Carla Albright, Apr. 23, 2025

Tillamook County Master Gardener

A few years ago, I was pleased to connect with beekeeper Claire Moody to discuss bees in the garden. Claire used to write the beekeeper’s column in the Headlight Herald and it was always one I read and cut out for reference because it had so much good information in it. But Claire had to break from her bee-centric column as she was so busy with the Tillamook Beekeepers Association and raising queen bees. As much as I will miss her columns, I had to admit hers was a higher calling. How special to be a “Queen of the Queens!”

But have no fear, Claire forwarded me a lot of good information about how to attract bees into Tillamook gardens.

First, she told me about a book she uses a lot. Kate Frey and Gretchen LeBuhn wrote “The Bee-Friendly Garden” in 2016 and it is a wealth of good information and lovely photos by Leslie Lindell. If you are any level of gardener who wants to attract pollinators into your garden, this is a good place to start.

There are four areas we need to consider when designing a garden bed for bees. The first is Abundance, which basically refers to plant in clumps so the bees can find many flowers in one location. The bees need a reason to stop and feed, and clumping a variety of bee-friendly plants in one area offers them a smorgasbord of choices.

Secondly, plant for bloom succession and Sequence. Try to overlap the bloom times of plants from Spring to Fall. This will entail paying attention to when plants bloom, which can be found in most plant catalogs or online resources.

Diversity is also important. Try to find plants that provide nectar and pollen so the bees have a balanced diet. Trees and shrubs can be included in that diversity, not just perennials and annuals.

And last of the four is to Forgo Pesticide use. This is true of insecticides that will harm the bees and good pollinators as well as the insects you are trying to control. But it is also true of herbicides for the dandelions and white clover that you may consider to be weeds but the bees consider lunch. Let’s put to rest right now the myth that a lawn needs to be perfect with no weeds of any sort. English daisies can give that lawn a charming appeal as well as attract bees.

When you are picking plants, start with the natives that attract native bees. Some great native shrubs to try are salal, oceanspray, Oregon grape, ceanothus and Nootka rose. Native perennials include bigleaf lupine, Canadian goldenrod, and Hall’s aster.

Bees are attracted to blooms that are bright white, blue or yellow in color. They like plants that have a landing area like a daisy, bee balm (Monarda) or coneflower. They also like tubular shapes like foxglove and Agastache. If the plant has pollen that is fragrant and sticky, that is a plus as well.

Of course, the choice of bee plants also needs to take in consideration the type of soil you have in your garden, plants you enjoy, and how large the plants get to be and how they will fit in with existing plants. Most bee plants prefer full to part sun, but that is natural as the bees like the sun as well.

And I will once again recommend keeping a journal. Try to keep a record of when the bee-friendly plants come into bloom and how long they bloom. Also important to record is the first sighting of bees and on which plants. What colors do your bees seem to prefer? What shape are the flowers?

All this may take some serious observation skills. But truly, what better way is there to spend an afternoon than watching the bees?

Thanks for reading!