Blue orchard mason bee on clover flower

As a solitary species, each blue orchard mason bee looks after its brood rather than living in a colony made up of worker bees and a queen.

By planting a bee garden, you, too, can do your part to help the bees by adding to the shrinking inventory of flower-rich habitats in your area. In return, the bees will pollinate your flowers, providing a bountiful harvest of fruits, seeds, and vegetables as well as the joy of watching them up close.

To attract honey bees, start by planting single-petal flowers with yellow, white, blue, and purple blooms in your yard. You can also plant bee-friendly herbs like rosemary, lavender, sage, and thyme. Next, stop using pesticides on your lawn and let the foliage grow a little wild to provide shelter. Lavender. Lavender plants are very rich in nectar for all pollinating insects, and it's a marvelous plant to get in your garden. …bees especially love:

Viper's Bugloss. ...

Mahonia. ...

Hawthorn. ...

Bluebells. ...

Crocuses. ...

Rosemary. ...

Borage (Star flower)