Italians love flowers, and that includes people as well as bees.
Geraniums in Florence
The geranium is the flower most commonly associated with Italy. Both zonal and ivy geraniums are popular choices for the balconies and terraces of Italian homes.
Geraniums in Venice
Geraniums also fit nicely into an English cottage garden. Gertrude Jekyll pronounced that “[t]here are no better summer flowers than the single and double zonal pelargoniums that we commonly call geraniums…” She used them to fill in bare spaces in the border and in containers. They are still perfect for those purposes.
White Geraniums in a Sunny Border
While pelargoniums do not have the reputation of being popular with bees, that has not been my experience. They seem to especially love the ivy geraniums in my window boxes.
Romancing the Bee 