How You Can Save the Bees

Just like everything, bees do not live in isolation. They are part of a larger network of plants and animals, from the microscopic to the large, that inhabit an area, and they have filled in a niche which is necessary for that network to continue. However, with our manicured lawns, and our lookalike foundation plantings and flower beds, we upset that network. And believe it or not, our ancestors did not have lawns that all looked alike; we have fallen victim to Victorian propaganda!

In the early days of the United States, and still in much of the rest of the world, houses were not surrounded by lawns, but by gardens full of fruit, flowers, vegetables and herbs, with hard paths in between for easy access. Since many families grew all their own food, the front and back of a house might be surrounded with as many as a hundred different kinds of plants.

In particular, the Department of Agriculture saw the opportunity for increased industry in the manufacture of lawn mowers and other lawn maintenance equipment, fertilizers, and weed killers, as well as the manual labor necessary to maintain lawns. All three organizations held contests for the most beautiful yards, and writers of garden magazines pressured homeowners into adopting lawns.

There are very good reasons anyway for avoiding pesticides, fertilizers, and herbicides, including their effects on your family and pets. But did you know that many of these products contain aluminum? Recent research has shown that aluminum may be the cause of dementia-like symptoms in bees, so it's especially important to avoid this ingredient in your garden.

If you want to help the bees more, consider planting flowering plants that will bloom both early in the spring and late in the fall, to extend the time the bees have to gather pollen (most plants bloom within a sixty-day period in summer; those early spring and late fall plants will help them extend the time they have to gather food to survive the winter).

Remember, supporting the bees supports the entire earth!

Obviously, you will want to start with native plants that flower. Unfortunately, many plant nurseries just want to sell you something, so they will tell you a plant is native, when they may not really understand which plants are native, which plants simply grow well in your area, and which plants are naturalized. Fortunately, there are searchable databases of native plants, and many universities and county extension agricultural agents are great sources of accurate information. Most areas also have a native plant society, and most chapters have meetings that are free and open to the public, which will allow you to learn more about what kinds of native plants can best support your local species of bees.

In addition to supporting the bees, native plants have a number of other desirable characteristics. Choose the right native plants for your lawn and foundation plantings, and you will virtually eliminate mowing, watering, fertilizing, and weeding, thereby saving you untold time and thousands of dollars (my father even sold his lawnmower because he never has to mow any longer). You will attract more desirable garden inhabitants, such as birds, butterflies, and beneficial insects, and drive off undesirable insects such as fire ants, which thrive in areas with only a few plants. And the increase in biodiversity will make your entire neighborhood healthier, because different plants filter out toxins from the environment!

So many people are needlessly afraid of getting stung by a bee. While it is true that a few people are highly allergic to bee stings, and have good reason to fear contact with bees, most of us can survive a sting or two, and if you don't bother the bees, they won't bother you.

In order to avoid contact with bees, remember a few simple rules:

• Do not wear perfume, cologne, or aftershave when you may come in contact with bees. They don't know the scent doesn't belong to a flower that is food to them. If you use scented shampoo or soap, wait for your hair to dry completely before going outside.
• Try to avoid scented laundry detergents or dryer sheets. Use unscented or fragrance-free alternatives instead.
• Do not disturb a bee, especially when it is feeding. Give it a wide berth, or wait until the bee flies away.
• If a bee comes over to investigate you, stand quietly. I know your impulse is to scream and run, but that may upset the bee. Once it figures out you are not food, it will leave you alone. Any attempt to swat at or scare the bee may cause it to sting you in self-defense or defense of the hive.