---
id: 5f78f084-a328-4b84-b4b8-5618335cf0b5
blueprint: default
title: Gardening
author: 5946e059-6ded-4e28-811d-461564fe45e4
updated_by: 4eab0762-d09f-4d12-9634-26c9cab89e08
updated_at: 1731687792
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seo_title: 'Gardening For Bees'
seo_description: 'One of the most fun, easy and rewarding ways to make a big Beesponsible impact is to plant your own bee garden.'
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content:
  -
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    hero_image: hero/gardening---desktop.jpg
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    hero_title: 'CREATE A SPACE WHERE BEES CAN THRIVE.'
    hero_text: 'One of the most fun and rewarding ways to make a big Beesponsible impact is to plant your own bee garden. Bee-friendly flowers, shrubs and trees not only provide food for our buzzy friends, but also beauty and even increased yields of any fruits and veggies you may be growing (thanks to the increased pollinator activity). Whether you plant a large garden, a little patch or even just a few flower pots, you’ll create valuable habitat for our pollinating friends.'
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  -
    id: sQ51yZ0D
    title: 'PROVIDE DIVERSITY'
    text_content: 'Think of your garden as an all-you-can-eat buffet for the bees — they love native wildflowers, flowering herbs and many fruits and vegetable plants.'
    expanded_text_content: '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 bottom of this page for specific suggestions based on where you live.'
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  -
    id: E3x8Qz8R
    title: 'KEEP IT NATURAL'
    text_content: 'Avoid using pesticides, herbicides and other toxic chemicals in your garden and lawn.'
    expanded_text_content: |-
      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.](/learn/pesticides-bees)

      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.
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    image: 2_keep-it-natural-1720894886-1721943341.jpg
  -
    id: lynjdy1j
    title: 'PRIORITIZE NATIVE PLANTS'
    text_content: 'Native flowers, shrubs and trees provide the best food sources for the native pollinators they’ve evolved with over time.'
    expanded_text_content: '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 below 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.'
    image: 3_prioritize-native-plants-1721081502-1721943350.jpg
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    id: avq8SXjK
    title: 'PLANT FOR CONTINUOUS BLOOMS'
    text_content: '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.'
    expanded_text_content: '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.'
    image: 4_plan-for-continuous-blooms-1720894731-1721943359.jpg
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  -
    id: OEsIIo38
    title: 'GROUP OR REPEAT THE SAME PLANTS'
    text_content: 'Aim to plant at least one square yard of the same flower species together, or repeat it multiple times throughout your garden.'
    expanded_text_content: '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!'
    image: 5_group-or-repeat-the-same-plants-1720894723-1721943368.jpg
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  -
    id: 9PY2P1vT
    title: 'INVITE NATIVE BEES'
    text_content: 'Not all bees live together in hives or social colonies. In fact, most species are solitary and 70% of them nest in the ground!'
    expanded_text_content: |-
      So in addition to having plenty of nectar and pollen sources, you’ll want to provide natural nest habitat nearby too. Bees need shelter protected from predators and the elements, and most importantly a safe place for the females to lay their eggs and ensure future generations.

      For ground-nesting bees, leave some bare soil that remains undisturbed in a sunny, well-draining area. A small brush pile or designated “wild corner” of your yard will provide shelter too. And for the 30% of bees that nest in cavities, leave hollow plant stems or a couple of old logs. Don’t tidy up your yard too much in the fall — those leaf piles and other plant material provide vital overwintering habitat for native pollinators. [Learn more about native bees and ways to help them](/learn/native-bees).
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    id: lygkkdh6
    title: 'SHARE YOUR HERBS'
    text_content: 'Bees love flowering herbs including mint, basil, oregano, chives, rosemary and thyme.'
    expanded_text_content: 'If you grow any of these for your own culinary uses, leave the plant intact after you harvest what you need. When they’re done for the season, let them bolt to please the bees. Or, just plant a few extras for the pollinators to have all to themselves.'
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    image: 7_share-your-herbs-1721943385.jpg
  -
    id: lygkkizc
    title: 'SUPPLY A WATER SOURCE'
    text_content: '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.'
    expanded_text_content: '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.'
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    image: 8_supply-a-water-source-1721943394.jpg
  -
    id: lygkkn94
    title: 'LEAVE SOME WEEDS'
    text_content: '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.'
    expanded_text_content: '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.'
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    image: 9_leave-some-weeds-1721943402.jpg
  -
    id: lygkksju
    title: 'RETHINK YOUR LAWN'
    text_content: 'Lawns cover an estimated 63,000 square miles of America, with most of them being large expanses of turf grass.'
    expanded_text_content: 'This presents a stark scene for bees (not to mention the environmental impact of all the mowing, watering and chemical applications to maintain those “lush” grass lawns). Support pollinators and biodiversity by converting sections of turf grass into flowering ground cover, landscaping beds or a mini-meadow. Hopefully you’ll inspire your neighbors to do the same! [Learn more about keeping your lawn naturally healthy.](/learn/pesticides-bees)'
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    image: _10_rethink-your-lawn-1721943410.jpg
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---
