As you are probably aware by now, bees are a vital part of the ecosystem, a necessary pollinator in the garden, and an increasingly endangered family. One of the best ways to help preserve the environment (and the beauty of your garden) is to harbor a healthy bee population with lots of their favorite food sources. Due to the makeup of a bee’s eye, blue and yellow appear as the same color to them, and blue/yellow is the most delicious color in all the world! To attract bees, you want to grow blue or yellow flowers that produce plenty of nectar, like Clover, Aster, Bee Balm, Lavender, Clematis, etc. Bees are also more likely to frequent your flowers if they are relatively open (single form rather than double) and have a good “landing pad” that can support a bee’s weight. One more attractive feature is “honey spots”, a word for the strong markings in the center of the flower that help draw bees into its center, like a bullseye declaring “here is the pollen!”
