Autumn is upon us, so what can we do to look after the bees?
A world without bees would be a very bleak place indeed. Much of our food depends on pollination by bees, as do our gardens and a lot of other products we rely on.
How can we help care for the bees?
Looking after bees is quite a buzz and one of the easiest ways to help bees is by planting bee-friendly gardens, full of flowers that bees love to feed from.
Autumn is a particularly important time for bees as they get ready for winter. Worker bees labour long hours, collecting enough nectar to feed and maintain the colony throughout the winter. They visit flowers to obtain carbohydrates (nectar) and protein (found in the pollen).
So how can we help? What can we do to look after bees that’s relatively easy and can help ensure a good future for the bees in our communities?
First thing we can do when it comes to looking after bees is to help them find food We can do that by planting late-blooming flowers that will feed the hive and get them through the winter.
Let’s feed hungry bees over autumn and add a buzz to our properties at the same time.
Feed the bees
In each season, bees forage for pollen and nectar from flowers on a wide range of plants including cultivated crop or pasture plants, native trees and shrubs, and introduced weeds.
Autumn is when things start to get a bit cooler, and summer perennials will be doing their last dash before the temperature drops away.
We’ve therefore decided to put up a list of some top flowering plants that can help the bees this April and through the rest of autumn.
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Bee-friendly plants out in flower in autumn
Lemons
Lemon meyes flower year-round and are a great source of food for bees any time of the year. April is the perfect time to plant them both in pots or in your garden.
Chives
Still have some chives out in the garden? Let these go to flower and bees will love you for it. A summer and mid-autumn treat for honey bees and bumbles.
Rosemary
Rosemary is also one of those plants that can flower almost all year round.
Drought tolerant and hardy, they are also great screening or ground cover plants depending on what type you choose.
Fennel
Letting fennel go to flower is a great way to get bees into your garden. Fennel grows easily from seed and is present in the garden all year round.
Clover
Clover can provide food for bees when other sources are scarce and is a nitrogen fixing plant.
Bee-friendly plants ready for planting
Autumn is now the time to get all those late winter to early summer flowering plants in the ground.
Spring bulbs
Plant in autumn for brilliant blooms in early spring – and divide your current crocuses now to help spread them around your garden. Bees especially love blue crocuses, but are happy with yellow, purple and white flowers too. They also love bluebells.
Yarrow
Yarrow was introduced to New Zealand as a feed for livestock, but also feeds a large range of pollinators, including butterflies and bees. Yarrow is drought tolerant and is a must for any small ‘bee-friendly’ garden.
Houhere or lacebark (Hoheria populnea)
Masses of white, starry flowers cover the tree from March, with most nectar in May and is a good source of pollen. A quick growing tree up to 7m in height.
Winter-flowering pink gum (Eucalyptus leucoxylon Rosea)
Clusters of delicate pink flowers are a good source of both pollen and nectar from March to November. Also loved by native birds (tui, bellbirds etc, they can grow up to 5m in 5 years with a spreading crown.
Caring for bees means more honey for us all
Our bees create a wide range of delicious, high quality honeys. By eating our honeys you are not only choosing a natural sweet option, you are supporting our beekeepers who work hard to care for our bees and their environment.
Being a local is looking after bees
Why not go to one of our Auckland markets and bee friendly? You can help save the bees by supporting a beekeeper in your area, and if you want to learn about looking after bees, you’ll have a great source for all your questions. Like all beekeepers, we love our bees and work hard to take care of them.