We have several honey bee hives in our yard and I am thrilled to say, they are happy bees. Over the past several weeks, we have opened the hives up, inspected them and made sure the colonies were healthy. We do this in the early morning when it is relatively cool here in North Carolina. This is a good time to work with bees because the hives are less active. We are respectful of the bees hard work and careful not to stress the hive. We are gentle and calm around our bees and they respond in kind.
Honey bees are so important to humans as they help pollinate our gardens, orchards, and our food crops. We are dependent on the survival of all pollinators for the food we need to survive. Bees are responsible for pollinating approximately one-third of the food we consume in this country.
I recognize that not everyone is able to raise bees, however, helping the bee population and other pollinators to thrive, is not difficult. One way to support bees (and other pollinators) is to plant a variety of flowers in your yard that aid pollinators and help with honey production. Bees are looking for two types of plants; flowers that provide nectar and ones that provide pollen. Nectar provides carbohydrates and is an energy boost for bees. Pollen is their primary source of protein. Perennial flowers are a great option to assist honey bees. Perennials only need to be planted once and will grow back year after year. These plants are a great option to attract honey bees because after the initial planting and investment; these plants are typically easy to grow, and require very little attention to flourish. Here is a bee friendly list of beautiful perennial plants. Next time you are looking for flowers to plant, you may consider adding some of these to your yard:
- Cosmos
- Black-Eyed Susans
- Coneflowers
- Bee balm
- Mint
- Joe-Pye weed
- Liatris
- Milkweed
- Sunflower
- Zinnia
- Peony
- Phlox
- Salvia
- Sedum
- Coriander
