Wise gardeners know attracting honeybees to your garden is a good thing. I guess that makes me a wise gardener. This is my second gardening season in our ‘new to us’ home. I’m starting to think like a homesteader now. We discovered we can have bees if we like. We’re seriously considering it. After all, bees help with pollination. They can provide us with local honey too. We heard eating local honey can help relieve allergy symptoms. Maybe my allergy prone son, daughter and granddaughter could benefit. What if you can’t legally keep honeybees in your yard? What if you don’t have the time for beekeeping? How can you attract bees for pollination purposes?
Plant zinnias to attract bees. Zinnias are hardy and easy to grow. Bees love them. Plus, they brighten the yard with multicolored blossoms. I started some from seed this year. You can also buy them as starter plants. That way, the bees will be flocking to your yard much sooner. Zinnias aren’t the only flower that attracts honeybees either.
If you plant honeysuckle to attract hummingbirds, you’re in luck. Bees love honeysuckle too. They also flit to crab apple blossoms, heather and more. In fact, honeybees love all flowers. Highly fragrant ones will simply draw them from further afield. Clover is great for attracting honeybees too. If you do plan to keep bees, red clover makes the sweetest allergy protection honey.
Sunflowers attract bees like crazy. Likely it’s the huge size of those bright yellow blossoms. They grow like weeds too. Use them to border your property in the summer. Harvest the seeds in the fall. Take care where you plant them, though, they shade other plants with their spectacular height. If you’re not sure how to grow sunflowers, Yahoo! Voices features a handy guide article that can help answer your questions.
Cut down on mulch to attract bees. Most gardeners promote the use of mulch for moisture retention. It does work very well. Problem is, many bees nest in bare mud. By leaving some bare mud areas in your garden, you can encourage bees to nest there naturally. As far as I know, you don’t need the zoning department to approve a natural bees nest.
Did you know?
*Weeds like dandelions and white clover can attract bees too. Don’t be so quick to eliminate them.
*Bee pollination produces higher crop yields. That’s great for veggie gardeners.
*Honeybees are not aggressive unless provoked.
Check out more honeybee facts on Yahoo! Voices!
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How to Use Bugs as Natural Methods for Colorado Garden Pest Control
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