Benable — create shareable lists of things you recommend!
E.g., products you love, local businesses, travel recs - you can add anything to a Benable list!
Bee Thankful for Pollinators
32
items Get the buzz on bees, my favorite flowers to attract them, and accommodations for them (bee hotels and bee hives). Give thanks to the hardworking little creatures that make it possible for us to enjoy one of three bites of food!
Note: This list may contain affiliate links, which means that I may receive a commission (at no extra charge to you) if you make a purchase using these links..
Note: This list may contain affiliate links, which means that I may receive a commission (at no extra charge to you) if you make a purchase using these links..
Sections
4
Bees (Main Genuses)
Bee-Friendly Flowers
Bee Accommodations & Accessories
Bee-utiful Designs
Bees (Main Genuses)
There's more out there than the humble honeybee: meet bumblebees, leaf cutter bees, mason bees, and sweat bees (all of which have showed up in my backyard).
Sure, they may not produce honey, but bumblebees are important pollinators of many food crops.
Bumblebees (bombus)
1
The honey-producing champions of the bee kingdom! Even if apiculture doesn't interest you, it's always nice to see honey bees pollinating flowers.
Honey Bees (apis)
1
These solitary bees are extremely efficient, outpollinating honeybees by a ratio of 20:1! They collect pollen on their abdomen. They're one of the reasons why I have 9 solitary bee hotels in the backyard.
Leafcutter Bees (megachile) **pollinating powerhouses!**
These small, solitary bees don't produce honey either, but just one of them pollinate as much as 100 honeybees. They're one of the reasons why I have 9 solitary bee hotels in the backyard.
Mason Bees (osmia)
** pollinating powerhouses! **
The glistening, bright green bodies of these little solitary bees (also known as sweet bees) is the first thing that will grab your attention. They're are great pollinators of crops.
Sweat Bees (halictidae)
Bee-Friendly Flowers
Some of my favorite flowers to attract bees (yes, and hummingbirds, too!)
Hummingbird mint is a hands-down perennial (pun intended) favorite with bees and hummingbirds! Orange and hot pink flowers will bloom all summer long and continue until the first frost.
Anise Hyssop (agastache foeniculum)
Second-most favorite bee-friendly perennial to have growing in the backyard! Great for photo ops, too. :)
Bee Balm (monarda)
Gorgeous cone-shaped clusters of flowers in many different colors attract a host of pollinators – they're not just for butterflies!
Butterfly Bush (buddleja)
Watch bumblebees, honeybees, and hoverflies turn your California Lilac into a giant purple beehive of activity!
California Lilac (ceanothus)
Tasty and gorgeous to look at, too--a great combination! I have the large, ornamental alliums (the heads are edible when they're in their prime).
Chives (allium schoenoprasum)
Heather will draw in scores of bumblebees and honeybees!
Heather (calluna)
I have both orange and pink honeysuckle vines in the backyard for color variety. That they come back year and year is an added bonus.
Honeysuckle (lonicera periclymenum)
You know that my favorite color extends to plants, right? Lavender doesn't just make up potpourri sachets – the flower buds can also be used in cooking!
Lavender (lavandula)
2
A feast for the eyes that's available in many colors (and even two-tone ones)! If you want pollinators like bees and hummingbirds beating a path to your garden, this hardy, eye-catching perennial will do the trick.
Lupine (lupinus)
6
Available in many different colors and sizes. A great companion plant that keeps pests away from various food crops. The flowers and the leaves add a nice zing to salads, too!
Nasturtiums (tropaeolum)
Meadow sage is another beautiful pollinator-friendly flower. I've opted for the perennial purple variety. :)
Salvia (salvia)
I have the scarlet one, but the yellow one is just as spectacular. Comes back year after year and the lovely profusion of blooms is beautiful to behold!
Scarlet Trumpetvine (campsis radicans)
These colorful and showy blooms come in many dazzling color combinations! Even the non-pollinators (like chickadees love the nectar that drips from these flowers!
Torch Lily / Poker Plant (kniphofia)
Available in a bright assortment of colors. Yarrow flowers should be deadheaded regularly when the blooms are spent, to make way for more flowers!
Yarrow (achillea)
Bee Accommodations & Accessories
Hotels for solitary bees and hives for the community bees.
Yes, insect pollinators like bees and butterflies need to drink, too! These bee cups and watering stations make a cute and bee-friendly addition to the backyard.
Bee Cups and Watering Stations
Flow hives break the mold when it comes to harvesting honey from your honey bees. honeyflow.com/pages/about-us chronicles the story behind the award-winning brainchild of an Australian father and son.
Flow Hives
2
There are mason bee hotels of every shape and size to consider for these amazing pollinators.
Mason Bee Hotels
Protect your pollinators from hungry predators with these bird guards!
Mason Bee Bird Guards
Bee-utiful Designs
Designs that celebrate bees or use bee puns/themes.
The easy way to brand your bees' honey is with these customizable honey jar labels!
BKS Oval Queenline Honey Jar Label with Bee (16oz & 32oz)
Get the buzz out on your bees' honey with these striking and customizable business cards!
CF Beekeeper Bee Logo Honey Apiary Gold Drips Farm Business Cards
With a vintage-style artwork of a honey bee, this round self-inking stamp design is great for those in the honey-making/honey-selling business! Customize with name and return address.
IV Vintage Honey Bee Round Family Name Return Address Self-inking Stamp
An inspirational ode to the humble bee – and messages that we should also take to heart!
PP Bee Kind Positive Humble Inspirational Quote Poster
Gorgeous bee-and-blossom themed decoupage paper for your crafting projects!
RV Bee Floral Vibrant Colors Decoupage Paper
This cute and quirky "now accepting new tenants" mason bee hotelier shirt is guaranteed to pique interest and get a conversation started. If you're into beekeeping, you know that these gentle solitary bees are pollinating powerhouses. Just give them ...
WOW Funny Mason Bee Hotelier T-Shirt
Celebrate the hardworking bee on May 20 (World Bee Day) with this photo journal!
WWN Be a "Bee"acon Beacon of Hope Bee on Echinacea Journal
One of several species of honeybees that finds the front yard California lilac flowerets irresistible in late spring! This pillar candle is made of paraffin – and rather fittingly – beeswax.
WWN Beautiful Honeybee on California Lilac Shrub Pillar Candle
Make your baby shower an event to truly look forward to, with these adorable honey pot favors, which features an AI-generated design of a cute little baby honeybee beaming on a golden background with honeycomb textures.
W2A Cute Ba-bee Shower Thank You Honey Jar Favors