If you want a thriving garden and landscape, you need bees. But modern world issues like urban sprawl and toxic chemicals are putting their existence at risk. You can help – by creating bee-friendly landscapes that will give bees the help they need and make your gardens look great.
Bees pollinate flowers of ornamental, fruit, and vegetable plants native to California. Yes, this makes them healthier, but in some cases it’s absolutely necessary as mature fruits and seeds can’t develop without cross-pollination. That’s why farmers value healthy bee populations so much as an essential part of producing a healthy crop.
For home gardens or commercial landscaping, bees are also important for supporting healthy plants and flowers that you’ve invested time and money into. Supporting the bee population can be done with a few simple adjustments and additions to as we’ve outlined below.
What gardens need to attract bees
There are three main things your garden needs to attract and nourish bees: Shelter, Water and Food.
#1 Provide Shelter: Bees need protection and places to raise their young. Many native California bees are solitary next makers and build their nests in the ground or in pre-existing cavities. You can provide shelter for bees in your garden by creating patches of soil or sand in out-of-the-way areas they can burrow in. Other ideas are to hand bee boxes under trees, roof overhangs or umbrellas. Nesting cavities can also be provided with natural materials such as hollowed out sticks or logs, or even dried and hollowed out sunflower stems. Anything you install much be out of the sunlight and kept dry so mold doesn’t grow.
#2 Provide Water: Water is crucial for all life, including bees. Fountains are a good start. Chemical-free ponds are good too (just be careful of mosquitoes). Rock formations that allow for natural puddles to form from irrigation can also attract bees where they will be able to drink water and extract beneficial minerals and salts from the rocks or soil.
#3 Provide Food: One of the best ways to attract and nourish bees in your garden is to provide food. In the case of bees, it’s all about the flowers. We’ve provided a list of bee-friendly plants below at you can find at your local nursery. If you are adding these to your landscape plans, be sure to plant large patches of one single type for greater benefit. Large patches provide more nectar and pollen in one place so bees can forage from one flower to the next without wearing themselves out. Diversity in flower and plant types is also important, as well as using native plants which are must more likely to attract and meet the needs of California’s native bees.
Plants for California gardens that attract bees
For spring and summer flowering plants that attract a range of bees and are great for California gardens, check your local nursery for these:
- Manzanita
- Marigold
- California poppy
- Sunflower
- Heliotrope
- California bluebell
- Geranium
- Salvias (Hot Lips, Mexican Sage, Indigo Spires, etc.)
- Verbena
- Cosmos
- Pumpkin, squash and zucchini blossoms
- Coneflower
- Daisy
- Citrus tree blossoms (orange and lemon especially)
- Rosemary, Sage, Thyme, Oregano, Spearmint
- Dusty Miller
- Goldenrod
And finally, once your bee-friendly garden is thriving, you might consider getting it certified as a wildlife habitat through the National Wildlife Federation – there’s even a cool sign you can display!