When planting your garden, choose a mixture of plants which bloom in spring, summer and fall. Different flowers, colours, shapes and scents will attract a wide variety of pollinators. Please take these things into consideration when planting a garden to attract bees:
- Plant groups of three or more plants in an area, rather than a single plant to help attract pollinators
- Plant flowers with bright colours, such as purple, blue and yellow
- Bees are attracted to flowers that are in the mint family
- Bees can access pollen from single bloom flowers (one ring of petals) much more easily than double blooms because the nectar is more exposed
- Bees prefer blooms that are flat or shallow over deeply cupped blooms
- Choose native plant species as much as possible
- Consider planting milkweed to provide food for monarch caterpillars (this is the only plant that the larva will eat)