Re: 5 ways to make your yard more bee-friendlyHow cool Lori. You're becoming a true Bee Charmer!
Re: 5 ways to make your yard more bee-friendlyBee-eautiful! Bees are fascinating--how the pollen finders signal to the rest of the bees where to go; whether they accept a new queen or not... Very inspiring, Lori! Thanks for sharing.
Re: 5 ways to make your yard more bee-friendlyThis is so cool Lori!
While we're not ready to go full beekeeper, we have lots of pollinator friendly plants and shrubs around the house. The bees are fascinating and almost calming to watch as they move from flower to flower.
I would be interested to hear what it takes to catch a swarm!
Best,
Bill
Re: 5 ways to make your yard more bee-friendlyWow Lori. This is awesome! I'm going to make sure I have lot of bee baths in my yard and will work on the bee hotel idea too. Thank you for sharing!
Re: 5 ways to make your yard more bee-friendlyAlso Lori: That video is beautiful!!!!
Re: 5 ways to make your yard more bee-friendlyVery cool! I continue to be so impressed by the varied talents and interests of JMP staff. Thank you for sharing and offering tips of how to make property more bee-friendly, Lori.
5 ways to make your yard more bee-friendly
Bees are one of the world’s most important pollinators for food crops. We rely heavily on bees and other pollinators for our food crops, and that includes not only plant crops but eggs, meat, and dairy products as well.
Lori poses with her bees.Lori poses with her bees.Lori poses with her bees.Lori poses with her bees.Lori poses with her bees.Lori poses with her bees.Lori poses with her bees.Lori poses with her bees.Lori poses with her bees.Lori poses with her bees.Lori poses with her bees.Lori poses with her bees.Lori poses with her bees.Lori poses with her bees.Lori poses with her bees.Lori poses with her bees.Lori poses with her bees.To raise awareness of the importance of pollinators, the threats they face, and their contribution to sustainable development, the UN designated May 20 as World Bee Day.
We all depend on the survival of bees. And though not everyone has the space or resources to grow their own food or keep bees on their property, we can make our surroundings less hazardous to our pollinator friends.
Ways to make your yard more bee-friendly
Senior Campaigns and Events Specialist Lori Harris (@loharr) found a honeybee swarm in a red maple tree in her yard seven years ago. At the time, Lori was intrigued by this finding, but it took her several years to finally take that leap and deep dive into beekeeping.
Lori's backyard hives.Lori's backyard hives.Lori's backyard hives.Lori's backyard hives.Lori's backyard hives.Lori's backyard hives.Lori's backyard hives.Lori's backyard hives.Lori's backyard hives.Lori's backyard hives.Lori's backyard hives.Lori's backyard hives.Lori's backyard hives.Lori's backyard hives.Lori's backyard hives.Lori's backyard hives.Lori's backyard hives.She started with two hives, caught a swarm last year, lost a hive over the winter, and then caught another swarm – bringing her beehive total to three.
“There’s an incredible amount to learn,” Lori said. “They’re complex little beings – magical really – the learning never ends. I’ve been doing this for three years now and I’m still a newbie. They let me know when I’ve done something they don’t like, I’ve been told many times (stings).”
Not everyone is cut out for beekeeping. However, if you can’t host a hive of bees on your property, you can make your space more friendly for bees and other pollinators. Here are some tips from Lori:
- Naturalize your lawn. Keep the wild strawberries, clover, dandelions, etc. It’s more pollinator-friendly and, in my opinion, so much more beautiful to walk through.
- Plant pollinator-friendly flowers, fruit trees, and shrubs.
An example of a bee hotel.An example of a bee hotel.An example of a bee hotel.An example of a bee hotel.An example of a bee hotel.An example of a bee hotel.An example of a bee hotel.An example of a bee hotel.An example of a bee hotel.An example of a bee hotel.An example of a bee hotel.An example of a bee hotel.An example of a bee hotel.An example of a bee hotel.An example of a bee hotel.An example of a bee hotel.An example of a bee hotel.Place bee baths around the yard.- Have a chemical-free yard.
- Get a bee hotel for native bees, bumblebees, and hundreds of other species.
In celebration of World Bee Day, Lori Harris shares tips on making your space buzzworthy
Feature StoryRe: 5 ways to make your yard more bee-friendlyThanks, @loharr . Bee baths was new to me. Gonna make one today.
Re: 5 ways to make your yard more bee-friendlyThanks for this @loharr ! I love bees, and think they are the most valuable, and sadly, still underrated creatures! I have a growing bee hotel campus on my balcony (every year, I get another one to have more vacancies), and I have bird and bee baths all over the garden and balcony. I can highly recommend this book, which, to me, was an eye opener on how important bees are for human beings: The history of bees from Maja Lunde
