Honey bee on flower. Photo by Jonas Thoren, Pixabay.
By Carmelitta Tiffany
The Scottville Beekeepers of Mason County will discuss pollinator gardens at 6:30 p.m., April 28, at Scottville United Methodist Church, 114 W. State Street.
For those, like myself, who prefer to leave beekeeping to the experts, planting a pollinator garden is a fun way to help preserve our bee population. And help is needed. Eighty percent of our food is dependent on pollination by honeybees and other insects. Farmers and orchardists hire beekeepers to maintain colonies in the vicinity of their crops, to ensure proper pollination. Many who grow food crops are now aware of the role pesticides play in harming bees.
Even if you only have a flowerbed or two in your yard, you can choose pollinator varieties of plants to help bees collect pollen, nectar, resin and water. Water cools the hive in summer. Pollen becomes bee bread (used for body building), nectar is dried to become honey (used for energy), and resin becomes propolis (bee glue) and is used to combat disease and plug holes in the hive.
The list of pollinator plants is extensive. Try cultivating herbs, such as lavender, catmint, sage, cilantro, thyme, fennel and borage. Grow perennial flowers: crocus, buttercup, aster, hollyhocks, anemone, snowdrops and geraniums. Annuals to plant include calendula, alyssum, poppy, sunflower, zinnia, cleome, and heliotrope. Not only do they make great pollinator gardens, some of these attract hummingbirds.
For help planning a pollinator garden, visit www.pollinators.msu.edu.
See our accompanying story: “The buzz about beekeeping.”
Carmelitta Tiffany resides in Mason County, where she spent the last 30-some years enjoying the blessings of rural life. She is a semi-retired journalist who serves those needing “wordy” advice through her business, West MI Editorial Services
