How to Create a Bee‐Friendly Garden

Co-authored by Monique Capanelli

Last Updated: December 21, 2021 References

Bees pollinate plants while searching for food, which plays an important role in worldwide food production. With bee populations on the decline, it's important to do your part to help the bees! When planning your garden, select bee-friendly plants to attract these helpful insects.^{[1]
X
Expert Source

Monique Capanelli
Plant Specialist

Expert Interview. 22 September 2020.} You can also provide shelter, water, and other nutrients for your bees to draw them in. Also, make sure you aren't harming them at the same time; avoid the use of pesticides and herbicides, which can weaken or even kill bees.

Method 1

Method 1 of 3:

Selecting Bee-Friendly Plants

1
Replace some of your lawn with flowers.^{[2]
X
Expert Source

Monique Capanelli
Plant Specialist

Expert Interview. 22 September 2020.} Grass doesn't attract bees, so to make your yard more bee-friendly, take some of it out. Pick an area in a sunny location.^{[3]
X
Research source} Dig up the lawn and till the grass; then you can plant flowers that will bring the bees to your yard.^{[4]
X
Research source}
- Carve out large sections of your yard for bees. When you group the flowers together, the bees are more likely to stop by. Aim for sections that are at least 3 by 3 feet (0.91 by 0.91 m).
- If you're willing or able to let the grass grow up a bit, bees will use tall grasses as shelter. You can also plant decorative grasses for shelter.^{[5]
  X
  Research source}
2
Choose yellow, purple, white, and blue flowers with single blooms. Bees and other pollinators like these colors, so opting for plants that bloom in these shades will help.^{[6]
X
Research source} While double blooms might be pretty, bees really prefer the old-fashioned single blooms, as they tend to have more nectar.^{[7]
X
Research source}
- Double blooms are often the product of modern hybrids. When cultivating these flowers, sometimes breeding for beauty lowers the amount of nectar, fragrance, and pollen in the blooms. It's best to avoid modern hybrids altogether.
- Some bee-friendly flowers include heather, ivy, lupines, partridge peas, wild bergamot, sunflowers, tulips, black-eyed Susans, rhododendrons, geraniums, forget-me-nots, and lilacs.^{[8]
  X
  Research source}
3
Rotate plants that bloom throughout the year. Different flowers will bloom at different times in the year. Select a variety of plants that will come at different times so that your bees have food all-year long. While many bees hibernate in the winter, they'll need food starting early in spring.^{[9]
X
Research source}
- For instance, choose plants like crocus, violas, and blueberries or trees like apples or plums for blooms in early spring. Hawthorn and willows are also good choices. Maples and honeysuckle can also be used.^{[10]
  X
  Research source}
- Borage, calendula, and clover are good through the summer. Roses, mint, oregano, purple coneflower, tickseed, marigold, and milkweed are also good choices.
- Aster, yellow and purple coneflowers, cosmos, snapdragon, echinacea, and phlox bloom later in the summer and early fall.
4
Plant a wide variety throughout the seasons. Diversity will help attract different kinds of bees and other pollinators to your yard. For instance, longer-tongued bees like bigger blooms, while shorter-tongued bees like smaller blooms.^{[11]
X
Research source} Plus, bees enjoy a variety of flowers, so the ones you draw to your yard will enjoy the feast of blooms you've grown.^{[12]
X
Research source}
- For an easy fix, try using a wildflower seed mix that has plants native to your area.
^{[13]
X
Expert Source

Monique Capanelli
Plant Specialist

Expert Interview. 22 September 2020.} The hardiness zone tells you how well certain plants will grow in your area. However, if you choose native plants, you shouldn't have much trouble growing them in your garden. Talk to experts at your local nurseries to find good native plants that will attract bees.^{[14]
X
Research source}

Advertisement

Method 2

Method 2 of 3:

Providing Water, Nutrients, and Shelter

1
Create bee homes to give them someplace to go. While many bees build hives, others make homes individually. You can make places that are bee-friendly in your yard, and both honeybees and bumblebees are likely to move in.^{[15]
X
Research source}
- For instance, drill holes in a thick board. Don't make any of the holes larger than ¹⁄₂ inch (13 mm), but you can vary the hole sizes. Then place the board so that the edge is toward the ground and the holes are facing outward. The bees will curl up in the holes for their home. Put it somewhere where it will be shaded from the sun and rain. You can even screw it into place under your eaves.^{[16]
  X
  Research source}
- For another type of home, bundle together hollowed-out sticks or bamboo. Make sure the tubes are dry and then tie them together. Place them somewhere in your yard where they won't get wet.
- Bees are also fond of hollowed-out dead limbs or tree trunks.
2
Feed your bees with sugar water. Find a standard canning jar, and drill 4 holes in the lid. Use a ¹⁄₈ inch (3.2 mm) drill. Mix 1 part sugar with 1 part water until it is thoroughly combined, and put it in the canning jar. Set 2 pieces of wood on the ground near the bee homes. Place them just far enough apart that the top of the canning jar can rest on them and drip the sugar water out. Turn the canning jar upside-down and set it on the wood.^{[17]
X
Research source}
- Refill the jar as needed.
- If you want, you can boil the water and sugar together to make it easier to mix.
3
Make a damp salted area for your bees. Bees need salt, and they can't always get it from their environment. To create a salt lick in your back yard, create a damp area with a dripping hose or drip irrigation system. Where the area is damp, mix in wood ashes or sea salt to make it salty.^{[18]
X
Research source}
- You can use table salt, too, but sea salt has more nutrients.
- You only need a little bit. Try 1-2 spoonfuls of salt for an area that's 1 square foot (0.093 m²).
- Add more salt after hard rains.
4
Add a shallow water bowl for hydration. Pick a low, wide bowl and fill it with a small amount of water. Add just enough that it mostly evaporates by the end of the day. Put a couple of rocks in the bowl so the bees can land and drink the water. Put it near the flowers or the bee homes.^{[19]
X
Research source}
- It's important for the water to evaporate because if you leave standing water around too long, it can become a breeding ground for mosquitoes.
- Having multiple sources of water and nutrition will make your bees happy, so you can do this in addition to the sugar water.
Advertisement

Method 3

Method 3 of 3:

Dealing with Weeds and Pests

Even small amounts of pesticides can wreak havoc on bees' navigational abilities. In addition, foraging bees may carry pesticides back to the nest, where they end up in the honey and thus damage upcoming generations of bees.^{[20]
X
Research source}
2
Spray neem oil or eucalyptus oil on the plant leaves with pests. Mix 10-15 drops of one of these oils into 1 cup (240 mL) of water. Pour it into a spray bottle, and then apply it to the leaves. These oils will repel other pests but not bother the bees.^{[21]
X
Research source}
- Neem oil has to be eaten to be harmful, so if you spray it on the leaves and not the blooms, the bees will be fine.
- Eucalyptus oil repels other insects with its scent, but bees don't mind it.
3
Try an Epsom salt or soap solution when you notice pests. Epsom salt will stave off other pests, but it won't bother the bees. Mix the salt into water until it won't dissolve any more, and then pour it into a spray bottle. Spray the solution over the plants and leaves.^{[22]
X
Research source}
- Another option is to grate half a bar of soap into 2 cups (470 mL) of water. Stir it together until it dissolves, then pour it in a spray bottle. Use it the same way you use the Epsom salt solution.
- You can also use this as a preventative measure.
Bees like plenty of flowers that humans have deemed weeds, so just leave them in your yard to attract your flying friends! For instance, bees love dandelions and clover both, and they'll add a bright spot to your yard if you leave them alone.^{[23]
X
Research source}

Advertisement

Expert Q&A

Search

Add New Question

Question

Which plants will attract bees?

Monique Capanelli
Plant Specialist
Monique Capanelli is a Plant Specialist and the Owner and Designer for Articulture Designs, an innovative design firm and boutique in Austin, Texas. With over 15 years of experience, Monique specializes in interior botanical design, living walls, event decor, and sustainable landscape design. She attended the University of Texas at Austin. Monique is a Certified Permaculture Designer. She provides plant and botanical design experiences, from small gifts to entire transformations, to shoppers as well as commercial clients including Whole Foods Market and The Four Seasons.

Monique Capanelli

Plant Specialist

Expert Answer

There are many different options, but I recommend whichever plants are native to your area, which can come in the form of shrubs, trees, flowers, and herbs.

Thanks! We're glad this was helpful.
Thank you for your feedback.
If wikiHow has helped you, please consider a small contribution to support us in helping more readers like you. We’re committed to providing the world with free how-to resources, and even $1 helps us in our mission. Support wikiHow
Yes No

Not Helpful 0 Helpful 0