You can make a difference for farmers in your community, right from your own backyard.
Bees and other pollinators are necessary to a fit environment. Almost 85% of flowering plants, including many cultivated plants, need pollinators to reproduce. About one third of our food supply depends on the aid of bees.
Farmers need pollinators to keep their crops growing and booming.
Simple changes can make a huge difference for pollinators. Even diminutive spaces have great potential to support the needs of this group.
Early pollinators need extra support in early spring when their food supplies are narrow. Native flowers and shrubs provide higher quality food for pollinators.
According to Xerces Invertebrate Conservation Societyyou can follow four uncomplicated steps to restore pollinators.
1. Grow pollinator-friendly flowers – Need ideas for native flowers and plants that will grow on your lawn or garden? Try wild geranium, purple prairie clover or wild bergamot.
2. Provide places for nests – Are you doing spring cleaning in your yard? Butterflies and other pollinators apply dead leaves and brush to lay eggs. Leave a pile of brush to give the pollinators some time to develop!
3. Minimize the apply of pesticides – Insecticides can directly harm the insects you are trying to get back into your garden.
4. Spread the word – Post photos and tell your neighbors about your efforts to bring back the bees.
Even diminutive spaces can meet the most basic needs of the entire insect life cycle. Pollinators are one of the groups of animals that are easiest to maintain in a residential landscape. Simple changes can have a huge impact on the pollinator population!
Native plants are best suited to supporting the widest range of native pollinators. Bees, butterflies and moths base their diet on native species. What percentage of your flowering plants are native?
Creative “Bee”! How to add more native plants to your garden?
