Bring your garden to life with pollinators
When we develop healthy gardening practices that support pollinators we witness the results of our work right before our eyes. What can be more delightful than a garden full of life with lovely winged creatures buzzing and fluttering about?
TRANSFORM YOUR YARD
WITH NATURE GARDENS
Steps to building biodiversity
1. Plant Native
You can increase the amount of pollinators and beneficial insects on your property by planting more wildflowers and native plants. Floral food provides essential nutrients that help local bees and insects thrive. By adding more plants to your garden you are helping restore the ecosystem.
2. Plant a Shrub
The small but plentiful blossoms of shrubs and berry bushes provide a bountiful feast in early spring that bees will appreciate. When you bring more shrubs into your garden, you are building a food hub for bees.
3. Share your lawn
Your lawn will come to life if you allow it to be more wild. Perhaps mow a walking path but allow the rest of the lawn to grow longer. Many native plants were classified as weeds due to agricultural but they are actually beneficial - self-heal, narrow leaf plantain and yarrow provide pollen and nectar to bees and other insects all summer.
4. Think in 3's
Floral blooms that continue through the season are essential in supporting native bee species. The number '3' is a good reminder! Plant in clusters with a minimum grouping of at least three plants. Have at least three species of flowers blooming at any given time. Select plants providing blooms for all three seasons; spring, summer and fall.
About native bumblebees
Bumblebees have a life cycle that depends on conditions in the environment and over the course of the entire year. Due to their robust nature, they can manage flight in most temperatures, form hot to cold and in the rain as well. Essentially they have the longest flight time in the year, when compared to other bees. Active from early spring to late fall also means they need food during this time which is why our gardening and landscaping practices can make a difference.
SOCIAL LIFE
The queen emerges from hibernation in early spring, searching for food when most plants may still be covered in snow. Workers collect pollen all summer long and well into fall to be able to provide the queen with energy stores to survive the winter. Bumblebees are similar to honey bees in that they are a social bee that lives in a colony but they differ in that they travel much shorter distances in search of food. Basically if you see a bumblebee, that means they live near by.
FORAGING
Typically a bumblebee will forage within a 1 km radius of their nest. Other native bees and specialist pollinators may only travel a few hundred metres from their nest. If you see bees in your garden it is a fairly good indicator that they are nesting nearby. In comparison, honey bees may travel over 3 km for food or further is sources are scarce.
HABITAT LOSS
Habitat loss and fragmentation are the primary factors causing a decline in native bee populations. Where there were once natural landscapes with meadows and wild flowers, there are now expanded developments with buildings and widened highways. Many of these changes take place at a rapid pace, often depleting acres of land in a season. This means that nature is unable to adapt. The changes are sudden with dire outcomes. It would be similar to waking up one day to find that you local grocery stored is gone.
MAKE A DIFFERENCE
Every community can make a difference, with conservation practices that can start with each individual. Simple changes to landscaping and gardening can make a difference. To learn more on how to provide beneficial food sources for bumblebees continue to follow along.