Bumble Bee Santuary

With the continued demise of the honey bee due to increased pesticide use, radio frequency interference and veroa mite, there is a growing need to find replacement pollinators.

While bumblebees aren't a direct replacement for regular honey bees since they don't generate any usable by-products such as honey or wax, they do a fantastic job of pollinating vegetables, fruit and other plants and even work on rainy days.

We have decided to actively establish a local environment that supports bumblebees and provides an ideal environment. The main aspect involves sourcing and planting suitable flowering perennials and self seeding, hardy annuals. One obvious choice is lavender, which the bumblebees love. It grows easily, lasts from season to season and is quick and easy to propagate from seed or cuttings.