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Garden Bee Gardens
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Bee gardens have attracted pollinators for centuries. They developed when the Roman Catholic Church, the largest consumer of beeswax from the 10th until the 16th century, cultivated apiculture at its monasteries to boost its beeswax production. Plants can include edible flowers and vegetables that attract honeybees, native bees, butterflies (including caterpillars), hummingbirds and other good insects and birds.
For the best honeybee visitations, situate the garden in sunlight and grow plants in bold groups. Nectar flow is affected by temperature, humidity, soil composition and plant species. Flow increases when cool nights are followed by hot days. Bees and other pollinators are attracted to a flower when the sun has increased the sugar concentration in its nectar.
Bee colonies desperately need food stores in the spring. Honey mixed with pollen and fed to their young is known as bee bread. Early blooming bulbs such as crocuses, daffodils and hyacinths are critical. The blossoms of the red maple mark the
BY RUTH STOLTING
N.C. Cooperative Extension Service Master Gardener Volunteer
beginning of the real nectar flow, and dogwood, tulip poplar, holly and tupelo give honeybees a healthy start. Fall is also critical for overwintering, and goldenrod, aster and other fall flowers are helpful.
Honeybees are attracted by a flower’s size, shape, perfume and color, particularly those that are violet, blue, blue-green, yellow, and orange. They rely on petal markings to determine the best access to a flower’s nectar and pollen. Honeybees also need a shallow water source since they collect water to “air condition” their hive at 94 degrees for the brood. Birdbaths or small decorative pools work well, so long as the bees can maintain footing and not drown.
Let the plants do the work, and you enjoy the show.
• Be sure to buy organic seeds, or check with suppliers whose plants have been grown organically. You want plants for different purposes, minus chemicals and pesticides.
• Bee balm attracts bees, butterflies, hummingbirds and beneficial insects.
• Parsley is edible, and attracts butterfly caterpillars and beneficial insects.
• Yarrow attracts bees, butterflies and beneficial insects, as well as ladybugs and parasitic wasps.
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