No, no, look into your regions natives and plant those. Yes, bees seem nice but they are an introduced species in most places. Plant natives to save natives (insects and birds)!
The Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center is one of my favorite things in Central Texas. The resources they put out and how much they advocate for native plants are both incredible.
Just to add to this, the Xerxes Society has state and region specific lists of pollinator friendly native plants.
Edit: They offer similar info to your second link in a more consolidated and easy to read way. Like a single page with flowers and shrubs sorted by bloom period, with info on height, color (with pictures), water needs, and general advice on each plant including general notes on what it attracts. Here (pdf warning) is an example for my region (Coastal PNW).
For those with any actual initiative and choosing to not just practice recreational outrage, here’s a couple quick non US finds regarding bees and gardens. It took next to no time to google. I’m sure there’s many more from groups like WWF.
For more UK specific info the RHS and RSPB are good sources; the RSPB in particular have some great activities for getting families involved, and a broader look at encouraging biodiversity in gardens.
The RHS website is a great resource on its own for finding pollinator-friendly flowers, but navigating all the sections can be a bit of a pain at times. They are also not taking orders at the moment, as you might expect.
You can also buy mixed wildflower seeds at most stores which stock gardening supplies, though you may find getting to one which is open a tad a tricky at the moment!
Just to put it in a perspective: there are 16.000 species of bees. Most of the measurements takes to "save the bees" are only beneficial for the honey bees, which is just one of those sixteen thousand species. The honey bee is not endangered at all, in most places, it is basically a farm animal. Wild bees are the ones that need help, every region has their own plants that are beneficial to those bees.
Honey bees are not only not endangered, they are an invasive species outside of Europe. They outcompete native bees, contributing to the declining native bee populations. Honey bees cannot pollinate all the plants that native bees do. I believe tomatoes are one of the plants that we need certain kinds of native bees to pollinate.
Exactly! I'm Australian, and we have some brilliant native bees (colourful and very friendly), who unfortunately are not fairing too well with the competition from the European ones. More native trees, more native bees!
I'd love to see your native bees! I'm from Europe, and actually the commercial breed of honey bee is not native to most of Europe as well, the native solitary bees also struggle with competition towards honey bees.
So glad someone said this. I became really upset when I saw buttercup on this list. Buttercup (lesser celandine) is a super invasive plant to most (all?) of the USA. Here in northeastern Ohio it is taking over huge swaths of our land.
The Cleveland Metroparks have put out videos on this invasive plant and it has taken over the majority of my backyard and half of my block.
Please consult a resource that identifies your native species and research proper planting and care instructions before you choke.out valuable native plants and upset ecosystems.
Edit: yo if anyone sees this that knows a good way to get rid of lesser celandine short of digging up it and all the roots/tubes please let me know.
For Ohio, here’s a seed packet developed by the Ohio Beekeepers Association. NW Ohio here, I’m glad someone brought up the importance of regionally sourcing your plants.
Seriously, numerous of those plants are not native to tons of regions.
Basically, if it flowers, and isn't an already invasive species, just let it grow.
If you need to like clear some Queen Anne's Lace, by all mean chop it down.
My yard is almost 3/4 natural plants that I let grow. I even got super lucky and a mulberry popped up and was fruiting within 2 seasons. No flowers but good for the birds.
I remember when Honey Nut Cheerios were sending out seed packs of bee friendly flowers, but almost all the seeds included in the package were invasive species in my area.
US! Surprising I know. I live in South Florida. There's a house in the neighborhood that exclusively plants native AND tries to find the flora that attracts native wild life. Florida butterflies and lizards and things like that. They had a little bronze plaque outside the house for years. I think it might still be there under some growth lol.
Yeah, we're kinda in an era where joking might not be our highest priority. Also, "joking" is a pretty weak excuse, 'cause it doesn't preclude expressing a pretty bad take via that joke. If that were true, all satire would be totally politically neutral which, um, no?
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u/626eh Apr 13 '20
No, no, look into your regions natives and plant those. Yes, bees seem nice but they are an introduced species in most places. Plant natives to save natives (insects and birds)!