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Photo Credit: Amy Dee Stephens

Purple flowers are the bee’s knees!

Winnie-the-Pooh once said that the only reason for being a bee is for making honey, “and the only reason for making honey is so I can eat it!” Well, Pooh must have missed science class, because bees have another important role – pollinating our food crops so we can enjoy our fruits, vegetables and herbs! Without the bees, our gardens and farmers’ markets – not to mention the grocery produce section – would be skimpy on the strawberries, watermelons, pumpkins, almonds and other favorites that ease the rumblies in our tummies.

Many other insects and bees are pollinators, too, but the honeybee has become a flagship species lately due to a concerning phenomenon called colony collapse disorder (CCD). Honeybees have begun to die off mysteriously. Although most of the speculation around the cause of CCD has been disproved (theories range from virus to cell phone use), one cause seems constant – chemical use. Not only are chemicals absorbed into our food, they seem to be crippling our agricultural friend, the little bee.

Other than heed the often-touted warning to use fewer chemicals, what can you do to help this garden-loving, beneficial creature? Grow more plants! Select the right types, and you’ll be joining a network of citizens across the country determined to save the future of our food – one bee at a time.

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Photo Credit: Mark Kane

Bees and butterflies swarm to the flower heads of sedum in late summer.

Since you’ll catch more flies with honey than vinegar (or in this case, bees with nectar), lure the bees into your garden with nectar plants! Flowers with short nectar tubes (or no tubes at all) are easiest for many bees to drink from, so think sunflowers, goldenrods, asters or yarrow. Plants with wide, single petals, such as daisies, cosmos, dahlias and zinnias provide the best landing platform for bees. (Since bumblebees have slightly longer tongues than honeybees, they prefer larkspur, delphinium and columbines.) And for the most part, bees are partial to blue, purple and yellow flowers.

Some other favorite bee perennials are hollyhocks, roses, sedum, tansy, buttercups and clematis. Annuals include poppies, marigolds and clover. In a true pollination paradise for bees and other pollinating insects, herbs are the “forbidden fruit.” Lavender truly is bee heaven, catnip is the bee’s buzz, mint is a must, and don’t forget bee balm – the name says it all!

Of course, if you grow food-producing plants, you’re given yourself a double blessing: The bees will thank you, and the plants in your yard will flourish. Consider growing vegetables like cucumbers, peppers and squash. And bees just love fruits of the berry kind, including blackberries, raspberries and strawberries. And any fruiting trees, especially citrus and crabapple, are a particular bee favorite.

Flowering tree favorites range from the Eastern redbud to the American holly. Buckeyes, maples, magnolias and willows are also bee-friendly. Some recommend the silver linden (Tilia tomentosa) as the very best bee-tree choice! This beauty has leaves with attractive silver underneath, and blooms with clusters of fragrant, yellow flowers that are reported to be narcotic to bees. In fact, in some parts, it’s simply called the bee tree.