Bee-friendly design can result in a great community space. Ask if there is a landscape professional among your residents, or find out if your landscape maintenance company provides one. A professional designer or landscape

architect will be

able to provide insight on “the right stuff” for your garden – the right plants, the right place, the right soil, the right spacing and the right water needs grouped together to ensure that your garden will grow to its fullest potential. Selecting a location for the bee garden will be critical. Finding locations away from high-traffic areas such as entry gates and children’s play areas are critical to reduce risk of bee stings. Remind residents through literature or signage that dogs and children can inadvertently agitate bees with their curiosity during their explorations of the garden and be stung.

Many flowering plants will attract bees, birds and butterflies, enhancing the wildlife in your community. Purple cone flower (Echinacea), cosmos, and even clover can provide bees with snacks. Te New Sunset Western Garden Book 2012 Edition provides a several page list of plants that attract bees, and specifically recommends using blue, white and yellow flowers. One of my favorite plants is Plumbago auriculata, the Cape Plumbago. It trails and vines over itself in graceful mounds, and in warm climates like Southern California can bloom nearly year-round. You’ll feel like the plants are whispering gossip about the bees when the leaves rustle and

shift in the breeze. Another of my favorites is Ceanothus, the California Lilac species. Tese California natives are hardy and beautiful, with deep green leaves, proving not all natives are cacti. Ceanothus and other California natives do have more specific watering requirements, so consult your designer when placing these plants.

Request that your landscape maintenance company and exterminator avoid using certain pesticides on and around the bee garden. Let them know you’d prefer they not use neonicotinoides such as Imidacloprid (Merit, Admire, Advantage), Clothianidin, Acetamiprid, Tiacloprid, and Tiamexotham. Fipronil is generally used for turf pest control and should be avoided near the bee garden as well. Synthetic Pyrethroids such as Bifenthrin, Deltamethrin, Fluvinate and Permethrin have been shown to impair bee learning and foraging behavior, so discuss alternative options to these pesticides.

With a well-appointed bee garden, your community can create a place for residents to relax and promote the bee population..

This article was written and submitted by Julie Schrock of O’Connell Landscape Maintenance.

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March / April 2017