The whole family can get involved in creating a bee habitat by planning the three elements that attract bees to the garden – food, water and nesting sites.
Bees prefer flowers that are rich in nectar and pollen. Choose a variety of colors, shapes, and scents, especially blue and violet flowers.
Stephen Buchmann recommends planting native flowers in clumps of three to six plants, instead of one plant. “Try to use flowers that bloom for long periods of time and mix it up with plants that overlap in bloom from spring until late fall,” he says. “Try to use native wildflowers that are locally adapted to climate and soil.”
Gardeners should read plant labels carefully and avoid modern hybrids, especially those with double and triple flowers.
“Often, these have been so overselected by plant breeders and horticulturists, that they have selected out the floral rewards of nectar and pollen that pollinators need to survive,” Buchmann explains. “You can spend a fortune on a pollinator garden, using all modern hybrids and you can literally starve the pollinators you’re trying to help.”
Natalie Shrewsbury, plant specialist at Harlequin’s Gardens in Boulder, recommends these flowers for bee-guiling:
Native plants: black-eyed Susan; blanket flower; lupine; sunflower; prairie coneflower; Western wallflower.
Other bee attractors: asters; dianthus; lavendar; sage; beebalm; mint; cosmos.
Be sure to provide a source of clean water, such as a birdbath, water garden, or shallow dish. Mason bees can be encouraged to stay in the garden if there’s a supply of mud for nest-building material.
Nesting sites may be the most important part of a garden for native bees. Nests can be as simple as leaving a small patch of bare ground in or near the garden for ground nesting bees or building a bee condo.
For more information: “Letters From the Hive: An Intimate History of Bees, Honey, and Humankind,” by Stephen Buchmann, with Banning Repplier (Bantam, $24); Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation, xerces.org, nests for native bees; The National Honey Board,honey.com; kids page, games, honey recipes; National Wildlife Federation, nwf.org, habitat information.
-Jodi Torpey
