Sep | In flower in Oct | In flower in Nov | In flower in Dec | |||||||
| Cornflower In your pack | In flower in Jan | In flower in Oct | In flower in Nov | In flower in Dec | ||||||||
| Borage In your pack | In flower in Jan | In flower in Feb | In flower in Sep | In flower in Oct | In flower in Nov | In flower in Dec | ||||||
| Lavender In your pack | In flower in Jan | In flower in Feb | In flower in Oct | In flower in Nov | In flower in Dec | |||||||
| African Marigold In your pack | In flower in Jan | In flower in Feb | In flower in Mar | In flower in Apr | In flower in Nov | In flower in Dec | ||||||
| Calendula In your pack | In flower in Jun | In flower in Jul | In flower in Aug | In flower in Sep | In flower in Oct | In flower in Nov | ||||||
| Native Fuchsia (Correa) Native Add a plant | In flower in Apr | In flower in May | In flower in Jun | In flower in Jul | In flower in Aug | In flower in Sep | ||||||
| Purple Coral Pea Native Add a plant | In flower in Jul | In flower in Aug | In flower in Sep | In flower in Oct | ||||||||
| Grevillea 'Honey Gem' Native Add a plant | In flower in Jan | In flower in Feb | In flower in Mar | In flower in Apr | In flower in May | In flower in Jun | In flower in Jul | In flower in Aug | In flower in Sep | In flower in Oct | In flower in Nov | In flower in Dec |
| Coastal Rosemary Native Add a plant | In flower in Jan | In flower in Feb | In flower in Mar | In flower in Apr | In flower in Aug | In flower in Sep | In flower in Oct | In flower in Nov | In flower in Dec |
Swipe the table sideways to see every month.
Native bees will happily visit a balcony several storeys up if there's something worth the trip. A few well-chosen pots are enough to create a feeding stop in the city.
Use pots at least 30cm wide and cluster them together. A mass of flowers is easier for bees to find.
Bees see these colours best. Plant in clumps of one colour rather than dotting single flowers around.
Flat daisies suit tiny bees, while tubular flowers like salvia and lavender suit long-tongued ones.
A shallow saucer filled with pebbles and water gives bees a safe place to drink on hot days.
Drilled hardwood or bamboo with 3–10mm holes, fixed at least 1m up and facing the morning sun.
Place pots against a wall or screen. Bees forage more where it's calm and warm.
Six native bees you're likely to spot this summer, and the flowers that will bring them to your garden.
All mainland states
Amegilla cingulata
Fast, solitary and striped in shimmering blue. A champion buzz pollinator that sleeps clinging to plant stems by its jaws.
Plants they love
East coast
Amegilla bombiformis
Round, fluffy and golden-brown. A gentle buzz pollinator that nests in burrows in soft soil banks.
Plants they love
Queensland & coastal NSW
Tetragonula carbonaria
A tiny black stingless bee that lives in colonies and makes a tangy "sugarbag" honey. Easy to keep in a backyard hive.
Plants they love
Australia-wide
Megachile spp.
Cuts neat circles out of soft leaves to line its nest. Carries pollen on the underside of its belly and loves bee hotels.
Plants they love
South-east Australia
Exoneura spp.
Slender and only a few millimetres long. Nests inside dead, pithy stems, so leave a few prunings standing.
Plants they love
Australia-wide
Hylaeus spp.
Small, sleek and often wasp-like, with bright yellow or white markings on its face. It carries pollen in its stomach.
Plants they love
Everything you need to know about your free seeds, native bees and making your garden a better place for pollinators.
You don't need to do anything. Every order placed through summer includes a spoonful of Bee Friendly Flower Mix, packed in your parcel automatically while stocks last. No code needed.
Most native bees are gentle and rarely sting unless they're handled or squashed. Many are too small to pierce skin, and stingless bees like the sugarbag bee can't sting at all, which makes them ideal around children and pets.
Not entirely. The mix includes two Aussie natives, Swan River daisy and native violet, alongside easy-to-grow, non-invasive garden annuals that bees love, such as borage, lavender and alyssum. For a fully native garden, add the local plants from our region guide.
European honey bees arrived in Australia in the 1820s. Native bees were here long before them, and many native plants rely on them for pollination. Some native bees only feed on a few kinds of plants, so losing those flowers can mean losing the bees.
In temperate and cool areas, spring to early summer and early autumn work best. In the tropics, sow during the cooler dry season. If your pack arrives during a heatwave, keep it somewhere cool and dry and sow when temperatures drop.
Yes. Use a pot at least 30cm wide filled with seed-raising mix, place it in full sun and keep the surface moist until seedlings appear. Pots dry out faster than garden beds, so check them daily in summer.
Seedlings usually appear within 1–3 weeks, and the first annuals flower in around 8–12 weeks. Perennials such as lavender and sage may not bloom until their second year, which keeps your garden flowering into next season.
It helps, but most native bees actually nest in the ground. Leave a sunny patch of bare, undisturbed soil without mulch, and a few hollow or pithy stems. Together with a bee hotel, that covers most species.
Australian Pollinator Week is held each November to celebrate the insects and animals that pollinate our plants. In 2026 it runs from 7 to 15 November. Join in by planting flowers, building a bee hotel, or spending ten minutes counting the pollinators that visit your garden.
Shop our family's favourites and we'll pop a spoonful of Bee Friendly Flower Mix in your parcel. Good for you, and good for the bees.
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