I’m a nature nut. I love to be outside. -20 degrees Fahrenheit, when the sun is shining and the air is calm, is beautiful winter weather in my opinion. Not everyone would agree with me, but that’s okay.

It’s not okay when parts of our natural world start disappearing. Like our bees.

The USGS estimates that 80% of the flowering plants around the world are pollinated by native bees. The USDA says ~75% of fruits, nuts, and veggies in the US are pollinated by bees, and 25% of your bites of food required bee pollination.

Bees love asters:

Bees love coneflowers (aka echinacea):

Bees love your dandelions:

Bees love clover:

When we provide year-round nectar in our yards (okay, not during snow, but yes in early early spring through late fall), we get more bees. We also get more butterflies, and more hummingbirds.

Many of the plants the bees love, have deeper roots than turf grass so they don’t need to be watered, and instead of draining nutrients from the soil, replenish them instead (nitrogen fixers like clover). With 30 vertical feet of sand draining our yard, and either thick shade or bright sun, planting in our yard is challenging. Even if I wanted to have a turf grass lawn, that would be a major undertaking. Fortunately I don’t, I love the plants nature provides, and I’ve been trying to put in more of them. But all told, I don’t think I’ve put $350 worth of bee/hummingbird/butterfly plants into my yard in the years I’ve been living here.

Bees aren’t doing well in Minnesota right now. Enough so that currently you can submit an application to get up to $350 of bee plants reimbursed, for helping bees get more nectar in your yard. Originally announced in 2019, we’re currently in the second round of applications (I have no idea how many rounds will be sought).

Much of Olmsted County is even a priority area (which means bees need even more help here).

Learn more at the Lawns to Legumes website, and then apply at Blue Thumb’s website.

They have lots of suggestions and resources of what you might consider planting, to make the best environment for bees while being a good fit for the specific conditions of your yard.

But then of course there’s the next logical question: Where can I get these plants? And even better, where can I get them, close to me?

A place you can find a list of providers, to see who is near you in this area: https://www.zumbrovalleyaudubon.org/native-plants–prairie.html isn’t for bees specifically, but about native plants and prairies, which will have a lot of overlap.



I’ve heard good things about https://www.prairiemoon.com/  in Winona, as an in general good source of natives.



The Friends School Plant Sale is in the Cities every year on Mothers Day weekend, they are bee-friendly.  https://www.friendsschoolplantsale.com/ near the bottom for bee information.  This sale is huge, and some items run out quickly, so while you may have an A-list in hand when you go, also have a B and C list.  Fortunately they have so many things, you’re likely to be able to find something.  Their catalog even has a special “bee” icon for plants recommended for bees.



I would think that Blue Thumb’s website would have providers (even if it was a paid directory by advertisers), but that part of their website seems to be down.  And they don’t have a phone number to call.  If anyone emails them and gets an answer, please share that with me so I can update this post.  https://bluethumb.org/native-plant-gardens/





Specifically in Rochester/Olmsted County – I know of a couple plant sales.


Quarry Hill Nature Center has a plant sale around Earth Day every year.  Members are allowed to pre-order, that email is going out in the next week or two, if you join before then, and can pick up at any time during that weekend.  Otherwise it’s open to the public starting at 8 am, but they go fast.



The Rochester Garden and Flower Club has donated plants from their members that they sell, in mid-May.  http://rgfc.org/plantsale.html  These aren’t specifically natives, or bee-friendly, but if you have an idea what you might be looking for, they have quite a variety, and you know it was all successfully grown locally.  And their prices aren’t sky-high. I served as RG&FC’s secretary for 8 years, they’re a great resource for connecting with local gardeners.

Go bees!