And Other Pollinators
Are you frustrated with the vibrancy of your garden? Are you hoping to have better production from your vegetables and fruits? In order to improve the look and function of your garden you need to attract beneficial bees.
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Pollinators Improve Gardens
There have been many news stories recently talking about the decline in various insect populations especially bees and butterflies. Many articles share that 1 out of 3 bites of our food are thanks to bees. Most of the food that humans and livestock eat is dependent on a pollinator to grow. Unfortunately, large industrial farms (monocrops) and the use of pesticides are two major factors in pollinator decline.
Honeybees are not the only pollinators. Read about the wide variety of bees and other pollinators in my article. They can ensure your flowers are being pollinated. Did you know that there are approximately 4,000 types of native or wild bees? Many of these bees are considered solitary bees and they are non-aggressive; they don’t even have stingers. These non-aggressive bees are also more efficient than honeybees often visiting 100,000 blossoms per day.
Create Diverse Planting Areas
You want to ensure you are providing a diverse amount of plants. This will help attract a variety of pollinators. Even if you don’t want to have a large garden including a variety of flowers or herbs can help. My simple herb garden provides a good variety for the pollinators and my kitchen.
A few plants that bees (and humans too) like:
- Basil
- Bee balm
- Coriander
- Lavender
- Marigolds
- Oregano
- Parsley
- Sage
- Yarrow
Every plant on this list provides simple flowers in a variety of bee friendly colors. Bees are most attracted to blues, purples and yellows. As outlined in an article on Gardeners.com bees can collect more pollen from the single leaf flowers. These plants are also a great resource for your natural medicine cabinet.
Plant Wildflowers and Native Species
To ensure that you are planting the right plants for your area visit a local nursery or visit your local cooperative extension office. The wildflowers local to an area provide a wide array of colors that bloom during different times of the year.
Create a Habitat
Humans have an incessant need to have neat orderly gardens. Animals do not have the need for order. Beneficial bees and pollinators will use dead plant material and reeds for nesting. It is important that they have access to water and mud.
Safe Gardening
To ensure the safety of your plants do not use pesticides. Pesticides including organic ones can be dangerous to bees and caterpillars. A lost art to pest management is crop rotation. By rotating crops, we can keep our soil healthy creating healthy, stronger plants. I explored ways to create healthy soil before so check that article for tips.
It is important to realize that some plants like milkweed are a butterfly’s food. If you notice plant damage figure out what bug it is. Although it is time consuming removing pests by hand will ensure that the pollinators won’t be harmed. Another option, plant more than you need. This will ensure you always have a beautiful garden and you support the insects.
Summary of the 7 steps
- Create diverse planting areas
- Plant wildflowers and native species
- Create habitat – neat yards are not good for pollinators they need building materials for nests, muddy areas and water
- Single flower species – above list
- Color diversity
- Avoid pesticides, use safe gardening practices
- Consider backyard beekeeping
Do you have a pollinator friendly garden? Let me know if you have any questions below.
