Planting Flowering Plants to Attract Bees

Bees are a vital part of the food cycle. Bees help plants to move pollen from the stamen, where it is produced, to the pistil where it helps the flowering plant to mature and produce fruit and seeds. The pollination process helps plants exchange pollen to constantly breed stronger and better-adapted seeds. Planting the right plants in your garden can help to attract bees to help maintain a local healthy bee population. Here are some tips.

Plant flowers that bloom in sequence

Different flowers bloom and produce pollen at different times in the season. That way the bees will have something to interest them year round rather than flocking to the garden for a single session of blooming. If you are not sure which order the plants in your garden are likely to bloom in, it can be useful to chat to your local garden store as they can give you an idea of what time and on what schedule plants are likely to bloom. It can often be a good idea to find a bloom that is likely to give the bees some winter pollen as well if your climate is amenable to some winter blooms. 

Choose some bee-friendly plants

Some plants will attract different species of bees so it can be fun to experiment and see if you can observe some different species of bees exploring the plants in your yard. You can plant lavenders, roses and daisies as well as native plants such as eucalyptus plants. Weeds such as 'soursops' and lantana can also be very attractive to bees so consider leaving a corner of the garden for the weeds to take over and see if this bring some extra bees to the yard. 

Leave hives alone (if you can)

If you do find that bees have set up a hive in your yard, if possible let them be. If you can't allow the bees to stay in your yard, it's a good idea to call a local beekeeping society as they can often arrange the movement of hives with minimum disturbance to the bees inside. 

If you are passionate about the environment and want to create a space for bees to thrive, creating a bee-friendly garden can be a great start. Your local garden store or plant wholesaler like Din San Nursery can be a good place to get advice on planning a garden with a year-round range of flowering plants to attract bees.