For the Bee's!

       Hello friends,  I have wrote about attracting Bird's and Butterfly's to your yard cause lets face it we all like the beauty they bring, but an important  element we need to have and welcome to our yards are Bee's!
Most people hate them or fear them which is natural. Even if you do we still need them, without them we wouldn't have our beautiful flowers!
       Do you know that we are losing more and more bee's by the year? This doesn't need to be happening, we can do little, inexpensive things to help our buzzy friends. We  need them much more than they need us, well they wouldn't need us if we weren't killing them off with all the poisons we put out there.
       Here are some easy things you can do for our friends the bees even if you don't have a yard I've given you ways to help them and as a bonus you can eat what you plant. Now this is just a beginning list of plants you can go to a nursery near you and find out about more plants and plants that are native to where you live!
       I'm going to type this in 'plain' typing so you can copy and paste easier, since I was told it was hard to in my normal typing!

         Plan for blooms season-round. Plant at least three different types of flowers to ensure blooms through as many seasons as possible, thus providing bees with a constant source of food.For example:

• Crocus, Hyacinth, Borage, Calendula, and wild Lilac provide enticing spring blooms.
• Bees feast on Bee Balm, cosmos, Echinacea, snapdragons foxglove, and Hosta in the summer.
• For fall, Zinnias, Sedum, Asters, Witch Hazel and Goldenrod are late bloomers that will tempt foragers.

   Build homes for native bees.Leave a patch of the garden in a sunny spot undisturbed for native bees that burrow. Some native bees also need access to soil surface for nesting.For wood- and stem-nesting bees, this means piles of branches, bamboo sections, hollow reeds, or nesting blocks made out of untreated wood. Mason bees need a source of water and mud, and many kinds of bees are attracted to weedy, untended hedgerows. 

   Only use natural pesticides and fertilizers. Avoid using herbicides or pesticides in the garden. They can be toxic to bees. Ladybugs, spiders, and praying mantises will naturally keep pest populations in check.

   Create a “bee bath.” Bees need a place to get fresh, clean water(just like all living creatures). Fill a shallow container of water with pebbles or twigs for the bees to land on while drinking.  Make sure to maintain the container full of fresh water to ensure that they know they can return to the same spot every day.

   Plant native flowers. Native flowers help feed your bees and are  adapted to your region. Try to use native flowers to which local bees are especially adapted.

   Select single flower tops such as Daisies and Marigolds, rather than double flower tops such as Double Impatiens. Double headed flowers look showy but produce much less nectar and make it much more difficult for bees to access pollen.

   Skip the highly hybridized plants, which have been bred not to seed and so produce very little pollen to feed the bees 

      So you say you don't have a yard and so can't help the bees? Or grow any fresh Herbs? Yes you can! Here's how!

   Even if you don't have a backyard by placing a few herbs and flowers in hanging baskets, pots or  recycled containers beside your doorway in a box outside your window you can still have fresh herbs and help the bees. Easy to grow herbs such as chives, thyme, mint, oregano, rosemary, sage, lavender and basil all provide flowers that are especially helpful to honeybees – to say nothing of what they can do for your home cooking! Sure, if you are new to gardening, there’s plenty to learn – but this age-old hobby needn’t be complex or expensive. Of course you can go all out and buy yourself pretty Terra-cotta pots or pricey glazed containers, but you can be cheap and creative by rustling up old wicker baskets, tin cans, plastic tubs, discarded buckets and pails. Look around the neighborhood on trash day – you might just find some unexpected gems begging to be plucked out of the refuse heap.

  Once you have collected your new garden or recycled containers, remember to poke a few drainage holes in the bottom of solid containers, and/or line wire or wicker baskets with a semi-permeable membrane and/or sphagnum moss. It’s important for pots to both hold moisture in the soil and to allow for free drainage of water.

  You don't have to plant just Herbs there are edible flowers too! When growing herbs and flowers together in the same container, it’s important to make sure that all of your plants are safe for consumption, especially if small children will have access to your pots. Some pretty, edible flower choices for window boxes and patio pots include trailing nasturtiums, (the flowers make a nice, spicy addition to salads), French marigold,  pansies, bachelor buttons, johnny jump-ups, violets,  impatiens, scented geraniums, mums, and open-flowered, miniature carnations. Honeybees and other pollinators, such as butterflies and hummingbirds will love these plant and you for planting them! 

Marigold                                            

Chives                       

Bee Balm                                       

 

Violets