May 8, 2020

Creating a Pollinator-Friendly Yard

Are you wondering how to create a Pollinator-Friendly yard?

First of all, I’m happy your here. Protecting our pollinators and creating a Pollinator-Friendly Yard is so important! Our food supply depends on it. If it wasn’t for our pollinators you might not be able to eat your favorite foods. Let that sink in for a bit. It’s interesting to think about that’s for sure. Can you imagine a world without coffee or chocolate? Oh my…

Everyone can do their part to help our pollinators by creating a pollinator-friendly yard. Our bees are in danger, I’m sure you’ve heard about the declining numbers in honey bees lately.

Did you know that it’s not only bees that pollinate? How did I overlook this? I’ve seen bees, butterflies, birds, and other insects in the garden. I guess I never thought they all had a part in pollinating.

You can help by creating a pollinator-friendly yard. It’s easily done by simply planting and creating a space for all the bees, butterflies, insects, and birds to visit without chemicals. If you need ideas of some bee-friendly plants I’ll post some below. Even if you just add a couple to your yard it can make a difference with our pollinators.

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Here’s a handful of Bee-friendly plants you could add to your garden.

Sage
Cilantro
Thyme
Fennel
Lavender
Sunflowers
Zinnia
Poppy
HollyHocks
Bee Balm
Pumpkins
Peppers
Raspberries
Squash
Cucumbers
Strawberries
Gourds

The list goes on and on…

You could also create a water source for your bees.

We made a simple one last year by buying a few items at the dollar store. All you need is 1 pot, 1 clear dish to fit on top, and a couple of bags of glass pebbles to fit inside your dish, that’s it! Just make sure your bee bath has fresh water often. The bees will land on the marbles to drink the water.

You could also make a bee hotel.

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My daughter was recently completing a reading assignment for school and she just so happened to choose a book about pollinators. I’ll post a link below. It was really quite fascinating to read. We both learned a lot from this book. As I said before, it’s not only bees that pollinate, but also insects, birds, bats, and small animals. I guess the saying is true, you can learn something new every day.

This got me and my daughter thinking and also questioning if we can help pollinate some of our plants like the bees do. It’s definitely something I would love to read up on and possibly try with my squash and pumpkin plants this year. If you’ve done this, please comment below.

Now that I’m informed about pollinators I feel a little different. Even those pesky garden pests can be useful. Did you know that even wasps have a job in our gardens? I guess I always looked at wasps as useless or a bully, but it turns out they can also be helpful in the garden. They can eat bugs that harm your plants, and they also help pollinate. What a great example of why I love to let nature take its course and avoid chemicals when it’s possible.

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We need to do more for our bees.

Honey bees are the most important pollinator. Unfortunately, every year we are seeing less and less of them. That’s why it’s so important to do what we can now to save them!

Do you know how important these little furry legged insects are? There are so many reasons to love this insect and want to do more for them. They are the reason we are able to eat our favorite fruits and vegetables. Also, the reason we have flowers all around us, and honey.

There are many things we can do. It doesn’t matter if you live in the city or country. Plant and they will come. Also, rethink your lawn. Avoid using chemicals if possible. If you’re passionate about keeping a beautiful lawn, don’t worry it’s still possible.

In our yard, we’ve decided to let our dandelions and clovers grow. It’s really a personal choice. We had to change our mindset to look at these so-called weeds as something useful. They are food for our bees and also bunnies. Knock on wood, we’ve found that our bunnies seem to leave our vegetables alone because of them. Let’s hope that continues…

Last summer, my daughter and I were sitting in the grass watching the bees hard at work. They just love those so-called weeds. It was amazing to see. I do feel a little guilty when I have to mow.

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Plant and the pollinators will come.

This is such a true statement! I’ve always been passionate about growing flowers. To tell you the truth I love growing anything! I started with flowers, planting the stuff I got from my grandma, mom, and sisters over the years. When we had to cut down one of our trees it opened up an area where we now grow our vegetables, and I’m so thankful for that!

Everything you plant helps!! Just avoid chemicals. We noticed in our yard by adding more gardens, a fruit tree, and more plants we saw a huge increase in pollinators. It’s not only bees we witnessed but more butterflies too! We saw more birds swooping in and out of the gardens. It sure was a beautiful sight! Creating space for not only you but nature is a beautiful thing!

If you’re planning on creating a pollinator-friendly yard this year please comment below. I love hearing from you!

Happy planting,

❤️April

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