start with native Plants

Native flowers feed native bees and are uniquely adapted to the region. They will serve as a magnet to local wildlife, essentially kick-starting an ecosystem restoration.

Be sure that any non-native plants you choose are appropriate for the region. In the U.S., consult the United States Department of Agriculture Plant Hardiness Zone Map.

Find information and plant suggestions to promote the health of pollinators by U.S. region in The Pollinator Partnership Ecoregional Plant Guides.

Find their Guide for our Coastal California ecoregion at: http://pollinator.org/PDFs/Guides/CalifCoastalStepperx4FINAL.pdf

Helpful Guidelines

Choose heirloom rather than hybridized plants

Hybridized plants are bred not to seed and so produce very little pollen for bees. Heirloom seeds and plants are usually well labelled as such.


Select flowers in colors bees love

Bees have favorite colors and red is not one of them. Bees see UV light which guides them to the nectar in blue, purple, violet and yellow blooms. You don’t have to skip red if you love it, so do butterflies. And red flowers with prominent yellow centers are usually attractive to bees.


Plant large groupings of the same flowers

Honeybees forage at the same flowers on each trip. Large patches allow them to direct their hive-mates to a resource worth their group trip. This conserves energy for the honeybees; it does so as well for bumblebees and native bees who do visit multiple flowers on a foraging trip.

wildflowers like California poppies are loved by native pollinators in Mendocino
 
 

Provide pollinators with both pollen and nectar

Choose plants with single flowers. Single, open flowers such as daisies and poppies offer easy access to the pollen and nectar. Think of them as good landing sites.

All flowers with multiple layers of petals are designated “double.” Double headed flowers such as double impatiens and double cosmos varieties produce much less nectar and are more difficult for bees to access pollen.

 
A single layer of petals are best for bees.

A single layer of petals are best for bees.

Multiple layers of petals are difficult for bees to navigate.

Multiple layers of petals are difficult for bees to navigate.

 
 
 
 
 
 

Plan for season-round bloom

As space permits, plant three or more different flowers each season for continuous bloom to provide bees a constant source of food through three seasons. Each season ideally will include both annuals and perennials. For a simple example, in our Mendocino coastal climate:

Spring: borage, calendula, rosemary;
Summer: Bee balm, echinacea, cosmos, snapdragons, sunflowers;
Fall: zinnias, sedum, asters, sage

This can be done even in containers. Perennial herbs such as rosemary and thyme do well in containers. For annuals, plant seasonal starts, or if you have enough room, start from seeds in the containers. When the flowers die back, replace them with starts of the next season’s annuals.

On a larger scale where landscaping or acreage provides room for trees, flowering fruit trees can be complemented by native flowering trees such as early blooming manzanitas or fall blooming fremontodendron to fill out the bloom-year.

bee on borage plant
 
 

Plant trees and shrubs for bees

For effective foraging, bees need masses of flowers in one place. Large shrubs or small trees are a vital food source. It is estimated that five established trees can provide as much pollen and nectar as an acre of meadow. Choose winter and early spring flowering trees such as Manzanita, wild cherries, madrone, and willow. Plant blackberries, raspberries, and fruit trees such as apple and plum that attract bees to your yard.

Add herbs to your vegetable garden

Many types of herbs attract bees, including basil, catnip, lavender, marjoram, mint, rosemary, sage, and thyme. Plant these annual and perennial herbs among your vegetables in large patches. The will provide bee nourishment as well as repelling some pests.

Let your veggies flower

Once your kale, chard, or lettuce starts to bolt, let them go. Their flowers are perfect for attracting pollinators and beneficial insects into your garden. Letting some greens go to flower is a simple way to increase your pollinator food supply without having to redesign your plantings. And depending on your planting and flower schedule, they may fill in at times when you have little other bee food available.

Use only natural pest controls and fertilizers

Herbicides and pesticides are toxic to bees; even small amounts of neonicotinoids can wreak havoc on bees' navigational abilities causing them to get lost trying to return to their nest. Foraging bees can carry pesticides back to the nest, where the toxins can damage upcoming generations of bees. Learn about Integrated Pest Management (IPM), an environmentally friendly, common sense approach to controlling pests. Look for products identified as “OMRI-approved,” which are products that can be used by Certified Organic farmers. They are widely available in California. If you can’t find them where you are, talk to your nurseryman.

bee in an apple blossom
The Learning Garden at the Noyo Food Forest

The Learning Garden at the Noyo Food Forest

 
 
 

Create a water source for bees

Bees need fresh, clean water. Every bee garden should have one or more shallow water sources such as a birdbath or a small pond. This shallow container should have pebbles, twigs or an island for bees to land on while drinking. Make sure to maintain the container full of fresh water to ensure that they can rely on the same spot every day.

Plant hedgerows wherever possible

Whether used as fences or beneficial borders in large yards and gardens, and in cultivated fields, hedgerows represent a habitat resource which is particularly important for species within agricultural ecosystems. Hedges and woodlands on farms increase the delivery of ecosystem services, including the potential for carbon capture and storage in woody biomass, and the provision of habitat resources for essential wildlife, including pollinators and natural controllers of pest species.

water source for bees in the form of a shallow pie pan with pebbles
 
 
 

Provide nest sites for solitary bees

Leave an uncultivated patch of the garden in a sunny spot for solitary bees that burrow. Some solitary bees also need access to soil surface for nesting. Mason bees need a source of water and mud. For wood- and stem-nesting bees, pile branches, or nesting blocks of untreated wood.
Ground-nesting bee

a ground-nesting bee
 
 
 

Provide habitat for bees that nest in wood

Create nesting sites with logs or tree stumps in sunny spots that have some shelter from inclement weather. Wood riddled with beetle tunnels is ideal. Drill holes 3/32 to 3/8 inches in diameter and 3 to 6 inches deep into the southeast side of stumps or logs.

bee habitat in a chunk of wood with holes
 
 
 

Loose Your Lawn

What is now your lawn may be the ideal space to develop a bee garden.

Lawns provide no habitat for pollinators, although the weeds they host, such as dandelions, do. You cut those back every time you mow your lawn. Instead plant flowers, herbs and edible plants, which provide food and habitat for bees and other pollinators and wildlife. Replacing a lawn is not necessarily easy. It usually begins with the removal of grass. There are two ways to accomplish this – dig it out; or smother it with cardboard or newspaper, and mulch or compost. Look to the Resources for help with this project.

learn more about pollinators

The websites and books listed below are a great place to start. You can learn more hands on about how sustainable agriculture can redress the decline of pollinators from many great local gardening educators.

On the Mendocino coast, the Mendocino Coast Botanical Gardens offers a wide range of workshops, classes, and memberships at www.gardenbythesea.org


ONLINE


BOOKS

  • Attracting Native Pollinators, The Xerces Society www.xerces.org

  • Buzz, The Nature and Necessity of Bees, Thor Hanson

  • California Bees and Blooms: A Guide for Gardeners and Naturalists, Gordon Frankie, Robbin W. Thorp, Rollin E. Coville, and Barbara Ertter

  • Field Guide to Common Bees of California, Gretchen LeBuhn

  • Insects and Gardens, In pursuit of a garden ecology, Eric Grissell

  • Pests of the Garden and Small Farm, A Grower’s Guide to Using Less Pesticide, Mary Louise Flint

  • Pollinator Friendly Gardening, Rhonda Fleming Hayes

  • The Bee-Friendly Garden, Kate Frey & Gretchen LeBuhn

  • The Forgotten Pollinators, Stephen Buchmann and Gary Paul Nabhan

  • 100 Plants to Feed the Bees, The Xerces Society

a lawn-free front yard