Book Review: Victory Gardens for Bees by Lori Weidenhammer

“As bee habitats become increasingly fragmented, even small links between bee-friendly landscapes make a big difference … From a single pot of French or English lavender to a pollinator system of hedgerows and meadows, we can keep bees crisscrossing country and cityscapes from one food stepping stone to another.”

During World Wars I and II, people planted victory gardens as a source of food and a sign of hope. Today, we face a different crisis with a shortage of food and shelter for bees and other pollinators. In Victory Gardens for Bees, revised edition, Lori Weidenhammer provides simple, clear instructions for how each of us can help bees, especially native bees, to thrive.

Identifying Your Neighbourhood Bees

“Since mason bees don’t travel far (about 300 feet/90 m), it’s important that they have a network of interconnected bee gardens to encourage them to meet new potential mates. This prevents inbreeding and maintains a healthy gene pool.”

If you can identify the bees found in your neighbourhood, you’ll be able to find ways to support them, so Victory Gardens for Bees provides clues to help you recognize the different types of bees and understand their needs. Many bees are ground-nesting so they need patches of undisturbed soil. Others are specialists that require a particular source of pollen or a specific plant where they can lay their eggs. Some bees have long tongues for reaching deep into the heart of a blossom; others don’t. Weidenhammer identifies plants and habitats best suited to each variety of bee.

Choosing Plants

“In a Victory Border for Bees, there is no room for slackers or sissies. We want drought-tolerant, long-blooming, tough-love plants with staying power. We want abundant nectar and pollen, and we need bee plants with long-term commitment.”

When choosing plants, Weidenhammer recommends choosing plants that:

· Provide a large amount of nectar or pollen for the amount of space they require

. Bloom continuously over a long period of time

· Make it easy for bees to forage and protect the pollen and nectar from bad weather

· Attract bees with their scent and colour

· Embrace variety

· Bloom one after another to ensure there is always food for the bees

· Increase productivity and blossom density by growing up as well as out

· Support native bees, especially specialist bees, that rely on a particular plant.

Don’t purchase seeds and plants that have come into contact with neonicotinoids, and avoid the use of chemicals: “natural pest control over time forms a self-regulating system”.

Plant herbs. Bees use herbs as a natural apothecary as well as appreciating the pollen and nectar. Borage is rich in nectar while umbels, such as fennel, save bees time and energy as they have so many flowers packed into a small space. Be sure to grow peppermint and lemony-scented flowers that help bees transmit messages back and forth.

Bees like weeds! Victory Gardens for Bees provides a list of weeds that will be a helpful source of food for bees so long as they aren’t invasive. There are also lists of herbs, perennials, and hedgerow species with extensive details regarding when they bloom, what to plant alongside, and the benefits to bees.

Designing Your Garden

“Growing an extra row of parsley or onions and letting it bolt will have bees ecstatically humming around floral umbels and orbs. And the increasingly popular emphasis on four-season gardening can be a boon to bees in the early months of spring, when overwintering brassicas, carrots and onions bloom.”

There are so many things to keep in mind when planning a garden for bees as well as humans, but Weidenhammer makes it easy with practical, concrete information.

You don’t need a big garden. A few pots of mint on a shady balcony or some large pots in your front garden will provide stepping stones where bees can feed and rest before moving on to the next patch.

“Go ahead and think of your whole yard as a ‘Bee & Bee,’ a potential hotel and nursery for native bees.” Be sure there is bare, undisturbed ground for ground-dwelling bees. Supply nesting material. Make a stumpery for hibernating bumblebee queens and butterfly cocoons. Create hollow-stem hotels. Make sure there are sunny spots where bees can get warm and shady spots for when they need to cool down.

Provide a water source for thirsty bees.

Weidenhammer recommends planting in trios with three different species as “it provides a variety of shapes of blossoms accessible by many species of bees, supplying them with a succession of pollen and nectar sources without any seasonal gaps.” There are plenty of examples in the book.

Conclusion

“At the onset of World War II, there was doubt among the higher-ups in the Canadian War Office that ordinary citizens would know what to do with tools and seeds for backyard gardening. But even though many Canadians had little or no experience, they used their ‘can-do’ attitude to create abundant Victory Gardens … Gardeners everywhere, experienced or not, can take inspiration from the chutzpah of our ancestors and rally to make a difference. Dig for Victory! Grow and share your Victory Garden for Bees with friends, family and our beloved bees.”

Victory Gardens for Bees, revised edition, is fun to read and informative. It’s full of practical information for both novice and experienced gardeners and will leave you itching to get outside and start planting. And it’s written by a Canadian who understands the requirements of Canadian gardens.

Further Information

Solitary Bees are First-Class Pollinators [EcoFriendly West]

Six Unexpected Pollinators [EcoFriendly West]

Wasps are a Useful Addition to any Garden [EcoFriendly West]

Nature Companion is a free app/website introducing many of the plants and animals found in Canada’s four western provinces, including Bumblebees, Honey Bees, Leafcutter Bees, Mason Bees, Miner Bees, Sweat Bees, and Wasps [EcoFriendly West]

Photo credit: https://www.flickr.com/photos/apmckinlay/52279934943

EcoFriendly West informs and encourages initiatives that support Western Canada’s natural environment through its online publication and the Nature Companion website/app. Like us on Facebook, follow us on BlueSky, X, and Mastodon, or subscribe by email.