Growing your garden with bumblebees
As a child, I was always fascinated with bees because there would be times during certain times of the year especially the spring and summer months when I would see bees by the hundreds it seems that would be buzzing around trees and other garden plants.
I always wondered why they were congregating in such a huge mass around these plants, now I know why, without our little friend’s presence and being so active in our gardens our garden plants would not be so productive giving us such a great harvest.
Bumblebees in the garden
This is a good tread off and a win-win situation both for us and our bee friends. Bumblebees need nectar and pollen to develop their larva. Besides these bees also needs a home throughout their life-cycle and to build their nest also to take care of their young.
While all of this is going on our busy friends are pollinating our garden plants which is a bonus for us.
How to garden for bumblebees
Life without bees
What would life be without bees, now I know there are some bees (The African Bees) that have given a negative outlook on bees because of the many damages they cause including the loss of lives both of humans and animals.
But the good news is as we discussed earlier the bumblebee makes a great contribution by pollinating our garden plants. In fact, in the honey industry, millions of dollars are made every year employing thousands of people so in a big way our small buzzing friends are making a Big Difference.
How to attract bumblebees to your garden
Since bees are the life so to speak of garden plants the question is how to attract them to your garden so your garden can grow or to pollinate your garden plant?
Here are ways to attract bumblebees to your garden to make your garden the talk of the neighborhood.
Tips for attracting bumblebees in your garden.
1. Install bumblebee boxes. These boxes are square about 15-26 inches in diameter. With 2 holes for ventilation, cover the ventilation with a netting material that will keep insects such as ants out.
These boxes also have entrance and exit holes for bees. Also, cover the boxes with a material that will keep the nest dry.
2. Limit the use of pesticides. While gardens with pesticides are of good use to eliminate garden insect pests the bad news is these insecticides can have a negative effect on bumblebees.
Trying using environmentally friendly pesticides or what about gardening without pesticides. This is a safe approach to protecting bumblebees.
3. Providing a dump or muddy area will provide water for bees to drink.
4. Another water source alternative is to add a shallow pan with water to your garden area along with pebbles and a few twigs. This provides the best watering hole and is also a good resting place for bees.
5. Plant flowers that are native to your area.
6. Plant flowering fruits.
7. Planting flowering vegetables
8. Plant herbs that attract bees such as sage, lemon balm, basil, lavender, chives, etc…
9. Plant flowers that grow in sequence.
10. Plant a colorful garden. Bees are attracted to colors such as yellow, blue, and purple flowers so don’t forget to add these colors to your garden.
11. Planting flowers in clusters will attract more of our bee friends than single plants.
12. Areas with dry grasses along with a small brush pile and deadwood would make an ideal spot for bumblebee’s habitat.
The final word
Bumblebees are our friends they are hard at work ensuring that our garden plants perform at their best, so let’s do our part by providing a home of them this is a great way to give nature a helping hand and also to provide a means for your garden plants being pollinated.
This is a trade-off and a win-win situation both for you and your bee friends. With that said let’s get started on that bee garden and reap a good harvest. What are you waiting on let’s get buzzy?
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About the author
Norman loves being in the garden, both at home and for his job....
he is 'Natures Little helper' being outdoors, growing his vegetables and flowers from an early age.
Now having spent over 22 years in the profession he want to give some of his knowledge to others...
his vast array of hints and tips you will find scattered over this site will help you no end growing plants in your garden.
I love bees! My dad used to keep quite a few hives and we had fresh, raw honey all year round. I think a lot of people are afraid of them because they see black and yellow. Since wasps are more aggressive and will sting repeatedly, we’ve developed a fear of that color combo. Really, bumblebees and honey bees are quite gentle!
Hello so good to hear from you and it is also good to know that you have a knowledge of bees which are our friends. Lets continue to protect them because they are so important to us and help us in such a great way.
Being a child, I remember walking barefoot in the garden… it was full of little bees. And some times they would sting when walking on them. The sound of their little wings was one of harmony and great fevor. Buzzy buzzzzzy buzzzzzzzy. There was no grass… just little ground covering plants with little flowers. Pure delight. May this wild flowered gardens come back… is my dream.
Hello so good to meet you and thanks for sharing that story. Bees are our friend and benefits us in so many ways so lets do our best in taking care of them.
Great tips on how to attract Bumblebees. And little did I know about the importance of bees in our gardens. One of my goals in life, is to have flower garden, one with a difference, and now I know I need to make friends with bees, because it seems they will be the ones to make it all happen. Thanks for letting me know.
By the way, you mentioned something about African Bees? Is that a species of bees? Great post. I enjoyed reading.
Hello and thanks so much for your kind words and I wish you the best of success with your flower. The African bees have been know to cause much harm. They are very aggressive but it is so good to know that we don’t have to worry about them hanging around our gardens. All the best to you and have a good day.
Haha! This is so cool! I used to have a big garden in my backyard when I was really young. Unfortunately this isn’t the case. But I remember when I was younger, my mom always tried to get rid of insects and bees. She was worried that we would get bitten or get hurt. Is this of a concern with bumble bees as well? I understand they are great for pollination, but could it hurt the little kids playing out in the garden?
Hello so nice to meet you. Bumblebees are friendly and won’t sting unless they feel threatened so it is good to keep kids out of the garden especially when they are active it is also good to educate kids about them so they would know how to deal with them when coming in contact with them. Hope this help. All the best to you and have a good day.
I was really impressed of how professional your website looks. The article was informative and interesting. I would of liked to know how to build a bee box in more depth it was a bit vague. While I was reading through the article I noticed some sentence structure break downs mostly in the opening 2 paragraphs, possibly revise them to have them have more flow. There were also minor errors in the article for word usage. One last fix could be your headers, how to garden with bees came up twice then another header was underneath it, was kinda confused. I would really like to learn more about bees in how they live and what they do. Overall a good page just needs some little fixes.
Hello and thanks so much glad to help. Wishing you the best of success.
marvelous, truly marvelous! I am so stunned, I love bumblebees they are so beautiful, and the honey the produce is delicious. I have a garden… but I don’t see many of them with frecuency. I will do follow your tips. I’m looking forward to see results
A question, how can I attrac butterflies to my garden? That would be good to know as well
Bumblebees are really amazing in what they can do. For more on how to attract wildlife to your garden area this post may offer some help. So happy I can help, all the best of success and have a good day.
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Thanks for the valuable information in your article about how to garden for bumblebees, i would diffiently try that on my backyard,just wondering if there is a cretin season to attract bumblebees would it be preferred to do it during spring or summer ? and after they grow up would their will be anything to help them grow more
Hello Again my friend, bees are most active during the spring and summer months because these are the months when garden plants are at their best in full bloom as bees pollinates.Once they are attracted to your garden nature will do the rest. Hope this helps.
Bumblebees are very fascinating and amazing creatures. I am a big fan of them as well, although some people hate them. I had a chance to work in one of the beautiful gardens in my local area. It was wonderful to see these bumblebees moving around on the flowers and interacting with their peers.
Luckily I now have my own beautiful garden. And reading your post has really given me an idea on how I can attract these insects to my garden. Thanks for this post Norman.
Hello Kuu so good to meet you. Bumblebees are fascinating insects that makes such a great contribution. I am so happy to hear that you have your very own garden and will try to attract some of them. Wishing you all the best of success and have a good day.