CREATE A SPACE WHERE BEES CAN THRIVE

Think of your garden as an all-you-can-eat buffet for the bees. Include lots of native wildflowers to provide an abundance of pollen and nectar.

Bees also love flowering herbs (such as mint, basil, oregano, rosemary and thyme), along with many fruit and vegetable plants. To attract an exciting diversity of bee species, it helps to have an array of flower shapes, sizes and colors to accommodate their various physical adaptations and preferences. If you have the space, flowering shrubs and trees provide an abundance of beneficial blooms too. See the regional planting map at the top of this page for specific suggestions based on where you live.

Avoid using pesticides, herbicides and other toxic chemicals in your garden and lawn.

Most of these harm bees and have widespread effects detrimental to plants, beneficial insects and other native pollinators. The good news is, bee-friendly gardens are naturally healthy gardens! Learn more about pesticide-free ways to control weeds and problem pests.

When shopping for seeds or mature plants, make sure they haven’t been treated with harmful pesticides like neonicotinoids. Ask your local nursery or garden center, or look for a pesticide policy on the grower’s website.

Native flowers, shrubs and trees provide the best food sources for the native pollinators they've evolved with over time.

They’re also adapted to grow well in your local environmental conditions. Not only that, native plants provide food and nesting sites for all kinds of wildlife, along with serving as host plants for various butterflies and moths. Browse our regional planting map above for ideas, but it’s also helpful to reach out to your county extension office or state’s native plant society for more info specific to your area. Visiting local botanical gardens and arboretums can provide inspiration too.

With a variety of bee species active throughout the growing season, foraging begins as soon as the weather starts to warm, until it becomes too cold.

To feed the different species and support their life cycles, you’ll want your garden full of blooms from spring through fall (or year-round, if you live in a warm climate with mild winters). Having at least three different types of plants in bloom each season will ensure a constant food source for bees, and constant beauty for you.

Aim to plant at least one square yard of the same flower species together, or repeat it multiple times throughout your garden.

Most bees will only visit one type of plant species on each foraging trip (a behavior called floral constancy), so these large patches make it worth their while. But if your space is limited — for instance, only a small patio or balcony — a few wildflowers or herbs in a planter or window box still provides a helpful pit stop for pollinators!

Especially during the heat of summer, bees need access to water. They may simply drink it, but honeybees also take droplets back to their hive to help cool it off.

Mason bees may use it to make the mud to seal their nest cells. Offer a shallow source of fresh water (like a bird bath or small saucer) and include some stones or sticks to serve as landing pads since bees can’t swim. Other insects will appreciate the hydration station too. Clean and refill it regularly to keep the water from becoming stagnant.

Certain flowering weeds can provide pollen and/or nectar for bees. Instead of mowing or pulling, let the dandelions, clover and henbit grow until bees have had a chance to forage them.

Whatever you do, don’t spray them with toxic herbicides! Keep in mind that certain plants often perceived as pesky weeds are actually beneficial native plants — such as common blue violet, goldenrod and milkweed.