Last Monday, May 20 was World Bee Day, which was the topic for our May 15 column. For readers who may have missed that column, World Bee Day was begun in 2018 for the purpose of raising awareness of the essential role bees and other pollinators play in keeping people on our planet healthy (fao.org/world-bee-day).
Invite bees to the garden with bee-friendly flowers. Gardeners play a vital role in providing habitat and nurturing our native and honeybees. Without bees the apple, apricot, nectarine, peach or plum trees in our backyards would not set fruit for us to harvest in the summer and autumn months. We would not be harvesting watermelons, cantaloupes, or squash. No autumn pumpkins. Imagine our personal gardens without these crops.
As gardeners, we can do our part by growing a progression of flowering plants for bees when they come into our gardens. Hopefully, to return again and again.
There are many flowering plants that are host to pollinating bees. Here are a few suggestions for a beewelcoming garden in our growing region.
Annuals and perennials: alyssum, aster, bee balm, blue bonnets, calendula, Cleome, columbine, coneflower, Coreopsis, Dahlia, daisy, Dianthus, Gaillardia, goldenrod, hollyhock, larkspur, marigold, milkweed, phlox, Rudbeckia, Russian sage, Salvia, Scabiosa, sunflower, sweet peas, yarrow, zinnia.
Herbs: borage, catmint, chamomile, chives, cilantro, dill, lavender, mint, oregano, marjoram, parsley, rosemary, sage, thyme.
Shrubs: Bird of Paradise, hardy hibiscus, honeysuckle, rose, Vitex, Penstemon.
Fruit: apple, blackberry, cherry, peach, plum.
Vegetables: cucumber, gourd, okra, pepper, pumpkin, summer squash, winter squash General considerations for making a bee-friendly garden:
• Plant in swaths or grouping of like flowers.
• Provide fresh water in shallow bird baths or like containers so bees can land and drink without drowning.
• Avoid insecticides. Often spraying is not necessary, as beneficial insect populations follow appearance of harmful insect populations and spraying to kill the harmfuls will also kill the beneficials.
Ellen Peffley Harp, a retired professor of horticulture at Texas Tech University, writes about gardening for several Texas newspapers.
