Bee Gardening

More and more gardeners are anxious to do their part to help the bees by adding to the shrinking flower-rich habitat in their area. In return, the bees will pollinate your flowers, providing a bountiful harvest of fruits, seeds, and vegetables as well as the joy of watching them up close. Here are some
helpful tips to keep in mind as you grow your bee-friendly garden:

Rethink Your Lawn

Replace part of all of your lawn grass with flowering plants, which provide food and habitat for bees and other wildlife. Another perk? Native plants use less water and fertilizer, meaning less work and expense for you!

Plant Native Flowers

Native flowers help feed your bees and are uniquely adapted to your region. Why native? Native plants and pollinators have evolved together for thousands of years, therefore making them the best source of mutual benefit.

Select Single Flower Tops

Rather than plant double flower tops, stick to planting straight-species. Double-headed flowers produce much less nectar and make it more difficult for bees to access pollen.

Skip the Highly Hybridized Plants

These hybridized plants produce very little pollen for bees and they typically have less of a fragrance than non-hybridized flowers! Some cultivars can also be not as reliable for producing nectar and pollen. When in doubt, go native!

Plan for Blooms Year-Round

Plant at least three different types of flowers to ensure blooms, thus providing bees with a constant source of food. Here’s some recommendations:

• Early Season (May & June) – Wild Blue Phlox (Phlox divaricata), Canadian Columbine (aquilegia canadensis), Talus Slope Penstemon (Penstemon digitalis), Ohio Spiderwort (tradescantia ohiensis)
• Mid-Season (July & August) – Butterfly Milkweed (Asclepias), Wild Bergamot (Monarda fistulosa), Culver’s Root (Veronicastrum virginicum), Prairie Blazing Star (Liatris), Common Boneset (Eupatorium perfoliatum), Narrowleaf Mountainmin (Pycnanthemum tenufolium), Eastern Purple Coneflower (Echinacae purpurea), Giant Ironweed (Vernonia), Joe-Pye Weed (Eutrochium)
• Late-Season (September & October) – Tall Tickseed (Coreopsis), Bigleaf Aster (Eurybia Macrophylla), Blue Mistflower (Conoclinium coelestinum), Wrinkleleaf goldenrod (Solidago rugosa), New York Aster (Symphyotrichum novi-belgii), New England Aster (Symphyotrichum novae-angliae)

Build Homes for Bees

Leave a sunny patch of the garden uncultivated for Solitary Bees. Some bees need access to soil surface for nesting. Mason bees need a source of water and mud, and many bees are attrached to weedy, untended hedgerows. Make a shallow puddle in the ground or saucers with resting rocks.

Pro tip: don’t clean up the garden in the fall. Leave the leaves and stems for the bees – pollinators love a messy garden! For wood and stem-nesting bees, use piles of branches, bamboo sections, hollow reeds for them to enjoy.

Avoid Chemical Remedies

Avoid using herbicides or pesticides in the garden because they can be toxic to bees. Be careful what you buy – even organic or natural sprays can harm bees or other pollinators. Ladybugs, spiders, and praying mantises are great beneficial bugs to welcome – they’ll naturally keep pest populations in check.

Create a “Bee Bath”

Bees need a place to get fresh, clean water. Fill a shallow container of water with pebbles or twigs for the bees to land on while drinking. Make sure to maintain the container full of fresh water to ensure that they know they can return to the same spot every day. Rinse it every few days to avoid mosquitos.

Live in a Home Without a Garden?

You need only a small plot of land – it can even be a window container, rooftop, or free-standing pot – to create an inviting oasis for bees. Every little bit can help to nurture bees and other pollinators.

Some Food for Thought on Food for Bees…

Late fall is still shrub-planting season in much of North America. The ground in this area will likely remain workable at least through Thanksgiving. It’s a great time to take advantage of flowering shrubs that will support native bees in the coming year.

Even one or two native, flowering shrubs can make a difference to a local colony of bees.

• Blueberry bushes (Vaccinium corymbosum and angustifolium)
• Elderberry (Sambucus)
• Summersweet (Clethra alnifolia)
• Meadowsweet (Spirea)
• Sweetspire (Itea)

There are good native shrub choices for many North American gardens. There are many more beautiful, garden-worthy choices available than we can possibly list here, even some unique to this area.

So, get out there and plant some native, flowering shrubs while you still can! The bees will thank you for it!