How and Why You Should Try To Attract Honey Bees to Your Vegetable Garden

Gardeners, both beginners and experienced, sometimes take for granted the importance of bees. They don’t take their welfare seriously. This is unfortunate since bees of all types play an essential role in pollination. Not only that, but bees are also predators to harmful pests present in your garden. Never try to kill them or spray insecticides on them.

All insecticides kill insects, both the good and the bad. Always remember that before you spray. If a need does come, be careful and spray small amounts in a specific area. Note that bees are insects too. Too much spray or accidental spraying might kill them, which is a tragedy for any garden.

Bees protect gardens from pest infestations. More bees also mean faster pollination and fewer outbreaks. That’s why it is advised to attract bees to your garden and not kill or shoo them away. There are many ways to invite bees. The simplest way is to plant.

Plants to Please The Bees

Did you know that there are individual plants that attract honey bees? Mints and thymes are among these plants. They have properties that bees can’t resist. These flowers consistently buzz with life early in the summer.

Heather and Lavender also make useful bee plants. Other flowers that slowly attract bees are the following: Cotoneaster horizontals (which flowers in June), Mahonia aquifolium (March-April), geranium species (May-August), Sedum spectabile (September-October), Brooms (April-May), Flowering currant (April) and Michaelmas daisies (September).

Many native flowers bring bees in by the dozen. So even if you don’t want an utterly wild garden, you can still draw in plenty of bees with a patch set aside as a conservation corner. You could also take a leaf, or rather a flower, out of the commercial money-maker’s book. They have found that bees will fly to the brilliant tallow flowers of oilseed rape in preference to any other plant.

Insecticides

As much as possible, avoid using any insecticides. If you need to use it, make sure visiting bees won’t be killed. Spray very early in the morning or late in the evening to avoid the risk of killing bees. Most bees are active mid-day, and they return to their hives before night. This practice will limit the harm you can cause the bees.

Final Thoughts

Hate them or love them, bees should have a place in your garden. Not only do they help increase your garden’s germination, but they also ward off any predators. The only thing you need to do is not destroy the natural ecosystem of the garden, and you’ll be fine. Don’t spray insecticides (unless it’s essential) and never disturb a beehive.

Having a home garden can be fulfilling. However, we must face that it’s also a hard job. Constant maintenance is needed. You have to monitor your plants, check the soil, apply fertilizers, so on and so forth. Things can get more comfortable if you attract more bees in your garden. As mentioned earlier, your garden will receive amazing benefits. Take care of them, and they will take care of the garden for you.

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