It's a question we hear a LOT: what can I do - besides beekeeping - to help our local bees?
Oh my goodness. We love that question! Every time it comes up, I breathe a sigh of relief: we are getting it. We're engaging. We're doing something about the decline of the honey bees in our area. It fills me with hope each time I hear the question. What can we do to help bees? The answer? Quite a bit.
While we'll get into more specifics this year, we want to start here: bees, like you and me, need to eat. Worker bees forage nectar and pollen from the plants in our yards, our neighborhoods, our cities, and our countrysides. It's vital that we do whatever we can- even if it's just on our individual balconies or yards or property- to ensure that bees have a safe, appropriate, and plentiful food supply. The bonus for us? These gals repay us with pollination and increased plant fertility. It's a fair trade, for sure!
The following is a list (by no means comprehensive, however) of trees, plants and herbs that are suitable for bees in our local area of Texarkana (Bowie County, Texas). While there is some debate surrounding a few of the plants both on and not on this list, we at Balm+Honey Farm believe it's a good place to start.
Here's that list of What To Plant For Bees:
Catnip
Common Yarrow
Basil 'African Blue"
Bottlebrush Tree
Pink Evening Primrose
Bee Bush
Flutttermills
False Indigo
Prickly Pear
Coral Vine
Oregano
Columbine (yellow)
Golden Groundsel
Roosevelt Weed
Rock Rose
Crossvine
False Fox-Glove
Blue Beard Spirea
Honey Mesquite
Redbud
Cherry Laurels
Partridge Pea
Mexican Plums
Meyer Lemon Tree
Wafer Ash
Erect Dayflower
Large Buttercup
Gregg's mist flower
Flameleaf Sumac
Gregg's Dalea
Rose
Larkspur
Rosemary
Persimmons
Black-Eyed Susan
Fruit-bearing Loquats
Black Willow
Blue Mist Flower
Indigo Spires
Kidneywood
Mealy BlueSage
Prairie Verbena
Autumn Sage
Sunflower
Helianthus 'Lemon Queen" Asteraceae
Lyre leaf sage
Sunflower
Cedar Sage
Nellie Stevens Holly
Bog Sage
Shrimp Plant
Goldenrod
Mexican Honeysuckle
Global Mallow
Texas Lantana
Texas Betony
Lavender
Eve’s Necklace
Bluebonnet
Sky-Blue Aster
Tomatillo
Aster
Texas Barberry
Bitterweed
Spiderwort
Hemp Vine (Monarch Vine)
Mexican Buckeye
Powderpuff
Verbena
Bee Balm
Queen Anne's wreath
Wild Bergamot
Lemongrass
Basil
Sicilian Oregano
Baby Blue Eyes
Whew! That's a lot! Do you have any of these plants in your vicinity already? If so, the bees will thank you. Can we work toward growing more of these bee-friendly species in our area? Absolutely. Together we can do so much!
This year, we've challenged ourselves to plant at least three (3) of the plants on the following list. Might you be able to set a similar goal and help us make our area a bee friendly place? Many thanks in advance.
-Brin, Managing Beekeeper, Balm+Honey Farm