Plan a Bee-Friendly Garden

WHAT IS HAPPENING TO THE BEES?

Loss of habitat and the use of pesticides are two of the biggest dangers to the bee population.

As more people move into cities and suburbs, there is less space for native plants and animals.

As human populations grow, farmers face increasing pressure to boost food production.

The increase in farms results in a decrease in natural habitats for bees. Pesticide use is also common in modern farming, which can be poisonous to bees.

HOW TO MAKE A BEE-FRIENDLY GARDEN

What to plant is the first thing to think about when creating a bee-friendly garden. A no-brainer here is flowers, but they aren’t attracted to all types.

Tips for choosing the right plant: -Consider the climate and choose plants that are native to the area. -Think about the amount of sun and shade the area gets and select plants accordingly. -Choose plants that are the right size for the space. -Be mindful of the amount of maintenance required and select low-maintenance plants. It is important to choose the right plants. The following are tips for choosing plants that will work the best: -Consider the climate and choose plants that are native to the area. -Think about the amount of sun and shade the area gets and select plants accordingly. -Choose plants that are the right size for the space. -Be mindful of the amount of maintenance required and select low-maintenance plants.

INCORPORATE NATIVE PLANTS

The best way to attract bees to your garden is to plant flowers that are native to your area.

Most garden centers have a section dedicated to native plants, which makes it easy to find what you're looking for.

USE COLORS THAT ATTRACT BEES

Bees will prefer flowers that are yellow, blue, or violet in color as these colors provide the bees with the most pollen.

they like yellow and white and blue and purple best so use as many of those colors as you can

CHOOSE PLANTS THAT FEED THE BEES

Most people are unaware that the shape of the flowers in their bee garden is important.

The shape of a flower can either make it easy or difficult for bees to access the pollen.

The best shapes for blossoms are bell or tubular shapes, as well as flat or bowl-shaped blossoms with single petals.

Though they look beautiful, double petals make it difficult, if not impossible, for bees to reach the nectar inside. This means that the bees cannot pollinate the flowers, and the flowers cannot produce seeds.

DIVERSIFY YOUR PLANTINGS

It is important to plant a variety of flowers in your garden to keep the bees coming. By having a variety of flowers, you will create a smorgasbord for them!

You should include a variety of plants in your garden, such as perennials, annuals, vegetables, herbs, fruits, trees, and shrubs. This will provide them with the stimulation they need and keep your garden looking lively.

CREATE LARGE GROUPINGS

It is important to have both diversity and large groupings of the same plants in your garden. Diversity helps to ensure that your garden is healthy, while large groupings make it easier for the bees to find the plants they need.

INCORPORATE FLOWERS INTO YOUR VEGGIE GARDEN

You can create a bee-friendly garden even if you're not interested in planting a flower bed.

If you want more birds in your garden, try lining your vegetable beds with annuals. This will also help with pollination and increase your food production.

Tip #1: Know what NOT to plant for pollinators

• Modern breeding is prioritizing flower size and impressiveness over pollen and nectar – which is what our pollinators are after.
• Often double flowers have plenty of pollen or nectar, but their prolific petals make it physically impossible for pollinating insects to access it – how ridiculous is that! Avoid double-flowered varieties for this reason. 

Complex flowers with lots of petals are less attractive to pollinators because they make it difficult for the insect to access the pollen.

Tip 2: Choose bee- and pollinator-friendly flowers

• Consider flowers that naturally self-seed from year to year, popping up here and there as they make themselves at home on my plot. One example is poached egg plants. They’re especially good for hoverflies, which – bonus – will feast on aphids. Another example is calendula. And a definite winner is nasturtium; not only do bees love this colorful flower but they also tempt cabbage-eating butterflies away from brassica-family crops.
• Other great self-seeders you might like to consider include Californian poppies or Eschscholzia, borage, and phacelia, which works as a fantastic cover crop or green manure. Just lovely!
• Alyssum also stands a good chance of self-seeding. It’s got a lovely, sweet scent and the hoverflies go mad for it. It will also attract tiny pest-predator wasps.
• Then there are marigolds for a whole range of beneficial bugs, including bees, and zinnia.
• Explore which annual flowers do well in your region!

If you want your garden to have continuous blooms from spring until fall, be sure to choose flowers that will bloom during each season.

You should plant different flowers that bloom at different times so that there is always something for the bees to eat.

• Many pollinators will be on the wing the moment the sun pokes through in late winter. Spring-flowering bulbs are a winner for this, and so too are rosemary, forget-me-nots, pulmonaria, and primroses.
• Plants that bloom early in the year offer food for bees emerging from hibernation—willows, hawthorn, the blossom of fruit trees such as apples, cherries, and plums, and plants such as crocus and aubretia, are all good choices.
• Excellent summer bloomers include clover, calendula, borage, and poached egg plant.
• Also, look for late-season bloomers to cover the end of the season. Towards the end of the year make sure there are late-season flowers available, for instance, aster, sedum, echinacea, and common ivy.

Fill your vase with a range of flowers in different shapes, colors, and sizes for a fuller, more diverse look.

Bees with a longer tongue are able to reach the nectar in tubular flowers such as honeysuckle, penstemon, or foxgloves. This is especially beneficial for many bumblebees.

There are also flatter umbel-like flowers, such as those of parsley, achillea, or yarrow, which are especially attractive to hoverflies.

According to the text, bees can see colors in the purple spectrum more easily than other colors. The text also lists several types of flowers that are attractive to bees, including lavender, nepeta, catmint, and alliums. Finally, the text notes that cardoon and globe artichoke flowers are particularly attractive to bees.

You should also allow some of your vegetables and herbs to flower in order to help out our hard-working pollinators. Some examples of these plants are parsley, thyme, oregano, and celery. Carrots and onions are especially good for this purpose.

The most interesting thing about this research is that it shows that in cities, allotments and productive gardens are the best environments for pollinators. This is because they offer a variety of flowers, vegetables, and fruits, which give pollinators a good variety of blooms to choose from.

Tip 5: Plant flowers strategically

Pollinating insects will visit multiple flowers of the same plant before moving to another plant. To attract more pollinators, try planting multiple flowers of the same species close together.

• Growing in groups or weaving rivers of flowers is visually more impactful anyhow. Plant in groups of three or five – it gives a pleasing look and should give a reasonable clump of that plant.
• If you have the time, be sure to remove old flowers as they fade. Known as ‘deadheading’ this will encourage plants to produce more flowers, extending the display and the benefit to our pollinators. 
• Most bee-friendly flowers prefer a sunny, sheltered location. Grow plants in blocks or swathes to maximize their useful impact on bees.
• Include flowers as companion plants amongst your fruits and vegetables—either at the margins, at the ends of beds, or between crops. Don’t forget that flowering vegetables such as beans will also attract bees. 

It's okay to let some areas of your garden be a little wild and untamed.

Are you better off sticking with only local plants, or should you mix in some region-appropriate non-natives? As a rule, averagely, more pollinators will be attracted to native flowers or wildflowers than to non-natives. This is logical as the pollinators in an area will have evolved alongside these wildflowers. But what does this mean for gardens? Is it better to only use local plants, or to mix in some region-appropriate non-natives?

We should allow more “weeds” to grow.

• Allow your lawn (or some areas of your lawn) to grow a little longer in the spring before you start mowing. This gives naturally occurring flowers a chance to establish and flower. Early in the season, there are pops of yellow from dandelions. Other lawn flowers include clover, tiny violets, and self-heal. Of course, what you see on your lawn may be very different – but rest assured it will be a good thing for our hard-working pollinators.
• Cut part of your lawn less frequently. For example, if each area gets mown on average about once every three weeks, there’s always something in flower for the pollinators. Some areas could be mown once or twice a year, providing thick thatch for nesting and overwintering.
• Allow some wilder ‘weeds’ to grow in quieter corners of the yard or garden, to the edges. This provides valuable habitat for bees. For example, nettles are the caterpillar foodplant of a number of butterflies – the butterflies will lay their eggs on it, so when they hatch the caterpillars have all they need to sustain them. Another example of a fantastic foodplant is milkweed, which is the foodplant of monarch caterpillars, which are found in North and Central America. They’ll eat much of the foliage but in return, you’ll get a wonderful kaleidoscope of butterflies – and yes, kaleidoscope really is the collective noun for butterflies; how lovely is that!
• In winter, allow the hollow stems of perennials to remain standing to offer additional shelter, and let the grass grow longer. 

If you're looking for a fun summer project that will help out some local pollinators, consider building a bee hotel! You can make one out of an old milk crate or bread box, some Mason bee tubes, and some material for a landing pad. – Advertisement – To make a bee hotel, you will need an old milk crate or bread box, some Mason bee tubes, and some material for a landing pad.

bees that live by themselves are much better at pollinating than bees that live together in a group. It is often said that they are four times better at it. If we make a bee hotel, we can help them.

• Use hollow stems of varying diameters to get a good range of bees – one-tenth to four-tenths of an inch. Bamboo canes work well. Cut them into sections about 6 inches in length.
• Stuff your stems into a surround of untreated wood, screwed together so as not to leave a gap at the top for water to drip through. If possible, ensure an overhang of an inch or two, to keep the entrances dry.
• Hang off the ground (at least 3 feet or a meter off the ground, so it’s out of the way of predators). Somewhere that gets morning sun so these cold-blooded creatures can warm up promptly and get on out to start their shift. Ideally, the hotel will be shaded in the afternoon, so it doesn’t overheat.
• Ideally, you’ll want some bare, wet soil close by. Explanation of why – using an occupied bee hotel, showing the mud-sealed tubes being actively used.
• Each egg is separated by a mud wall, so the females need to be able to access moist soil to facilitate this.

Bumblebees are excellent pollinators and usually build their nests in the ground. It's enjoyable to watch them fly in and out of their nest. Good places for bumblebees to live include compost piles, areas of tall grass, and areas with a lot of leaves that have been left undisturbed.

Tip 8: Avoid chemicals in the garden

Gardners who are in harmony with nature shouldn't have to use chemical pesticides or weed killers. These unnatural controls upset the food chain, eliminating populations of pollinators and pest predators as well as pests, and trapping the gardener into a dependency on even more chemicals.

Instead of choosing chemicals to control pests and weeds, try using natural methods. This can include netting, garden fleece or mesh barriers, and companion plants. For weeds, try regular hoeing and mulching.

Tip 9: Discover the unusual pollinators

There are many other animals that help with pollination, even though they may not seem like it at first. For example, bats are great pollinators! While they're flying around at night, they spread pollen from plant to plant. We all know that bees, butterflies and hoverflies are great pollinators, and if you’re lucky enough to live where you find them, hummingbirds too. But other pollinators aren’t so obvious! There are many other animals that help with pollination, even though they may not seem like it at first. For example, bats are great pollinators! While they're flying around at night, they spread pollen from plant to plant.

• Ants are wonderful at farming aphids. Leave them alone!
• Tiny pollen beetles (which you may find in squash flowers) do eat some of the pollen but they also help to spread it around, so let them go about their business!
• Wasps are fantastically beneficial in the garden. Only around 1% of wasp species actually sting, though, of course, that’s not much comfort to someone who has just been stung! On the plus side, research has shown that wasp stings may have anti-cancer properties. As long as you don’t bother wasps, it’s worth living alongside them for the pollinating and pest-control benefits they bring – they eat lots of soft-bodied pests like aphids.

We can help pollinators in our gardens by planting a variety of native flowers that bloom at different times throughout the season, providing a food source from spring through fall. It's important to have a variety of native flowers that bloom at different times throughout the season in our gardens to help pollinators. This provides a food source from spring through fall for them.

MAINTAINING A HEALTHY BEE GARDEN

SKIP THE PESTICIDES

Pesticides are a significant contributing factor to bee decline, so it is vital to avoid using them in your garden.

You should never use a lot of pesticides, even the organic kind, because they can kill bees.

Try to find an organic product to combat your pest problem instead of using something that will have a residual effect. Only use the product to target the pest insects.

PROVIDE A BEE NESTING HABITAT

If you want certain species, like leaf cutters and mason bees, to stay in your garden, one thing you can do is provide them with places to nest.

One way to reduce the number of mosquitoes in your yard is to hang insect houses around the perimeter. Insect houses are easy to make using tube inserts, or you can purchase them premade.