I agree about the diversity part - we have all kinds of bees in our garden, including honey bees. They seem to love anything which is blooming where they can get at the pollen. In the last 2 days my DH and I planted 600 vinca minor plants in a large bed. Maybe a half dozen of those had one flower on it. Literally right after they were planted, while I was still kneeling there planting more, honey bees showed up and landed on them!

Jackie

Mellissa, the question of mulch always invites some controversy. I'm not enamored of mulch made from tree bark and most of mine is just leaves from the trees on our property. I can say categorically that with my soil, climate and heat radiation every rose would be dead as a doornail in a short period of time without mulch, even given plenty of water. Well-established rosemary bushes that were fine for years are now dying, even though I water them, so what chance would roses have? Growing single roses makes a lot of sense for encouraging bees but most of mine seem to like the limonium perezii, the butterfly bushes and the pepper trees most. Hopefully my large Mutabilis also helps out, and the crape myrtles when they're blooming. Single roses that don't have lots of shade like Mutabilis don't fare well here. My once beautiful Bermuda Kathleen, with all-day sun and a background of boulders was dying. I've now cut it back and there's new growth but without winter rains and a long, cool spring it will soon deteriorate again. Every garden is unique and mine seems to have the worst conditions apart from Kim's, who's also had to cut back trees and bushes because of fire danger and so has a hot and barren area to contend with that creates intense solar radiation. Even the native vegetation is in dire straits here because of the drought, and plants without mulch just don't have a chance. I don't know whether a loose leaf mulch would hinder the bees much, and maybe it even gives them some protection. The bark mulch seems somehow unfriendly and inhospitable to me, although many people use it successfully. I'm totally against lawns in this environment and destroying bee colonies really raises my hackles. A "messy" garden around my house would bother me but judging by "city" standards mine is actually pretty messy anyway, especially the butterfly bushes which I've never cut back and would raise eyebrows of fastidious gardeners everywhere. I try to have diversity because I think that's what insects, birds and animals appreciate, and just as importantly I have multiple sources of water for all of them. I'm sure I could do more but I'm afraid raspberry bushes are out, assuming they'd even survive here!

Ingrid

I try to keep a lot of herbs planted and the bees (and butterflies) really seem to like that. African Blue Basil is by far their favorite in my garden. In mild years I can keep it alive through the winter, but usually it's an annual. Multiple types of bees absolutely swarm the 3x3 (or bigger if I let it) bush. I like this one too because it doesn't reseed everywhere like cinnamon basil will.

What good timing! I was just thinking of which thread to add a comment to on this idea.

Because my Tea garden is all babies and I wanted some color, I have added a variety of salvia by the roses. Smaller and bigger more and less thirsty depending on location. We have been doing some fall fruit tree pruning and using the little chipper. We left a few persimmons up high for the birds. The garden is alive with birds right now. And the hummers have discovered the salvias. Next to sow milkweed seeds for the monarchs. And rye grass seed to sprout in the rain for the chickens.

I have never seen bees in the ground here. But know plenty of bees are around it just helps no to plant a mono culture

Here's one of our kids! One of about 60,000 :-)

We added bees this year with a bee box a few hundred feet from the garden and I saw a very noticable uptick in the number of them in my garden.

I'm all for diversity of plants in the garden, for aesthetic as well as for environmental reasons. Trees, shrubs, perennials, annuals; native wildlings and cultivated plants. We do mulch a lot, until the grounds builds enough fertility that we can do without: we use hay and the prunings from the plants themselves, but with such a large garden with so many wildish areas, I think ground-nesting bees could find a spot if they wanted one. Insects do like the generally untidy air of the garden--I'm not a fan of rigid neatness even when I get around to maintenance--and they in turn apparently attract birds, though our local avian population isn't terribly varied. It makes me happy to see the insectivorous tits hopping around on the roses.

Good article. I also read an article about how to not clean up your yard in fall because the wildlife likes the dead vegitation/leaves piles to live in. I usually have one or two piles of rose clippings and other yard debris that I keep as part compost, part burn pile. I was thinking of starting to burn now, but after reading that article I may wait until spring (we can burn from October to April). And now I feel like I'm justified in having a messy yard.

Since I am redoing most of my yard, I am looking for native plants that will support wildlife. There is a nursery here that specializes in that so I plan going there. I am lucky that I have a rather large property and areas that I leave 'wild' because it's a steep hill and I keep my piles there.

Here is a link that might be useful: Backyard Wildlife: Leave winter habitats for animals

I also have a garden filled with bees, a true Melissa garden. UC Davis has a wonderful Melissa garden, and their plant list can give California gardeners some ideas of good plants for attracting bees in our climate(s).

Rosefolly

Here is a link that might be useful: UC Davis bee garden plant list

And here is a link to another California bee garden, this one somewhere in the northern part of the state.

Here is a link that might be useful: The Melissa Garden

I love growing a variety of bee attracting plants. I also prefer a lot of variety in my beds as a result of limited space and a list of too many plants I'd like to try. I've seen bees enjoying Achillea, Agastache, Dianthus, single and semi double roses, Salvias of all sorts, Eschscholzia, Abutilon, Nemesia, Basil, Thyme, Rosemary, Lemon Verbena, Limonium, Nepeta, Oregano, Nicotiana mutabilis, Silene, Fennel, and others I'm not remembering. Thyme is a particular favorite of bees in my garden. I have also seen bees struggling to work their way into a very full double rose. It was funny but sad to see the bee's wiggling rear end as it fought desperately to reach some pollen.

Jay

I recently moved to the the Napa Valley (CA) from Massachusetts, and my comments relate to the garden we left behind.

Our Massachusetts garden was a full half acre with 33 distinct beds. Something was in bloom in every bed between March and November. We had more than 400 different perennials, vines, and herbs, 280 roses, and I never got around to counting all of the shrubs and trees.

We had several species of bees and a neighbor about a quarter mile away had apiaries as well; his honey bees visited us daily.

Personally, I think that the single-most important thing we need to do is to avoid chemicals in the garden as much as possible to protect the bees. We never mulched our beds with bark mulch. We "mulched" with compost that we made ourselves - and that was a huge production as our gardens were so extensive. Yes, the winds would blow seeds in from neighboring meadows and yards but a loop type weeding hoe made quick work of them and putting cracked corn under the mulch also reduced the number dramatically.

We had 280 roses consisting of roses in all classes. The only roses that I can honestly say that I did not see the bees doing back flips for were the Knock-outs. The bees did not mind the heavily petaled roses at all - in fact, some of my best "bee" photos are of the bees with those roses. They also loved our lavender hedges, the herbs after they began to flower (especially the water mint in our water garden.

We did a lot of research on plants with insecticidal properties and carefully evaluated their toxicity in our garden. Since we had 9000 gallon koi pond and we abutted a 4 acre meadow with wetlands, we tried hard to be good stewards of the environment. We used nothing that would harm bees in our usual garden spraying. On the rare occasions that we felt we needed to use Neem, which IS toxic to bees if they come into contact with it when it's wet, we sprayed early in the AM, well before they came, or later in the evening, after they had left for the day.

I've included a link to our "recipe" for a bee friendly protocol that is safe for aquatic life - fish, frogs, and small reptiles (newts, salamanders). We updated it recently and I hope to post an updated version as one of the products we used is no longer available. The Green Light Organic Control Concentrate is no longer made in that formulation but it's coverage was redundant anyway and can be eliminated.

Here is a link that might be useful: Our Garden Journal

This post was edited by kathyannd on Sun, Nov 2, 14 at 14:58

Everyone's input is very interesting on this. Here, people especially seem to love bees, so I guess thats why species roses are so very common. They are grown in nearly every yard that needs a hedge. Bees also lover herbs, melissa, thyme, and mint flowers.

Roses Tantau has also developed a special "bee friendly" rose series, which is very popular also. I wish Tantau roses were more available in the US for you all to try, they have some truly fabulous varieties.

Here is a link that might be useful: Roses Tantau Bienenweide

That's an interesting direction in rose breeding--bee-friendly kinds--and I hope shows a growing interest in preserving wildlife, as it certainly needs help.
Melissa, I read that interview in the link you gave, and it was very interesting! Thanks!
Kathyannd, your old garden sounds fabulous. I agree about the importance of avoiding chemicals. Aside from the herbicide we use on elms, which I consider the lesser of two evils (though still a considerable evil), we don't use any "-cides" in our garden.
Ours is a large garden in the middle of the country, and I welcome native and wild plants into it, much to the joy of pollinating insects. Our grass isn't just grass; it's clover and dandelions, veronica and chicory and vetch. There are also native plants into the beds: some self-introduced, some the results of my and DH's forays. According to the forecast today is supposed to be the last day of summer. Hitherto the weather has been warm and sunny, and the bees have rummaged enthusiatically in the sages and roses. They've had a long season. Also the flies: I was interested on one walk to see a large plant of ivy in bloom under siege by a cloud of flies, of multiple species.
Melissa in Italy

Euonymus flowers, too, attract flies. Euonymus was planted under the dining room window of a house we once rented. Not a happy combination.

Cath

Oy vey, yes, Cath, we made a similar mistake, planting it along the sides of a gazebo. It rendered the area totally useless LOL.... we finally moved them to the back fence.

SIngle or open faced roses are becoming more common, Ninkasi. The new Bulls' Eye is quite lovely - here is an image on HelpMeFind... my own photos are eluding me right now. http://www.helpmefind.com/gardening/l.php?l=2.65783

Interestingly, this was not really a bee magnet! But I thought it was so beautiful I planted two. We have several species roses and I can't tell you that they are any more popular with the bees than the grands, teas and shrub roses are. Honestly, it's the herbs that seem to attract them more than anything... the water mint, agastache, and spearmint especially, and the Japanese anemones and coneflowers. And of course the lavender.

You guys are making me think of spring, the clover in full bloom and the bees buzzing busily among them.

{{gwi:316656}}

Yes, the bees seem to love the single roses; this is r. eglanteria. We allow the perennial arugula (Diplotaxis muralis) to grow throughout the garden beds and the honey bees are very attracted to it. I wonder what arugula honey tastes like...

Thank you Kathyannd. This information is such a timely blessing. With almost 200 roses inter-planted with bee and butterfly loving perennials. I have been trying to think of organic remedies to rid my garden of pests. My goal was to do this without harming bees and earth worms. I so appreciate you taking the time to share what works for you.

Do any of these remedies help to eliminate resting grasshopper eggs?They become almost plague-like here some summer months

The bees went crazy over the Zinnias that were left standing with new ones still opening in late October when most of the other flowers had faded.
Hummingbirds seem to like them too.
All I've used is very diluted dish soap on the naughty bugs, hand pick and squish some, but most bugs i escort out to the fence and throw them over back into the field. This guy is a keeper.

Shopshops, we have not had much of a problem with grasshoppers. In fact, I rarely see them. Even one recent year when it was announced that it was a particularly "bad" year for them, I think we saw perhaps a half dozen over the course of the entire gardening season. My thought is that the garlic oil in the spray we routinely use and our occasional and judicious use of both diatomaceous earth and Neem oil has been effective at keeping them at bay.

I understand that they can be a huge problem and I've read reports that Nosema locustae is effective but it also kills crickets (perhaps not a bad thing) and praying mantises - a bad thing.

A couple of friends who have had issues with grasshoppers used permethrin and carbaryl and they both felt those chemicals helped. Neither of them raved however. The major problem of course is that neither chemical is safe for bees or fish, and even if it was sprayed before the bees came, I'm not certain if it is safe for bees once it has dried (the way Neem is).

If this is a huge problem for you, it will likely take a combination of methods of control. One thing we always do is cultivate around the plants in fall to expose any eggs of grasshoppers and other pests. While they can overwinter if they are protected under the soil, once the soil is disrupted, if they are exposed, they won't survive freezing temperatures.

The one other thing that I researched but didn't try (didn't need to) is cilantro. They notoriously dislike cilantro, and spraying a strong cilantro tea is reported to be an excellent repellant. Planting marigolds, which we do to repel a variety of pests also can help. Another suggestion that was bandied about at a garden meeting a few years ago was the use of flour to dust plants. If you are going to dust, my feeling is that DE is worth the time and energy.

The weather does an excellent job of controlling them at times. They are sensitive to too much and too little rain. One can always pray for a heaven-sent solution to the problem. Unfortunately, getting rid of the ones you have doesn't necessarily get rid of the problem - they are not at all territorial, in fact they are highly migratory.... a reason why spraying with garlic and/or cilantro on an ongoing basis would be a good idea.

Love the photos above here and the information on this thread...I didn't know bees nested in the ground... I have quite a diverse if small plot and they enjoy my lavenders and sedums mainly, and I've had to take precautions against them nesting in my house under the eaves... also we are not permitted to keep a messy garden, especially the frontage, it would be frowned upon...so I have to tidy up...

Bees here have to fight it out with butterflies for control of Verbena bonariensis, which is probably my most wildlife friendly plant... and gets swarmed over during August...
I managed just to get this one before they all flew off...

I've just been looking at some of the Insect Hotels that seem to be pretty popular in Europe. Has anyone put up an insect hotel or some variation on that theme?

subk3, I saw that you had more bees after adding a bee box to the garden. Could you explain what your bee box is like and/or post a photo? How long did it take the bees to find your 'welcome mat'?

We already host quite a few insects in our (rather unkempt) yard, and probably would have more if the neighbors weren't so gung-ho about spraying chemicals.

The good bugs (and birds and spiders and lizards) do a good job of keeping the bad 'uns in check, but I'd like to see if I can improve the ratio of predators and pollinators to plant-eaters.

Virginia

Here is a link that might be useful: Some visuals of insect hotels on Pinterest

Virginia,

In our wood pile you can see areas of light colored saw "dust". We used to have a very dead apple tree trunk the neighbors did not want taken down because it housed dozens of bumble bees, one night the wind solved the take down problem. Some of the bees decided the garage beams would be good, I was not so thrilled about that plan. But leaving some rather soft fig tree rounds in the wood pile seems to have solved the problem. While not as many as before, the wood pile is a host to a bunch of bumble bees.

Wonder if you could find some soft wood and start a few 1/2" holes and hang from a tree and see if they find your hotel

Thanks, Kippy- that sounds do-able. Most of our trees are hardwood, but I could forage around to see if I can find something appropriate.

Virginia

Thanks again Kathyannd . Garlic and cilantro will be used judiciously next Spring.