Growing a bee garden is as easy at it gets for a home gardener. There’s no need to seek out exotic blooms or struggle with fussy flowers that need to be pampered.
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Borage is a culinary and medicinal herb that’s usually grown as an annual flower. It’s the most delightful edible plant, with a sweet, refreshing flavor similar to cucumber. I wonder if that’s why the bees can’t get enough of it?
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Bees love the plant’s flat, easy landing pads and profusion of pollen- and nectar-rich flowers. Calendula blooms all season long from spring through fall, and even moreso when picked and deadheaded regularly.
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The mounds are basically beacons for bees, which are drawn to the flower’s rich nectaries. One look at echinacea’s spiny blooms and it’s no wonder that its scientific name is derived from the Greek word ekhinos, meaning hedgehog!
04.
Milkweed (Asclepias) is best known for being the host plant and sole food source of the monarch butterfly larvae. But milkweed also benefits bees, which love the clusters of little flowers that produce an abundance of nectar even in dry years.
The mint family (Lamiaceae) includes culinary classics like mint, basil, sage, oregano, rosemary, thyme, savory, and lavender, as well as lesser-known lemon balm and anise hyssop.
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