BEE’S KNEES: Whether you are a seasoned gardener or a novice
green thumb, you can join the fight to save the honeybees by
planting your own pollinator-friendly garden this spring, according
to a horticulture specialist in Penn State’s College of
Agricultural Sciences.

“You can do your part on an acre or in a window box,” said
Ginger Pryor, state coordinator for Penn State Cooperative
Extension’s Master Gardener program. “Pollinator-friendly practices
can be applied in any size gardening space.”

Pryor offers the following advice on beginning your own
pollinator-friendly garden:

– Choose species of plants that will benefit honeybees and other
pollinators. Avoid hybrid strains with “doubled” flowers because
they often lack pollen, fragrance and nectar as a result of the
hybridization.

– Use varieties native to Pennsylvania. Local pollinators have
evolved with native plant species and are four times more likely to
be attracted to native plants. “Providing plant species in a garden
that bloom from early spring into late fall provides pollinators
with a constant food supply. Choose plants that offer a variety of
flower shapes and colors to attract different types of
pollinators.”

– Choose the right plants for your site. A pollinator-friendly
garden will depend on shade, soil quality and moisture, but
typically most pollinator plants will need a minimum of six hours
of sunlight per day. For Pennsylvania, Pryor suggests sunflowers,
baby blue eyes, eastern purple coneflower, cardinal flower, giant
blue lobelia, clustered mountain mint, butterfly milkweed, meadow
zizia, smooth blue aster and scarlet beebalm. “Avoid planting
invasive species, and remove any that you find. These species
compete with pollinator plants.”

– Plan your space. Clustering plants of the same species
together makes it easier for pollinators to locate them. “Also
leave areas of bare ground in a sunny spot – roughly 3 square feet
– for ground-nesting bees. Be sure to include water sources such as
shallow birdbaths, mud puddles or even just a small saucer with
sand and rocks to supply pollinators with the necessary water and
minerals.

– Maintain the garden with pollinators in mind. Pryor recommends
eliminating all pesticides, if possible. “If elimination is not an
option, read labels carefully and select the least toxic materials,
and apply after dusk when most pollinators are no longer active,”
she said.