The Bee's Knees

Did you know it's National Pollinator Week? It's the perfect time to get some beautiful, pollinator-friendly blooms into your garden if you haven't already. Plants, like squash (summer squash and winter squash), require pollination to produce fruit. So far, to attract bees to my garden, I've planted nasturtium, six different varieties of heirloom sunflowers, three different types of lavender, zinnia, and tons of dahlia tubers, not to mention all of the showy blooms I planted down the wild flower path. According to Sunset, you can enter your zip code at pollinator.org/guides.htm to get a list of pollinator-attracting plants for your area.

Need some inspiration? Check out the Pollinator Pathway, a mile-long pollinator-attracting garden planted in the parking strips (the band of grass between the sidewalk and the street) along Columbia Street in Seattle.

Want to have your own hive, but not sure where to start? Check out Ballard Bee Company and consider hosting a hive. The Ballard Bee Company will place a hive in your yard, maintain the hive, and will even give you a jar of honey for your efforts, not to mention all of the bees you'll have in your yard to pollinate your plants.

You can also support our local pollinators on a larger scale by getting involved in The Great Sunflower Project, a scientific effort to understand urban bee populations. Be a citizen scientist by joining the project, planting beautiful sunflowers, and observing bees in your own garden!