National Honey Bee Day: Let's Help Them Thrive
Every August, National Honey Bee Day rolls around—a sweet reminder of how much these little pollinators do for us. In Iowa, that work is especially important. Honey bees don’t just make honey; they pollinate everything from apple trees to alfalfa, helping to sustain our food supply and our prairies.
But honey bee populations are struggling, and one major reason is colony collapse disorder, a mysterious phenomenon where most of the worker bees in a colony disappear, leaving behind only the queen, a few nurse bees, and stored food. While scientists believe it’s caused by a combination of pesticides, habitat loss, parasites, and climate change, the reality is simple: bees need safe places to forage, and they’re running out of them.
The good news? You don’t have to be a beekeeper to help. You just have to plant the right flowers.
Bee-Friendly Flowers for Iowa Gardens
If you live in Iowa, these native plants will not only make your yard look stunning, but they’ll provide nectar and pollen for bees from early spring through fall.
🌸 Purple Coneflower (Echinacea)
Summer blooms with tall, vibrant purple petals. A reliable favorite for bees (and a photogenic one, too).
🌸 Joe-Pye Weed
Tall with clusters of fluffy pink blooms, it thrives in late summer when other nectar sources are fading.
🌸 New England Aster & Goldenrod
These fall-blooming powerhouses provide critical late-season food for bees before winter sets in.
🌸 Agastache (Anise Hyssop)
Fragrant, spiky lavender flowers that bloom from June to frost. Nectar-rich and irresistible to pollinators.
🌸 Milkweed (Asclepias spp.)
Essential for monarch butterflies, but also a great nectar source for bees with its clustered blooms.
🌸 Smooth Aster (Aster laevis)
Easy to grow, deep blue blooms, and a late-season favorite.
Small Changes, Big Impact
You don’t need a huge prairie to make a difference, just a corner of your yard, a garden bed, or even large pots on your porch. A few tips for making your bee-friendly planting even more effective:
Plant in clusters so bees can forage efficiently.
Choose a variety that blooms from spring through fall.
Avoid pesticides, even small amounts can harm pollinators.
Add shrubs or trees like redbud, dogwood, willow, or serviceberry for shelter and early blooms.
Why It Matters Here in Iowa
Iowa’s farmland is vast, but large monocultures mean bees often struggle to find consistent food. By planting pollinator-friendly flowers in backyards, community spaces, and even roadside ditches, we create safe foraging stops.
This National Honey Bee Day, I’m planting a few more blooms for the bees. It’s a small act, but if enough of us do it, we can help keep Iowa buzzing for years to come!
What’s in your garden for the bees this year?
Drop your favorites in the comments, I’m always looking for new plants to add to my list!
“To the bee, a flower is the fountain of life, and to the flower, the bee is a messenger of love.”
*Note: All plant photos in this post are for illustrative purposes only and are not my own. Credits to their respective photographers.
