How do I attract bees to my property?

First of all, don't use pesticides anywhere on your property since a great many of them are toxic to bees and luring these helpful insects into your garden only to have them succumb to an accidental poisoning is rude, to say the least. This goes for organic pesticides as well as the chemical ones. Pyrethrin is just one example of a popular organic pesticide that is extremely toxic to bees.

Bees are attracted to gardens filled with plants that produce a lot of nectar and pollen. This means avoiding hybridized plants, which are often sterile or pretty darn close to it and therefore have little to offer bees. Instead go for native or heirloom plants, particularly those with blue, purple, violet, white or yellow flowers that will appeal to the bees’ strong sense of colour.

Taking the time to select plants with different flowering periods also benefits bees by guaranteeing them a steady supply of pollen throughout the growing season. Also try to pick plants with a variety of flower shapes so that the various species of bees can select the flowers best suited to their differing anatomies.

It almost goes without saying that bees like weeds much more than gardeners do, especially those weeds that are native to our area. If you think about it, it makes perfect sense.

Native bees evolved with native plants, so supplying them with the plants they are accustomed to will ensure that they’ll be inclined to frequent your property more than your neighbour’s. That doesn't mean you have to turn your garden into something that looks like a vacant lot. It just means you don't need to be overly fastidious about getting all the weeds out. Bees and other pollinators appreciate a little procrastination when it means that native plants are left to flower before being yanked out by the roots. (Although you'll be doing yourself a huge favour by yanking them before they get a chance to set seed.)

Another thing gardeners like to do is to buy or build bee boxes in a bid to attract mason bees, which are quite the industrious pollinators and supplying them with a place to build their nests will entice them to stay awhile.

Of course, stone walls, rock piles and piles of sticks also provide places for many species of bees to build their nests, which is yet another reason why you shouldn't be too keen on making your garden spotless.

To submit a question to Riverview master gardener Vanessa Farnsworth, please send her an e-mail at vanessa@gardenmuse.ca or visit her website at www.gardenmuse.ca.