“NATURE’S NEED for
pollination has led to thousands
of unique relationships between
plants and animals.”
Colony collapse disorder killed
off 42 per cent of North America’s
beehives in 2015. Neo-nicotinoid
pesticides kill bees by the
billions. Other insecticides, mites,
loss of habitat, climate stress, and
weed-killing glyphosate are all
implicated. Changing climate often
means a disparity between colony
food needs and the time and place
nectar plants bloom. Without bees, the
only way to pollinate many important
food crops is by hand (feather dusters
are used already in badly polluted parts
of China). Imagine the labor costs.
Avoiding chemicals, buying local
honey to support beekeepers, and
growing bee-friendly plants all make
a difference. With even a few square
meters, a sweet habitat is easy to create
and maintain. Many city dwellers tuck in a
few herbs in a pot by the door, on a balcony,
or in hanging baskets. For folks with more
land, the options are limitless.
Bulbs for Springtime
For bee-friendly flowers in spring and early
summer, plant bulbs in the fall. Sunny yellow
winter aconite (Eranthis sp.) blooms very early
and thrives in a wide range of climates but can
be invasive. Ankle-high and usually dark indigo,
grape hyacinths (Muscari sp.) also bloom early and
spread easily. They do fine from rainy coasts to
semi-desert. Alliums of all sorts, including onions,
garlic, and leeks, do well in cool climates. Bees visit
all of them but prefer the ornamental alliums with
purple blooms. Crocus, especially Crocus luteus,
is a bee favorite too.
Many popular annuals are also bee magnets. From
desert to wet forest, bright orange California poppies
(Eschscholzia californica) reseed multiple genera-
tions each year. Nigella (Nigella sp.) is in the buttercup
family. It likes cool, damp spots and returns each spring
with blue, lavender, or white blooms in a mist of feath-
ery leaves. The black seeds of Nigella sativa are used as
a culinary herb from India to Turkey. Zinnias (Zinnia sp.)
decorate the sunny garden with bright patches of color for
many months and attract butterflies as well as bees. Moss
rose (Portulaca grandiflora) and its relatives are annual
succulents that form open, thigh-high bushes. The small, bril-
liant blossoms are real eye-poppers. They do well in hot, dry
weather but are not at all fussy. Heliotropes (Heliotropium sp.)
are an old-time favorite in the borage family, with bunches of
small flowers in pinks and purples that bees adore. Cosmos
(Cosmos sp.) thrive in rich, fertile soil. The colorful flowers bob in
the sunshine until late fall. Asters (Aster sp.), seeded early, are a
fall-blooming gift to bees.
grow cycle
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