When squash blossoms are abloom in Oregon gardens, bees take notice. And one of those might be a squash bee, which was only recently discovered to exist in Oregon.
Desert buckwheat is an attractive, long-lived perennial with variably colored, ball-shaped flower clusters. It provides nectar and pollen for bees and other pollinators, as well as seeds for songbirds and rodents.
While both bumblebees and honey bees are attracted to lavender, the plant is more popular among bumblebees whose long tongues allow them to efficiently extract nectar from lavender’s tubular flowers.
That tangle of dead blackberry canes just might be hiding new life! Look for hollow stems, signs that the small carpenter bee has built a safe nest for her eggs.
Have you ever looked into a flower and discovered a bee just sitting there? Depending on the kind of bee, it might actually be sleeping. And that's a great time to get an up-close look at these tiny marvels.
Woods' rose is a common wild rose that grows in a variety of habitats in the Pacific Northwest and provides habitat for a variety of bees and other wildlife. Its fragrant pink flowers attract bees and other pollinators.
If you want to raise bees in your yard but aren't up to maintaining a hive, old raspberry canes might be the answer. Friendly carpenter bees like to burrow into spent berry canes to create their nests.