It’s May, the perfect time to plant a bee-friendly garden. Fortunately for both the bee and the gardener, we like the same plants, so choosing flowers to support bee populations requires no sacrifice from us.
Similar to humans, bees need food, water, shelter, and someplace to raise the next generation. Flowers provide food in the form of pollen and nectar. It is what they feed their young, but adult bees also ingest nectar. The best flowers to choose are those that have evolved to need bees for pollination. There are flowers shaped for short-tongued bees and those shaped for long-tongued bees. Bees get fed and plants get pollinated – nature at its best.
Choose native plants, not modern cultivars. Cultivars have been bred for ornamental enhancement, sometimes at the expense of pollen and nectar production. Some exotics (butterfly bush) do provide food for some bees, but natives attract a greater diversity of our indigenous bees. A few choices to get you started are asters, bee balm, Joe Pye weed, great blue lobelia, white indigo, blazing stars, beardtongue, bellflowers, hollyhocks, monkshood, snapdragons, sunflowers, foxglove, mints, tomatoes, butterfly weed, goldenrod, larkspur, milkweeds, and herbs.
Bees enjoy large areas in which to browse, visiting one bloom after another. Planting masses of the same plant works better for bees than individual plants scattered throughout the yard.
Nesting sites where they can raise their young are also important. Habitat requirements vary by species but providing a variety will cater to a greater number of native bee species. Wood, cavities, and holes in the ground are a few nesting sites. I’ve also noticed collections of hollow wooden tubes for sale as bee habitats. Bees will protect their nesting sites, so place any man-made habitats away from the house and garden paths.
Try to eliminate pesticides from your yard. If you must use something, opt for the least toxic, applying it at dusk when bees are less active. Avoid powders than remain on the plant until the next rain.
Some gardeners may be worried about attracting a stinging insect to their yard, especially if they are allergic to bee stings. Most bees are not aggressive and will ignore you in their concentrated search for flowers. If you ignore them in your appreciation of flowers, you can co-exist.
The Master Gardeners of Illinois Extension are still available to answer your questions. Email us at uie-cce@illinois.edu or message us on our Facebook page, Master Gardeners of Clark, Crawford & Edgar Counties. We also have an abundance of resources on our website at go.illinois.edu/cce. Happy Gardening!