So, I'm Jim Cane. I am retired from the USDA Bee Lab here in Logan. I have worked with native bees and pollination for about 45 years.
Out here is mostly xeriscaped, doesn't get as much water as a lawn would, for instance. Some of them are native, some of them are not. Some are in bloom right now, quite a few are either past bloom, or will be in bloom.
From a bee’s perspective, to some extent you can mix and match, native and nonnative. And amongst natives, there's some that want water, some that don't.
In front of us is northern sweetvetch, which is a native wildflower in the pea family. It's never taken hold as a garden plant, even though as you can see, it's a stunning kind of magenta-pink flower and a fabulous plant for bees, especially bumblebees, relatives of the blue orchard bee, and others.
If we go up here, this is Centaurea. And Centaurea is a pretty good bee plant. Right now it’s coming into full flower. It’s also one that spreads rather enthusiastically, but it’s a nice bee plant, beautiful colors.
What are you doing? It's a little tiny worker bumblebee, first generation. Wow!
This other thing is forget-me-not and forget-me-not will feed little bees. Not big bees because the flowers are too small, but for a little bee it's a nice size.
Many of these plants that I've worked with that are native wildflowers are reliant on bees for pollination. So, no bees, no pollination, and you're now looking at the last generation of that plant.
The most important thing, when exploring natives is to be successful. So, start with a few, gain some success with them, get an idea of soil mixes for them, watering regimes, and grow from there.
