It’s summertime! We’ve planted fresh herbs on our balcony,we’ve decorated our apartment with a big bunch of wild flowers picked during our last road trip to the countryside, we’ve opened our windows wide.
In recent years, we’ve learned just how important bees are to nature and humanity. They are responsible for pollinating plants and are therefore particularly worthy of protection.
To help Montreal remain one of the greenest cities in the world, and to nurture the region’s biodiversity, we have a few tips for living in harmony with Montreal’s bees…
1. bee-friendly plants
Not everything that smells good tastes good to bees, so it’s worth finding out more about their preferences.
In general, we can say that bees like native wildflowers, i.e. the herbs and flowers that grow naturally in Quebec’s fields and forests.
Kitchen herbs also attract our striped friends, and what’s more, we’ll have the best salads in the neighborhood…
We’ll plant lavender, thyme, coriander, poppies, sunflowers, red clover and mint.
2) Build an insect hotel
So that bees don’t have to travel far from our wildflowers, you can install a nesting device on your balcony; like an insect hotel.
You can buy one, or build one yourself. They imitate natural nests very well, so bees feel very much at home.
To build one ourselves, we have a few resources;
You can also buy one to build with your family from Renaud Bray -here!
3) Use mineral sunscreens and natural mosquito repellents
To preserve biodiversity and avoid being devoured by mosquitoes and all the other biting insects that hang around our ankles in Montreal summers, we can protect ourselves with local, non-toxic products…
4) Add a water source
Bees, like us, need to drink a lot of water in summer, and we can help them by adding little water sources for them in our garden…
It’s very simple: fill a shallow bowl with fresh water and add pebbles for the bees to rest on.
For a few years now, small ceramic planting bowls have also been a pretty and easy item to create during one of the workshops we’ll be trying out in Montreal this summer…
[smn_responsive_embed type=”instagram” src=”https://www.instagram.com/p/DG1ImHpyg5v/”
Bzzzzzz!