Making Your Garden Bee Friendly

This is something that is getting a lot of buzz (pun intended!): the declining bee population. These busy bugs help pollinate plants and without them we’d be in big trouble. To help the bees and attract them to your garden, there are a few simple things you can do, including planting bee- friendly plants (see some suggestions below), and create a bee bath- somewhere they can grab a drink and rest. This is fun little project to make with the kids and is a great chance to teach them about bees.

Here’s how you can make a bee bath for your garden:

What you’ll need:

• ceramic pot and small dish/ saucer
• some small rocks 
• water

Directions:

1. Rinse off your rocks and place them in the dish
2. Fill the dish with water so that the rocks are about half submerged, making sure to leave room for the bees to rest
3. Turn the pot upside down and place the dish with the water and rocks on top
4. Pick a place in your garden near flowers and plants that attract bees or if you have a pest problem, place it next to the plant with pests (the water will attract insects that will eat pests like aphids)
5. Rinse and refill every few days to keep the water fresh and free from mildew and dirt

Want to bring more bees into your garden? Here’s a list of some plants you can add to your garden that are bee- friendly:

• lavender
• thyme
• cilantro
• geraniums
• sunflowers
• hollyhocks
• sage
• fennel
• poppies

Hope you enjoy this fun addition to your garden!