Bees are in crisis. They are at risk from manmade chemicals, habitat destruction, and climate change. Numbers are dwindling, and bees must travel longer to find flowers and plants. Planting a bee-friendly garden in your outdoor space can make a big difference for your local bee population.
A bee-friendly garden doesn’t need to be expensive or time-consuming. It can be as simple as planting some wildflower seeds in a sunny spot. If you want to do more, you can speak to local community spaces and see if they will turn their outdoor spaces into bee-friendly wildflower patches.
Key Takeaways
7 Tips To Help You Plant The Perfect Bee Garden
Your local bees need your help! All you need is some outdoor space, seeds, and some know-how. You don’t need to be a gardening whizz to plant a bee garden; wildflowers are popular with bees and easy to grow. Here are some tips to help you plant a beautiful bee garden for your neighborhood pollinators:
1. Start Today
If you’re anything like me, you probably have a whole Pinterest board of eco projects you hope to find time for one day. While you might love the idea of setting aside time and budget to create a perfect bee garden, time is of the essence. Bees need safe spaces now, so get out in your garden and see what you can throw together. It doesn’t have to look perfect or be the best thing ever; it just has to help the local bees.
No matter how much space you have, you can do something to make a difference for bees. While you may wish you had acres of land to unwild for the enjoyment of your local bee population, you have to make do with what you have. You may think you can’t offer the bees much if you have a high-rise balcony, but you’d be wrong. Bees need a safe space to eat, drink, and shelter as they go about their day. They need regular pit stops, so create a pit-stop paradise on your high-rise balcony.
2. Choose A Sunny Spot
Bees and butterflies love the sun, so a sunny spot will likely be a hit with your local insects. Choosing a sunny spot will also give you a fabulous choice of plants for your bee garden. Don't worry if you don’t have outdoor space in direct sunlight; a shady garden is the next best thing. You’ll need to choose plants that do well in the shade to ensure a good mix of blooms throughout the season.
3. Plant With Bees In Mind
When planning your bee garden, you want to include a variety of flowers. Choose plants of different sizes, heights, shapes, and scents. Good bee-friendly blooms include allium, black-eyed Susan, lantana, lavender, and phlox. Carefully consider your bee garden all year long and ensure you will have plants in bloom from spring through to fall.
Your local pollinators are likely used to local cuisine, so ensure it is on offer in your garden eatery. Plant lots of native species that your local wildlife will enjoy. The wonderful thing about native plant species is that they are suited to your local climate and are, therefore, likely to do well in your garden.
4. Rewild Your Space
One of the major problems facing bees is the lack of wilderness. As more land is built on, more fields are turned into car parks, and more gardens are paved over, there is a shortage of the wildflowers and grasses bees love. To boost your local pollinator population, rewild some of your garden and let wild plants thrive. Pick an area of your garden to leave well alone, stop moving, throw some wildflower seeds in that direction, and see what takes hold.
5. Avoid Pesticides
Pesticides are one of the biggest threats facing pollinators, so there’s not much point in creating a haven for them only to cover it in pesticides! Look for bee-friendly ways to maintain and care for your garden. To reduce your reliance on pesticides, plant a garden that is easy to maintain and well-suited to your local environment. Use organic gardening tips to keep your plants and pollinators happy.
6. Make Some Bee Real Estate
What better way to encourage bees to enjoy your drinking station than creating some prime real estate nearby? While you may not want a hive of pollinators moving into your garden, creating a safe resting space for solitary bees could help your local bee population.

Choose a spot in full sun. The bee hotel needs to be at least 1 meter from the ground. Secure it to a wall or fence to keep it free from obstructions. Bamboo canes are a fantastic home for solitary bees; they like to burrow deep, so ensure each cane is at least 6 inches long. You’ll need to sand the edges of the canes before they’re ready to use; rough wood can damage bee wings. You can build a wooden frame for your bee house or simply place the bamboo canes in a large plastic soda bottle (with the ends cut off).
7. Add A Bee Water Cooler
Bees get thirsty and sometimes struggle to find water, especially during summer. Open a bee bar in your neighborhood by creating a drinking pool for all your fuzzy friends. All you need is a small garden tray, which you can place in your bee garden and put some rocks inside to give the bees somewhere safe to sit and sip. Fill the tray with rainwater (or let the weather take care of this), and the bees can quench their thirst. Wine bottle corks are an excellent floating standing station for a bee water cooler, plus they are fun little boats for your bees.
FINAL THOUGHTS
When the news is full of stories about climate change, habitat destruction, and the impact on native wildlife, it’s easy to feel helpless. It sometimes feels easier to switch off the news and bury your head in the sand. What difference can one person make, after all? But don’t be disheartened; one person can make a huge difference.
Creating a sanctuary for local bees and other insects will help make your local area more habitable to insects. Share your success with neighbors and encourage them to do the same. Soon enough, you’ll have a bee-friendly trail around your neighborhood for the local pollinators.
If you have a bee garden, please share any tips in the comment below. Have you noticed an increase in the number of pollinators visiting your garden? Which plants have worked best to attract bees and butterflies?