The Beauty of the Busy Bee in My Garden?

How to attract bees to my garden is a question I ask myself very often because I noticed that even I have a paradise for the little friends, they have decreased in numbers over the last years, which makes me very sad. The beauty of the busy bee in my garden is something I will not miss, and I do everything for them to love my garden. Her decreased numbers show that many neighbors are still using pesticides and herbicides in their gardens or even have no real flowers for the bees.

In the garden shops, you can purchase many different flowers, mostly cultivated, so that many bees and bumblebees can’t use them as food, a fact I would like to explain to you so that you can adjust your garden or balcony. We can do so much for these little guys, and the natural flowers are the most beautiful, I think, for them anyway.

Well, it is spring outside, not with remarkable, beautiful temperatures, but plants and trees are flowering, an abundance for the bees. To give them a helping hand, we need to have flowering plants from February to October November. And they really need urgent our help.

Spring Has Arrived

In spring, the bees find many plants and trees, especially trees where they can feed their breed or build a population as the bumblebee queens do. Life awakes in spring when the sun is warming up the ground, and the bumblebee queens and frogs will come out of the warm, protecting soil.

Bumblebee queens already have their eggs in their bodies, and now is the time to get a lot of polls and nectar to strengthen themselves and start building their own community. They need to find a house, which is very difficult in this stony brick park where the humans live, giving the bumblebees no space, not that they even think of them. Bumblebees love mouseholes left behind by mice, needing organic nest materials that they find in such mouse holes.

I see them very often building a nest in the holes of my house walls. But I know that other neighbors are closing the holes, recognizing a bumblebee flying in that hole. That is awful because these insects have no way to escape, and we will have fewer populations and create worse problems when the pollinators decrease or disappear completely. There are so many people living in this world not being educated; they will do real damage to our world.

Some neighbors think all bees are wasps, so they kill them, not understanding that bees are not interested in biting them, just in the flowers. There must come more education about the bees, and the bumblebee, also a sort bee. According to researchers, if the bees are declined from the world, we would also decline within two years.

These little guys will not survive a small number of pesticides and herbicides. It is vital to stop polluting the soil.

No, it is lifesaving for them and us! 

I have many flowers and plants in my garden, even three trees, and still, I have only seen three bumblebees this spring, showing they have decreased very much in their population. There must come strict regulations of pesticides in the Netherlands, and actually all over the world.

If they are not surviving, we will not survive! 

I have already planted plants last September, and my garden is full of flowering plants, already from early march till October, so I assured to have flowering plants for my bees the time they are still collecting polls and nectar. But even then, the number of bees has decreased, and this is a worrying situation. Poison is too harsh on these insects, actually on all insects that are food for the animals, like birds, bats, and hedgehogs.

Planting the Right Plants

Helping the bees, you need to plant native plants and trees; only then the bees of your country will recognize the flowers and will survive. These cultivated double-filled flowers you better avoid; bees will not feed themselves with these plants, having different lengths of their tongues, asking for different sorts of plants.

I understand that the creators of the flowers like their artistic product, but it is only created for our eyes but ineffective for the bees who can’t use them. If we help them, we better buy organic flowers in organic shops which have a huge choice of native plants. I think they are more beautiful than the cultivated ones.

If you research online for which plants are growing in your country, you will learn very quickly to place the right ones in your garden or balcony. In this manner, you help the bees to increase their population. There is hardly any space left in big cities for the bees, but even the countryside has become a difficult area for them due to pesticides and herbicides. We need regenerative agriculture to survive and save the planet! Watch Vandana Shiva’s video.

 

In my blog about sustainability, I have written about such communities that grow organic vegetables and do everything for healthy living, including insects and animals. You can often visit these communities, buy organic vegetables, fruits, and honey, and learn about life in the countryside. It will enrich your knowledge, I can recommend them to you.

I am sure that every country has people living in sustainable communities doing everything to live a sustainable life that gives quality and saves the planet. I admire these people, join them, buy their products, which are healthier for you and the planet.

Creating a Pond

If you own a garden, even a small one, you would love a pond. There is so much life around the pond you will be amazed. Dragonflies, bees, and wasps are drinking from the water; birds are bathing. Water is lifesaving, also for insects and animals. I have a pond, but also bowls of water for the birds. Observing how a little wasp is drinking is really cute. Birds come and drink but also bathe in the water. It is beautiful how they enjoy the water.

Creating a pond is not difficult. If you search the internet, you find so much advice on how to build a pond. I am sure you will love it! There are already small ponds, you can place water plants into the pond, and maybe you will experience frogs coming to your pond. Listening to frogs calms me down, and I can sleep very well. Nature sound is very relaxing and shows that we belong to God’s creation. 🙂 You see, to attract bees and other animals, you need certain native plants, trees, and water.

Houses for Bumblebees

I have a honeybee population in the wall of my house, which already sits there for three years. Each year they come out in spring on a warm sunny day, swarming the peachtree’s flowers and other plants. I am always so glad to know they are still in the wall. But I had years where I observed many bumblebee queens living in the wall too.

Last year I had nearly no population of bumblebees, even I had so many flowering plants. I know this is not a good sign for the dutch environment; actually, it is alarming, showing the condition of this country.  But still, people will not wake up and listen, stopping with using toxins.

There are shops selling houses for this busy insect, and if you like to support these beautiful bees, you could place several houses, helping the queens find a place for their breed. I am sure you would love to observe their business and their life. Bumblebees and bees will not do any harm to you if you are not threatening them. They are interested in flowers, nothing more.

There are only certain species left; the others are already diminished completely from the Netherlands. It is a shame what the government allows to happen; it seems they have no intelligence; otherwise, they would protect these beautiful, useful insects by releasing regulations. I hope it will happen very soon!

Final Thought

I hope this short blog has opened your eyes, helping bees to survive! If you live in a country where bees have nearly disappeared, please have a heart and plant flowers for them to live. You can study everything you need online, supporting them with food and water. If you are already doing something for them, please let us know, and if you have tips, I would love to hear them. We all need to keep together to save this planet with all the beauty living on Earth.

Regenerative, sustainable agriculture, not exploitation!

Don’t hesitate, leave a comment below in the comment section, and share your experiences and knowledge. We love to hear from you!

All the best,

Sylvie