Beautiful Flowers to Attract Bees, Butterflies and Hummingbirds by Denise Devine



My Flower Garden

As you probably know, bee and butterfly populations are in serious decline. This is not good news! Did you know that in 1997 there were more than 1 billion Monarch butterflies, but now there are only about 57 million? The rapid decline is due to pesticides, loss of habitat, and milkweed, which is the main diet of caterpillars.

Bees are dying in record numbers—putting our food supply seriously at risk—and it’s mostly due to toxic pesticides called “neonicotinoids.” These nasty chemicals are used in nursery plants and they’re systemic, which means that the poison goes up through the plant into the pollen and nectar and kills the bees. PLEASE, only buy plants that aren’t chemically treated!

Make your yard an area where bees and butterflies can survive. Plant wildflowers native to your state, plant milkweed and don’t use chemicals!

Echinacea (Coneflowers)

Some bee-friendly flowers…

Spring Blooms - Crocus, hyacinth, borage, calendula and wild lilac
Summer - bee balm, cosmos, echinacea, snapdragons foxglove, and hosta
Fall - zinnias, sedum, asters, witch hazel and goldenrod

Some butterfly-friendly flowers…

Aster, bee balm, cornflower, daylily, hollyhock, lavender, lilac, milkweed, phlox, purple coneflower, snapdragon, zinnia

Ten top flowers for hummingbirds…

Bee balm, cardinal flower, zinnia, salvia, bleeding hearts, butterfly bush, trumpet flower, lupine, columbine, petunia

Cardinal Flower

The All of the pictures in this post are from my own backyard. If you'd like more information on how you can do your part to help save the bees and butterflies by creating a friendly habitat for them, here are a few very good resources:

American Meadows for wildflower seeds

The Xerces Society for information on bees, butterflies and dragonflies

The Honeybee Conservancy for planting a bee garden

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Denise Devine is a USA TODAY bestselling author who has writes sweet romantic comedy and inspirational romance. She is currently writing two series, Forever Yours (Inspirational) and Counting Your Blessings (Christmas romantic comedy). You can visit her at www.deniseannettedevine.com.

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Fill Your Garden With Bee-Friendly Flowers by Denise Devine

Last year I wrote a blog post on the rapid decline of the Monarch butterfly. The three main contributors toward the radical decrease of the Monarch’s numbers are deadly chemicals (especially Roundup), loss of habitat due to development and the disappearance of milkweed, their main food source.

Bees are faring no better. Lawn chemicals (herbicides, pesticides and fungicides), loss of nesting grounds and a decrease in wildflowers have had a negative impact on their numbers. Bees are important to the survival of many plants, including many of the foods we eat because they serve as pollinators and pollination is essential for propagation.

What can you do to help sustain the bees in your area? Turn part of your lawn into a flower garden of native wildflowers. Plant bee-friendly domestic flowers. Select single-flower tops, such as daisies or marigolds and plant a variety to sustain the entire growing season. Below is a list of suggestions, however, you can always ask your local nursery to show you what flowers they recommend for your area. Also, be sure to ask for plants that are chemical-free!

Spring: Crocus, Hyacinth, Borage, Calendula, Wild Lilac

 

Summer: Bee Balm, Cosmos, Echinacea (coneflowers), Snapdragons, Foxglove, Hosta, Black-eyed Susan,

Butterflyweed

Fall: Zinnias, Goldenrod, Sedum, Witch Hazel, Asters

Did you know that bees are blind to the color red? Be sure to mix them with blue, purple violet, yellow and orange flowers. They need a variety of flowers that bloom all through the growing season because most can fly less than a mile from their nests.

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Denise Devine is a USA TODAY bestselling author of sweet romantic comedy and she also writes inspirational romance. You can view all her books and current information on her upcoming book signings at www.deniseannettedevine.com.