“AVOIDING CHEMICALS ,
buying local honey to support
beekeepers, and growing bee-friendly
plants all make a difference.”
Bee-friendly Herbs of Many Uses
Thousands more beautiful pollinator-friendly cultivars are
available at local nurseries, the place for good advice and
for plants that will thrive where you grow. Floral colors
bring as much joy to us as they do to pollinators, though I
personally most appreciate plants that offer multiple bene-
fits. Here are a few in that category that you may enjoy:
FENNEL (FOENICULUM VULGARE) is a tough survivor,
with umbels of bright yellow flowers usually crawling
with bees from sunrise to dark. It produces a fine edible
root and tasty seeds for bread, pastries, and freshening
the breath. Dill and anise, fennel’s close relatives, are
equally attractive to bees.
BORAGE (BARAGO OFFICINALIS) produces lots of
nectar. Historically, it’s been planted to increase honey
production. It’s also great as a companion plant alongside
tomatoes and cabbages because it helps to ward off
harmful insects and worms and can improve the overall
health of the plants that grow around it. Easy to grow from
seed, borage blooms into the fall. The hardy survivor will
self-seed once you get it going.
COMFREY (SYMPHYTUM OFFICINALE) is a close relative
of borage. Comfrey has leaves valued since medieval
times for herbal compresses to speed both wound
healing and the knitting of broken bones. Now, we
know the leaves are high in allantoin, which helps
cells multiply. You can use it to treat burns and
bug bites too. As with borage, its carrot-like roots
bring up buried minerals and deliver key nutrients
including potassium and nitrogen to soil. Leaves
can be used as mulch and to slow spreading.
Leaves contain pyrrolizidine alkaloids that are
thought to be carcinogenic and known to cause
liver damage, so don’t eat them.
CHIVES (ALLIUM SCHOENOPRASUM) flower
early in almost all regions and climates. When
the weather is warm enough for bees to fly,
purple chive blossoms are already produc-
ing nectar for them. These perennial alliums
produce for many years and are easily
propagated by dividing off the small bulbs.
Chopped stems and flowers up the flavor of
salads and other dishes.
LEMON BALM (MELISSA OFFICINALIS)
is definitely a favorite of bees. In fact, its
genus name, Melissa, means “honeybee.”
They spread easily and tough it out
through abuse and drought, while
producing leaves for teas and recipes.
The leaves are antibacterial, anti-
inflammatory, antiviral, an anti-
oxidant, and a sedative, and they
smell great. Lemon balm is good for
insomnia, migraines, hyperactivity,
flu, and anxiety.
grow cycle
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