Whether it is honey bees, mason bees, or native bees, there is little question that every bee is necessary for our environments' health. While it is easy to focus on the benefits for just bees and farmers, don't forget that hosting these little guys also results in brighter, more beautiful, and fruitful gardens and crops for you!
Here are five of the easiest and most-effective ways to help your garden become a bee's paradise!
Of course, bees need flowering plants. Choose to include flowers in your garden that have wide landing spaces and are full of nectar. These include daisies, marigolds, lavender, and peonies. Also, bees seem to be attracted to yellow and blue flowers the most. Another option is to let ground-covering grass alternatives such a clover take over. Not only are these beautiful in sight and smell, but they are natural havens for bees.
Be careful not to neglect the bees in late summer/early fall and provide several different kinds of flowers. Include witch hazel, goldenrod, and chives in your garden to ensure your buzzing buddies stick around until next summer!
Just like all living things, bees need a source of water. Since bees can't swim, offer them a shallow dish or birdbath with twigs or rocks to land on. Also, mosquitoes lay their eggs in stale water, so incorporate some motion or use a small water feature. At the very least, change out dirty water for freshwater regularly. This way, you attract beautiful birds, bees, and butterflies without swarms of mosquitoes.
The last thing you want to do is hurt your new bee neighbors, so be careful when fertilizing your lawn and use organic materials. There is a lot of debate around this topic, but just focus on using natural products whenever possible.
Many bees build their nests in build-ups of natural materials. While it may be tempting to clear cluttered corners of lawn clippings and dead branches for the bees, these are perfect nesting locations!As we head into summer and warmer weather, now is the perfect time to focus on creating a pollinator insect-friendly outdoor space! We want to see your bee-friendly gardens! Share them with us here or on our Facebook page!