There is always something blooming in our nursery, and where there are blooms, there are all kinds of winged and non-winged creatures looking for sustenance. However, planting pollinator-friendly plants is not the only way to be kind to them.
One of the most important things you can do for them is to provide a water source, which is particularly important during periods of drought, and it’s something you can easily incorporate into your garden or landscape.
Most gardeners get super excited about bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds, but not so much about bats, moths, flies, and beetles. Luckily, whatever you do to attract one of those pollinators will actually support them all.
While hummingbirds and bats generally get their water from the nectar they consume (which makes your hummingbird feeder a very useful feature because hummingbirds like them just as much as they like the native plants that provide them with nectar), butterflies and honeybees do rely on water for several reasons.
In particular, honeybees sip water to take it back to their hive, where they will stand at the front entrance, release a droplet of water they brought in, and fan their wings. The process works like a swamp cooler, and this way of air conditioning is very unique to honeybees.
Other pollinators, especially butterflies, look for a more naturalized water feature in the garden, like a pond with a little waterfall or another established water feature, because they seek out water with mineral and salt content to fill their nutritional needs.
For this reason, providing safe and accessible water sources is an important task, which requires thought. A birdbath, for example, is not only a source of water that is poorly suited for bees and butterflies, but it is also dangerous because many pollinators can’t swim; attempting to land on water in the birdbath or a swimming pool without a landing pad or shallow, gradual, beach-like entry point causes them to drown en masse.
For a small insect, even a drop of morning dew on the leaves in your garden can be sufficient. And if there’s the slightest drip in your garden faucet, you will sometimes see a bee land by it and then drink from that. Similarly, you may find butterflies and bees landing on wet and muddy soil to hydrate and take in some nutrients in the process.
The good news is that creating a safe and accessible water source for pollinators is easy.
Put some rocks or gravel in your existing birdbath, which will enable bees to land on a firm surface and then bend over to drink the water. However, if you’re hoping that your birdbath will serve a dual purpose and attract both pollinators and birds to your yard, think again. You should really have an alternative for the bees and the butterflies because one size does not fit all. So, simply put out a bowl with some stones or aquarium gravel at the edges of your garden, then fill it with a little bit of water.
Another (decidedly more creative and prettier) option is to place in your garden a drinking ball with a grooved surface designed specifically for bees and butterflies.
Please call us to see if we have any in stock.