Lawns, provided can present excellent opportunities for helping bees.
Depending on your circumstances, opportunities could range from:
Do remember, you can also include wildflowers in your flower border. Sometimes, we just need to be a bit flexible in our thinking, rather than stick to the usual ornamentals we've grown accustomed to filling our borders with.
Before you start, do consider what is practical for your circumstances.
If you have young children who are likely to be running around barefoot or in open-toed sandals whilst bees are foraging, they could get stung if you have a flowering lawn that is attractive to bees.
In such cases, perhaps it is best to leave it until the children are older, or reserve a particular patch for the bees, where the children are taught to observe whilst wearing appropriate footwear.
Not that bees are deliberately out to sting anyone - but accidents can happen if a bee is stepped on!
In addition, if you frequently use chemicals on your lawn, it doesn't make sense to try and make it attractive to bees. They could be poisoned.
Here are a few ideas to set you on your way to creating a lawn that has some features which are great for bees and other wildlife.
Note:
If you are going to convert a whole area, you'll need to take into account soil conditions, as well as light, and you'll want to ensure you have an appropriate flower mix.
Suppliers can usually offer specific advice depending on your circumstances. The information I'm presenting on this page however, is general, and includes a range of ideas.
1. Include Bulbs and Corms
Many flower bulbs provide excellent
nectar and pollen sources for bees, including during winter and spring.
Consider:
2. Create A Clover Lawn
I have been focusing lately on encouraging clover to spread in my lawn. It offers many advantages:
3. Mixed Low Growing Flower Patches
You could opt for a selection of low-growing wildflowers that bees like such as: lesser celandines, selfheal, and bird's-foot trefoil, for example. Please check that none of these are considered invasive in your country before encouraging them to flourish in your garden.
However, many gardeners are against these, because of their spreading habit, and some people refer to them as a persistent weed, and you'll need to take these points into account.
If you opt for bird's-foot trefoil, be aware that it can look rather ragged as it dies back for the winter.
4. Create A Herb Lawn
Having a herb lawn, even a small one, is a great way to add interest and variety, as well as helping pollinators. Herbs can provide fragrance and colour, and for bees I certainly recommend a thyme lawn.
According to one study1 thyme may help maintain bee health by providing natural protection against bacteria and diseases.
Read more about this on my page: Do bees like thyme?
5. Create A Wildflower Area
Even small spaces can accommodate many
wildflowers, and this could attract different types of bees and butterflies, by providing much needed pollen and nectar.
So how can it be achieved? There are several methods:
1. Wiese, N., Fischer, J., Heidler, J. et al. The terpenes of leaves, pollen, and nectar of thyme (Thymus vulgaris) inhibit growth of bee disease-associated microbes. Sci Rep 8, 14634 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-018-32849-6
See internal links to other resources on this site.
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Planning And Planting A Bee Friendly Garden