We need more bees! And in a recent Metro News Calgary article, local horticulturists share what is the best way to attract bees to your garden in Calgary.
While Cherrio’s well-intentioned Bring Back the Bees campaign may appear to have been a good idea, it actually harms Alberta’s ecosystem. The free wildflower seed packages include many flowers not native to Canada that can be incredibly invasive.
Bees don’t look for beautiful flowers, but instead use their senses to find the best blooms. As a result, the bee’s knees of plants are ones with fragrant scents like lavender, jasmine or herbs. Choose bright colours like poppies and geraniums. And to help them find them, choose ones that vary in height and especially ones that get above the other foliage, such as hollyhocks, sunflowers or hanging baskets.
While you (and your neighbourhood) may not like to hear this, bees also like dandelions. They’re plentiful and arrive every year. If you’re not seeing bees in your garden, it could be because it lacks dandelions, which are a major food source. Despite our hatred of these little yellow flowers, maybe you can enjoy them slightly more by thinking of all the buzz they’re attracting.
