With spring beginning to show its face through our strange Albertan weather, new plant growth is going to start budding soon. And with new plant life, especially spring flowers, we know the bee is soon to follow! It is so important to help out our little friend, the bee. Even if you live in an urban area, you can plant a little flower bed for these adorable pollinators to help them out this summer! Here are a few things you can do to help benefit the bees this year!
Bees view life through the ultraviolet spectrum, which means they frequent white, purple, blue and yellow blooms the most. Of course, they’ll stop in for other varieties, but in order to encourage bees to visit, try planting large patches of these colours of flowers! Look for native plants to your area, bees definitely support local, and plant in large blocks of colour to help the bees locate your garden. They’re particularly fond of chrysanthemums, lilies, lavender, white clover, black-eyed susans, lilacs, marigolds, daisies, bee balm, sage, rosemary, mint, basil and oregano. Consider adding blocks of these plants to your garden to help attract them! Keep in mind that planting flowers that bloom at different times of the year is another way to help ensure these little pollinators will visit you often! Get in touch with your local garden center for blooming periods!
Another way to help promote life for bees in your area is to give them a place to stay, such as a bee box. Encourage a bee-friendly environment by allowing excess water to stand around your property because bees need a place to drink and bathe! Avoid using any kind of pesticide or chemical to deal with pests in your garden as this will very negatively affect any bee population too. Bees are extremely sensitive and using toxic products in your flower beds is bad for them, but it’s also bad for us!
Bees are an essential part of our ecosystem and that’s why it’s imperative we do what we can to help out these little pollinating warriors. If you aren’t able to plant a full garden, that’s okay! Filling your window planters is still a way you can help the bees prosper this summer! If you’d like to know what else you can do to help or you have questions regarding pest control and safety, get in touch with us at 403.262.1666.
