Tips & tricks for a bee-friendly garden

Ahead of the 10th edition of Week of the Bee (May 28-June 4, 2023)

Pollinating insects, including the bee, are suffering more and more. The populations of both honey and wild bees in our country are declining. Yet bees play an important role and contribute to our biodiversity, economy and health. The 10^the edition of Bee Week calls on every gardener to set up their own garden as a B&B for bees. With the tips & tricks below from Husqvarna, everyone transforms their garden, patio or even balcony into a bee-friendly habitat. 

Sufficient food four seasons long 

Due to global warming, there are fluctuations and changes in the seasons. As a result, a lot of bees get confused and fruitlessly search for food in the wrong season. So providing bees with plenty of plants with nectar and pollen all year round is recommended. In fact, in many gardens, flowers and plants bloom only from May to June. How can this be solved? Through the bloom arch principle: flowering plants are provided from early spring to late fall and is realized with trees, shrubs, perennials as well as bulbs. Bees then find abundant food from February through November. 

Spiral beds, herb garden or bee hotel 

Another real asset to bees are spiral beds full of fragrant herbs such as sage, marjoram and thyme. They too feed the bees throughout the year. Be sure to forget the drink not. Small cavities in large stones or birdbaths filled with water on sunny days are the ideal place for bees to quench their thirst. Garden ponds, of course, are also great sources of water. 

In addition to eating and drinking, bees often seek a place to rest. Then a bee hotel welcome. Untouched corners, old walls, cavities and piles of dead wood are often already there to help bees. No garden? Terraces and balconies can also be easily transformed into a bee paradise with window boxes or planters. Bluebeard (Caryopteris) is very suitable for this or also consider a herb box

Fence arches to the rescue 

Husqvarna also recommends leaving part of the garden unmowed. Those who have a robotic mower can, on the one hand, get started with fence arches. These offer an inexpensive and very simple solution. These metal frames allow the grass to grow and spring flowers to bloom to help the bees. Furthermore, they can also protect the inflatable pool or screen newly sown grass. The terminating arches are reliable and easy to use. They do not even require adjusting the schedule of a robotic mower. 

Let the garden go wild 

For the gardener who has a robotic mower, there are additional options to help the bees in their quest. Husqvarna developed a specific feature that helps the garden partially let feral. The Rewilding Mode facilitates work by automatically leaving at least 5% of the yard uncut to provide a meadow for bees, butterflies and other pollinating insects. The feature is available for Automower® robotic mower models 405X, 415X and 435X AWD and NERA models 430X NERA and 450X NERA installed with boundary wire. 

Get to work with Husqvarna robotic mowers and trellis bows, and set up the garden as a real Bed & Breakfast for bees.