Shade tolerant plant for bees

[dogstarheaven]

my lamium (dead nettle) is in an east-facing position (morning sun for about 2hrs), planted in a big pot and has been flowering for the past 3 weeks. it's loved by the bees, altho' i wouldn't have it in the ground as it's a great spreader. it's lovely to see the white blotches on the leaves esp. in the dead of winter (v. hardy). i've also found Jacob's Ladder hoverflies like which I used to grow in a pot in same position. Foxgloves is another bee-loving plant and they self-seed by the zillions if you tap the dried out seed head after flowering. Crocuses (early spring) is a great one as it's one of the earliest plant to flower.
i think Brunnera and Angelica will do well in shade, tho' personally not grown them myself.
hope this helps.

[Jez]

I don't know if this has already been mentioned but Hedge Woundwort is certainly worthwhile for deep shade.

[Kate_Izzy]

By the house in my north facing garden (it gets a tiny bit of evening sun) I have a perennial deadnettle (lamium maculatum) that grows to about 1m across, probably about 8inch high and flowers from about april through to the frosts - that seems to be a favourite with the white tailed bee. I think all bees love chives which seem to flower fine in shade.

Also these are all worth a try, most prefer a bit of sun but seem to flower ok without much -
foxgloves, honeysuckle, berberis, geranium, perennial lobelia, astilbe, heucera, primulas, fuchsias, campanula, blueberries, cotoneaster, pulmonaria, monada

[paddy]

Corydalis 'canary feathers' is worth a go for shade - very long flowering season (6 months) and seems bee-friendly