Gardening with a purpose is always a good thing to do, especially when we hear that the butterflies and the bees need our help! In recent years we have seen the decline of both species. to the point that farmers and gardeners are sounding alarm bells! It’s high time to help Increase the Beneficial Insects in our Gardens!
It is common knowledge that Beneficial Insects like Butterflies and Bees have a very important job to do in our gardens. When I say gardens, I don’t just mean our flower gardens, but also our vegetable gardens and our fruit trees and fruiting vines. I know many a wine drinker that will be saddened if their grape vines are not visited by the bees. We need these beautiful insects to pollinate our flowers, vegetables, fruit and vines or we will not have the fruits afterwards.
Butterflies and Bees in the Garden
So how do we encourage these beautiful beneficial insects into our gardening space?
Butterflies and bees both need nectar rich flowers for their food source. So when we want these insects to visit our gardens it is helpful and very smart to plant some good colorful and deep nectar filled flowers alongside the vegetable beds. Beneficial insects will gladly leave you alone and go for what they really want and that is the nectar or pollens that are readily available in a well planned garden.
The Best Plants to Grow
Butterflies and Bees are attracted to colorful flowers in pinks, reds, purples and yellows and oranges. Open areas where it is sunny are also preferred to shady areas. You will often see butterflies perched on a flower head with its wings open and just resting in the sunlight. Butterfly Bushes as their name suggests would be a wonderful choice in your backyard or front area. Sunflowers and Bees Balm are also really good choices in plants. Additionally, having a source of water close by will also encourage them to stay a while. A shallow birdbath, or even better, a natural rock with divots where water can collect in those divots. Or a shallow dish with mud in the center and water around the outside will also be pleasing for the butterflies and the bees. It truly is amazing to see how they will take some time out of their feeding to just relax in the warm sun or grab a quick drink.
What Else can I do?
Another important part of encouraging these wonderful pollinators is having safe places for them to rest in. Encourage the bees by having some bee houses for them. These are quite cute! Hang them in a tree and the bees will come to claim their own special “pad” calling your backyard their home.
Butterflies and Bees love having a place to call home. This is a cute little bee house.
Choosing the plant material is important too!
While vegetables have flowers before they become the fruits that we eat, they may not be the greatest sources of nectar. So having a flower bed or two nearby will encourage them to visit both. Companion plants would be great in this way. You will have the flowers that will ward off certain unwanted insects while encouraging the bees and butterflies that we do want.
Buzz Purple (Dwarf) Butterfly Bush Seeds very easy to grow – (You can buy me right here, just click on the link)
Pollinator Friendly Gardening: Gardening for Bees, Butterflies, and Other Pollinators
I happen to really like butterfly bush in my garden because it’s really pretty! It has lots of flowers all the time and it really is a butterfly magnet. I also like the book. If you need inspiration this is the book for you. It will help you to identify those plants and colors that will attract those beneficial insects. You need them right where you want them, in your garden. When you plant what they like, is that they will leave you alone! They will want your garden of plants, a menu especially planted for them.
We have a number of fruit trees in our yard so bees and ladybugs are extremely important helpers in our yard. We can now purchase ladybugs at our local crop store which is good as they love chowing down on aphids which also helps reduce ant populations. Thank you for the reminder.
In some nurseries you can also purchase Praying Mantis egg sacs that are hatched or hatching. They are another great bug to have in the garden.
Can’t believe when I was young that I was afraid of Bees. My goodness, we sure do grow out of our youthful antics. (Lets hope lol). Wasps, yuk. Was watching a bee busy pollinating the flowers on my mothers front step the other day and it was busy busy busy. So nice to just watch them.
Yes Barbara, it certainly is good that we grow out of our fears (maybe not all of them though). Watching bees is fascinating and very peaceful. They really do work very hard!
What a really neat bee house! I never realized bees would live in bamboo. Nature is so amazing!
For many years now, I have planted plants and flowers that attract butterflies and bees to my yard. Not only do they serve that purpose, they are beautiful for us. An excellent reminder of how important flower and plant selection really is in nature.
Those bee houses are not for all types of bees but rather the solitary ones. They do not congregate like honey bees do and really like to have their own litte holes. Flowers for the bees are a joy for our eyes, so plant something lovely and they will come!
I love planting herbs and flowers that the bees love. I have found sages, rosemary, and fruity teucrium attract lots of bees when they are in bloom. The bees also love my dandelions.
Well you know Barbara, the lowly dandelion is the first food for many bees as they are coming out of their hibernation. Guess it’s hard for them to give it up for all the other flowers and plants along the way. LOL