The Garden Is Bumblebee Ready, Now Where Are My Bumbles?

Baptisia x bicolor 'Starlite' Prairieblues™

Clay and Limestone is Bumblebee ready, but, there's not a bumble to be found.

Ornamental Kale

I've seen  carpenter bees,

Pollen beetles, bee flies

Geranium sanguineum

bee imitators,

Ox-eye Daisy a non-native 'weed' I happen to love

hover flies and even small bees.

Zizia aurea (Apiaceae/Carrot Family)

All perfectly good pollinators. But, not one Bumble.
Should I bee alarmed?


No, I'll be patient!
They always show up and it's never on my schedule.


In the meantime, I still work to make Clay and Limestone as pollinator friendly as possible by following the Golden Rules.

• plant large swathes of nectar and pollen producing plants
• plant host plants~don't stop at nectar and pollen plants
• plan for bloom from late spring to early winter (witch hazels fit the bill)
• bee sure to include water
• provide nesting sites for a variety of visitors:  leave some bare ground (ix-nay on the plastic landscape cloth);decaying logs are perfect for beetles and bees who like to use old bee tunnels;  and,  you can provide special  bee houses. 

xoxogail

PS  Please raise your hand and solemnly swear that you will never, ever, ever, ever, ever use pesticides in your garden. Now, don't you feel better for having made that commitment! I know I do. 
In case you want to read earlier pollinator posts~

Now Is The Time To Bee-gin Thinking About Bees ( here)
This Is The Place To Bee ( here)
If You Could Plant Only One Plant In Your Garden~Don't (here)
Must Bee The Season of The Witch (here)
Go Bare In Your Garden (here)
We can't All Be Pretty Pollinators (here)
Eye, Eye Skipper, Big Eyed Pollinators (here)
What's In Your Garden (here)
Royalty In The Garden~Monarch Butterfly (here)
Carpenter Bees (here)
Got Wildflowers?(here)
It's Spring and A Gardener's Thoughts Are On Pollinators (here)
The Wildflower and The Bee (here)
A Few Good Reasons To Plant Milkweek (here)
Got Shade? You Can Have Pollinators ( (here)
A Pollinator friendly Shrub (here)
Big Goings On at C and L (here) 
Where Have All My Pollinators Gone (here)

Other bee posts you might want to read~

Count Yourself Lucky To Have Hoverflies ( here)
Bumblebee Hotel (here)
Still Taking Care Of Bzzness (here)
My Sweet Embraceable You (here)

Gail Eichelberger is a gardener and therapist in Middle Tennessee. She loves wildflowers and native plants and thoroughly enjoys writing about the ones she grows at Clay and Limestone." She reminds all that the words and images are the property of the author and cannot be used without written permission.