Shallot flowers sound interesting. I leave a few elephant garlic to bloom for the bees, other pollinators and humming birds. Aliums draw a variety of fliers to them when they bloom. The flat garlic chives also bring a crowd to their white clusters of flowers.
Another early blooming shrub that may be hardy enough is witch hazel.
When my one large rhodo is in bloom it is full of bee music day after day until the flowers drop and then they move on to the rambling rose. There are no dead bees. We have so many rhodos on the coast here, even wild ones, that I think the bees have figured it out or already died if susceptible.
I have noticed that the bees here like toad flax more than they like the African basil. Toad flax can be invasive but it can also be controlled without too much trouble. Hummingbirds also like the toad flax.
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