The bee population has really suffered in the last few years and even if you have allergies to bees you have to admit they serve a purpose for pollinating plants and keeping the environment in balance.
As the bee population has gone down many more people are putting in bee gardens to make sure their crops get pollinated. If you enjoy the sight of bees buzzing around your garden, you can create a bee garden with herbs. You can enjoy an active garden and harvest herbs for your table and crafting needs.
Choose a location for the bee garden. It’s a good idea to plant all the bee-attracting herbs in once place so that you don’t have bees all over your yard. It’s also wise to choose a quiet part of the yard.
Most herbs can grow in partial shade so choose a location with some shade. You’ll want to make your bee garden a place to enjoy and give it an inviting look so plan to add a few benches, wood stumps or a stool. I wandering pathway would also add interest to the garden.
Plant some perennial herbs that bees like. This will cut down on annual garden work and give you a base to build your annual plants around each year. Perennial herbs would be bee balm, catnip, mint, sage and thyme. Lavender also attracts bees and is usually perennial but there are some annual varieties too. Check to see what variety you are buying or how your growing zone will affect lavender.
I also grow my mint in planters or containers. It has a tendency to overtake a garden if planted in the ground. Add a planter of mint on a fancy pole in the garden for more dimensions in the garden
Use annual herbs to make a change in the gardens each year and to fill in any holes. Annual herbs could include borage, cilantro, fennel and rosemary.
Try to use as many different varieties of herbs as possible. This will give you herbs that are in bloom in the garden all season long. You will have a wonderful attractive garden full or color and attract many different species of bees
One last item I put in a bee garden is sunflowers. They are not herbs although people use them as an edible plant but they attract bees and add dimension, color and fun to your garden.
One final note: its important not to use insecticides in an herbal bee garden. The insecticides are not good for the bees, butterflies or birds that it will attract. Most herbs are insect resisitant so you really shouldn’t have a problem.
Overall gardens should be fun and add something new to your yard. If you can help out the bee population, attract and few birds and grow herbs it’s a successful garden.
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