The Joy (and Benefits) of Growing Bee-Friendly Flowers

I always thought of freshly cut flowers as a luxury, something expensive yet does not last. My husband used to buy bouquets for the house, but since I never made much of a fuss over them and eventually said my thoughts out loud, he stopped.

When I first grew plants on my balcony, it was all about practicality. I went for herbs and fruits for our consumption. I did have some tulips, narcissus, and lavenders but they were gifts. I enjoyed having them, and I did take care of them, but growing flowers only became my conscious choice until this year.

In the spring, Ian and I started a beekeeping course. We learned to keep bees in a biodynamic way so that we could assist them in their honey making and surviving as strong colonies rather than interfering with their activities to get the most honey. As it would take us a year to learn and god knows how much more time to get our place and keep bees ourselves, I looked for another immediate way to help the bees. The answer was as simple as it should be: growing more bee-friendly flowers.

Before the course, I didn’t know that not all flowers were bee friendly. Some industrial bred flowers have complicated petal systems that prevent the bees from getting the pollen. Also, if farmers use pesticide on their flowers, the chemical gets to the bees and could harm them. However, with a quick search, you can easily find lists of bee-friendly flowers for where you live. Our teacher also gave us some seeds so that I could start straight away.

So I set out in early spring, and here are the highlights of my first year as a flower grower who wants to help the bees.

Cosmos

Cosmos

Cosmos is the winner of this year for me. It comes in many vibrant colours, and it lasts for a long time. On my balcony, cosmos was the first to flower at the beginning of June, and the last to go away in mid-November.

Cosmos in mid-November

The plant is easy to grow and resistant to ill-treatment, such as overwatering or extremely dry. Over the summer, I took several trips abroad, a week here and there. At first, I set up a watering system for all the plants, but it was a lot of work. Eventually, only the tomatoes and herbs were hooked up, but the cosmos survived just as well. So if there is one thing for sure, it’s that I will grow more cosmos in the coming spring.

A sunflower and a bee

Sunflower

Sunflower is awe-inspiring. A sunflower plant in a pot can grow taller than 1m60. The flowers are of vibrant yellow and brown colours. It’s also super fun to watch bees waddle among the disk flowers

Sunflower is picky, though. It doesn’t grow well being repotted. Because of the size of the mature plant, you will need a 40cm+ diameter pot from the start. When it grows over 50cm or during the height of the summer, you need to water it twice a day. Also, most plants, despite their giant size, often have only one flower head. A lot of work for one flower head, I would say. This year, I had six containers, but perhaps I will reduce it by half next year to make my life a bit easier.

Can you spot the bee?

Going wild for the bees

I have a few pots with random flowers that I didn’t know the names. These seeds were either given to us by our beekeeping teacher or from mixes I got from the local store, specifically for bees and butterflies. Many of them I have never seen before, but the bees, butterflies, knew about them and sought them out on our balcony all the time. We even had a damselfly visiting once.

They are flowers that grow naturally in the wild, strong enough to stand harsh conditions with no care. You might need to water now and then, but that is about it.

And you will be welcome each morning with beautiful surprises like this one:

Or this one:

When I decided to grow more flowers, it was just for the bees. I didn’t know that I would enjoy seeing more colours in my garden so much. Also, the joy of seeing bees on our balcony was priceless.

When the bees visit you, it isn’t just for socialising. They collect pollen and pollinate flowers at the same time. Thanks to them, you get seeds, like sunflower seeds, and fruits. Also, the smell of some flowers can scare harmful insects away. Marigold, for example, is beautiful, bee-friendly and its fragrance keeps away the insects that harm your tomatoes. So, everyone is happy.

Marigold – Tomato Cohabitation