With April showers come May flowers and lots of bees (hopefully) to lap up nectar and do their pollinator thing. I always thought that whatever was served up in a flower was good enough for the average bee but it turns out that pollen and nectar aren’t great sources of moisture. Bees need sources of water, too, and getting a good drink isn’t always that easy when you’re a bee.

A bee doing it’s bee thing in spring.

Water sources alone are such an important part of a bee’s health that, according to experts at the University of California Davis Bee Haven, bees will do a special waggle dance directing their brethren to a good water source just as they do for sources of nectar. As spring turns into summer, a bee’s work kicks into high gear foraging for pollen and nectar but, like in many parts of North America, the threat of drought can also increase. So helping bees find water and be able to return to it throughout summer into fall is important.

How to offer your bee a drink?

Rainwater and dew are two natural sources of drinking water for bees. So how do you encourage rain drops and dew drops to stick around? Hairy or furry leaves grab a hold of water droplets like velcro so look for plants that have this distinctive characteristic.

SIDENOTE: These kinds of plants tend to originate from areas with extremes in temperatures, aridity and strong, unrelenting sunlight such as deserts and high mountains. The fur on a plant’s leaf acts as both shade and reflector, protecting the plant from overheating and slowing down the natural process of expiration while also reflecting harsh light back, further reducing the risk of excess water loss.

As I’ve mentioned in a previous post about the tricks to planting a new fruit tree, sprinklers can actually spread disease. Instead, make your own rain by walking around with a hose or a watering can and selectively watering those plants in your garden that have those lovely fur-covered leaves. Try to do this before the sun is directly hitting the leaves or on cloudy days as research has shown that water drops, held aloft by the hairs on a leaf, can turn into tiny magnifying glasses that can concentrate the sun’s rays and burn the leaf surface.

Look for leaves in your spring garden that tend to retain dew or rain drops and consider adding more of these plants to your flower beds.

DROUGHT/HEAT TOLERANT PLANTS THAT ARE A GREAT WATER SOURCE FOR BEES:

Pelargoniums: Although geraniums aren’t famously drought tolerant, they’re ok with dry soil once established and their velvety leaves are lovely. Look for plants that are advertised as particularly drought tolerant such as Apple geranium (Pelargonium odoratissimum).

Lamb’s ears: The fuzzy leaves of Stachys byzantina are irresistable. You just can’t stop yourself from giving them a stroke.

Silver sage: Most salvias have textured leaves but I particularly love Salvia argentea because you can practically braid the hair on its leaves.

The giant, fur-covered leaves of Silver Sage.

OTHER GREAT WAYS TO OFFER BEES A DRINK:

• Soaker hoses are like a pull-up bar to bees. Make sure a stretch of your hose is left exposed but sheltered.
• Bird baths are great if you add a couple of pebbles so that bees can perch and take a sip. Bees can’t swim.
• A decorative pond can be a great source of water for bees but if you’re worried about attracting mosquitoes, use Bacillus thuringiensis israelensis which will kill mosquitoes but is harmless to bees.
• Add some Bee Cups to your garden beds or containers. These handmade porcelain cups are specially designed to collect and hold tiny amounts of water that are accessible to bees and butterflies. Think of them like garden ornaments. Teeny tiny garden ornaments.

Bird baths are wonderful but add a few pebbles so bees can land and drink.

What else can you do to help our bees?

Here’s a quick season by season list of how we can all help make a bee’s life a little easier.

SPRING:

1. Get into the habit of being not so quick to clean out your bird bath or that pan of water you’ve set out for bees. Bees prefer water with a little bit of leaf debris and algae as these elements provide additional nutrients for bees. Just provide fresh water frequently enough to avoid attracting mosquitoes.
2. Consider becoming an advocate of No Mow May and leave your lawn (and bee-friendly dandelions) for awhile before finally bringing out the lawn mower.

SUMMER:

1. Keep up the nectar supply with flowers and shrubs like native Elderflower (Sambucus nigra ssp canadensis) that bloom through the dog days of summer.
2. If you discover a below-ground bee hive, try to leave it alone. Many types of beneficial bees nest underground and these types of bees are often the ones that have better success surviving a heat wave because, the theory suggests, underground hives will stay cooler for longer than above ground hives.

FALL:

1. Resist doing an autumn yard clean-up. Many of those bits of wood and expired plant stems, especially hollow ones, make excellent overwinter shelters for lone bees that aren’t part of a hive.
2. Fall is an excellent time to plant a tree so why not plant a tree that feeds bees such as native-to-parts-of-Canada Redbud (Cercis canadensis) and Tulip Tree (Liciodendron tulipfera).