Attracting Native Bees - Part 1

Hello gardeners and bee enthusiasts!

When it comes to saving bees, and attracting bees into the garden, everyones thoughts automatically go to Apis mellifera, aka, the honeybee. In actuality though, honeybees are fine, but our native beea do need a bit of help.

Today we're going to look at what plants can help attract native bees into our gardens. With roughly 2000 native Australian bees, there's definitely plenty to attract. Let's dive in shall we?

1. Abelia grandiflora

2. Buddleja

3. Callistemon, aka Bottlebrush

4. Daisies, pretty much all of them

5. Gumtrees

6. Grevillea

7. Lavender

8. Teatree

9. Melaleuca 

10. Westringia 

11. Pin Cushion Hakea

12. Banksia

13. Kangaroo Paw

14. Basil

15. Hypocalymma

These are just the tip of the iceberg, and by no means the only plants that aid our delightful natives. I have found some beauties on plants such as salvias, roses, hibbertia, grewia and many more.

(I found this stunning blue banded bee flitting from sunflower to sunflower, soaking up some sun and snacks!)

You need to figure out what sort of bees you want to attract to your garden and work from there. For example Bluebanded bees appear to prefer yellow flowers, leaf cutter bees enjoy buddleja and roses, but resin bees need the gumtrees for, well, resin. So you really need to take a bit of time to learn a bit about what your chosen bees like and dislike.

Also, remember,  bees will use materials and plants for different reasons, such as for pollen, nectar or nesting materials, so variety is key!