Home gardening is a great way to get in touch with nature while developing a helpful skill on your own. Understanding the role that bees play in the local ecosystem is key when considering how best to take care of your fruits, vegetables, or flowers. However, for those who wish to invest even further, these home gardening tips to help local bees thrive are an excellent way to do your part to support these wonderful creatures.
Keep Things Natural
Bees are critical players in ensuring a majority of the plants you’re growing remain healthy and fertilized. By refraining from using pesticides on your plants and using natural compounds instead, you’ll ensure that bees won’t suffer from the negative and potentially lethal effects these chemicals often cause. When growing an organic garden, you also have less to worry about when you enjoy the fruits of your labor.
Provide a Source of Water
Bees get thirsty, just like anyone else. When you create shallow water sources with platforms like rocks for them to rest on, they are able to replenish their energy and get right back to their essential jobs. Be sure to replace the water every few days to prevent insects from laying eggs in it. Water is also an important part of helping with bees’ digestion processes, and creating an open water source gives them an easier time doing so.
Use Local Flowers
Using flowers native to your region puts them in the best possible environment to flourish. If you are able to hit the sweet spot for their needs when placing them in your garden, they often take care of themselves unless abnormal weather conditions occur. When it comes to the bees in your area, sometimes specific nectar is necessary to care for the hives. By growing a wide variety of local flowers, you make your garden a small paradise for the workers to pollinate.
Get Others Involved
Beekeeping is not everyone’s cup of tea. Still, by educating interested individuals in ways to help local beekeeping organizations, you take an essential step in spreading awareness of their current conditions as a species while potentially igniting a new hobby in those you know. Whether your friends then choose to form their own local gardens or become active volunteers, their work in creating accommodating environments for bees will benefit everyone.
By considering these home gardening tips to help local bees thrive, you fulfill an active role in helping maintain your environment’s health while allowing your garden to flourish. Though expansive valleys with arrays of flowers are not everywhere just yet, every little bit helps.
