What To Plant To Help The Bee Population
“Bee populations are rapidly declining around the world due to habitat loss, pollution and the use of pesticides, among other factors. “These creatures are vital to what we eat and what our countryside looks like,” says Gill Perkins, chief executive of the Bumblebee Conservation Trust.”
It’s not too late to help the bees and if you are a homeowner looking to garden. Bees are vital to both pollinate the food we need to survive and pollinate many of the trees and flowers that provide habitats for wildlife.
Without the bees, our own vegetable gardens will not have a healthy harvest. Here is what we are planting to support the bee population this summer.
Herbs
Not only do we love our herbs for cooking and the aroma but bees love them. Planting lavender and rosemary can serve many purposes for your garden. We love having lavender around the house for the aroma and we enjoy rosemary in all sorts of summer grilling recipes.
Native Flowers
Each region has native flowers, native flowers adapted to the local growing conditions, wildlife, and climate. While in New England we will be planting perennials like Wild Geranium and Aster each region is different. You can find which trees, perennials, and nursey have them through Plant Native.
Heirloom Flowers
If you’ve noticed by now, we thoroughly enjoy an item that is passed on from generations. One of our favorite items doesn’t even come from our family but our previous neighbor’s family history. Heirloom flowers are the same, and bees love organic, colorful, and different-shaped flowers that have been growing for many years. Don’t be afraid to stick to one color pallet or style flower and the next time your Mom tries to give you some of her overgrown Cat’s Mint, don’t say no. (Sorry Mom)
VEgetables
As we said at the beginning of the article, bees are vital to the food we need to survive and are extremely important to the success of our own garden harvest. Not only should you grow your own vegetables if you have space and desire to. Bees love pollinating broccoli, onions, squash, and much more.
FRUITS
While everyone may not have the space for a generous fruit tree (if you do bees love citrus trees, royal gala apples plus peaches and nectarines). If you are working with smaller area shrubs like blackberry, blueberry bushes are some more manageable fruits to grow.
Don’t be afraid to start small, not everyone has a green thumb but if you’re interested in learning and supporting the health of our bee population, these are just the small steps you can take to provide a better environment around your home.