I came across some tips to think about assisting one of nature's most productive and necessary insects: the honey bee. I would give credit where credit is due, but I'm not sure who gave these tips.
1. Choose flowers that produce nectar and pollen such as sunflowers, daisies, cosmos, zinnias, dahlias, foxglove, asters, marigolds, hyacinths, hollyhocks, corcuses, and geraniums. (My personal recommendation is Anise hyssop Agastache sp.)
2. Go easy on hybrid flowers. They are usually hybridized for certain characteristics such as color or flower form- not for nectar or pollen.
3. Blue, purple, orange and yellow flowers are most attractive to honey bees.
4. Provide successive blooming over the seasons.
5. Plant patches of flowers in close proximity to each other.
6. DON'T USE PESTICIDES! They are broad-spectrum and can kill the honey bee.
7. Don't water plants from above. It dilutes the pollen and nectar.
8. Bees are most active in the morning.
Happy Gardening!
It's crocuses.
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