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The Bee-Friendly Garden: Design an Abundant, Flower-Filled Yard that Nurtures Bees and Supports Biodiversity
For every gardener who cares about the planet, this guide to designing a bee garden helps you create a stunningly colorful, vibrant, healthy habitat that attracts both honeybees and native bees.
In The Bee-Friendly Garden , award-winning garden designer Kate Frey and bee expert Gretchen LeBuhn provide everything you need to know to create a dazzling garden that helps both the threatened honeybee and our own native bees. No matter how small or large your space, and regardless of whether you live in the city, suburbs, or country, just a few simple changes to your garden can fight the effects of colony collapse disorder and the worldwide decline in bee population that threatens our global food chain. There are many personal benefits of having a bee garden as well! Bee
· contain a gorgeous variety of flowers
· bloom continuously throughout the seasons
· are organic, pesticide-free, and ecologically sustainable
· develop healthy and fertile soil
· attract birds, butterflies, and other beneficial insects
· increase the quantity of your fruit and vegetable harvest
· improve the quality, flavor, and size of your produce
Illustrated with spectacular full-color photos, The Bee-Friendly Garden debunks myths about bees, explains seasonal flower progression, and provides detailed instructions for nest boxes and water features. From “super blooming” flowers to regional plant lists and plants to avoid, The Bee-Friendly Garden is an essential tool for every gardener who cares about the planet and wants to make their yard a welcoming habitat for nature’s most productive pollinator.
In The Bee-Friendly Garden , award-winning garden designer Kate Frey and bee expert Gretchen LeBuhn provide everything you need to know to create a dazzling garden that helps both the threatened honeybee and our own native bees. No matter how small or large your space, and regardless of whether you live in the city, suburbs, or country, just a few simple changes to your garden can fight the effects of colony collapse disorder and the worldwide decline in bee population that threatens our global food chain. There are many personal benefits of having a bee garden as well! Bee
· contain a gorgeous variety of flowers
· bloom continuously throughout the seasons
· are organic, pesticide-free, and ecologically sustainable
· develop healthy and fertile soil
· attract birds, butterflies, and other beneficial insects
· increase the quantity of your fruit and vegetable harvest
· improve the quality, flavor, and size of your produce
Illustrated with spectacular full-color photos, The Bee-Friendly Garden debunks myths about bees, explains seasonal flower progression, and provides detailed instructions for nest boxes and water features. From “super blooming” flowers to regional plant lists and plants to avoid, The Bee-Friendly Garden is an essential tool for every gardener who cares about the planet and wants to make their yard a welcoming habitat for nature’s most productive pollinator.
224 pages, Paperback
First published February 9, 2016
39 people are currently reading
304 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 54 reviews
February 21, 2016
This lovely book is loaded with interesting information about how anyone can create a bee-friendly garden. The cover alone made me want to dive right in. The chapters are informative and well organized. They begin with the importance of bees and moves on to what type of plants one can use to attract bees in a typical garden as well as in an edible garden.
The authors also give great tips for designing a garden to attract different types of bees. I particularly liked the Chapter entitled Bee garden basics which gave instructions on how to create nesting sites for bees. One of the things that make this such a great book is the inclusion of lots of photos that allow the reader to visualize what the authors are describing. I came away with a lot of ideas about what plants I could incorporate into my garden in order to encourage more bees.
I also came away knowing so much more about how many different types of bees there are and other interesting information. For example, I was unaware that bees are able to see blues, yellow and whites more so than pinks or reds. This book made me realize that I need to pay more attention to what is attracted to my garden and why.
The fact that spring is just around the corner makes this book a must have for any gardener or anyone who is interested in helping bees flourish. The list of bee friendly plants included makes it easy for anyone to head out to a local nursery and get started creating a fun, useful and nurturing garden.
Thanks to Blogging for Books for allowing me to read this book in exchange for an honest review.
For more reviews see: www.susannesbooklist.blogspot.com
The authors also give great tips for designing a garden to attract different types of bees. I particularly liked the Chapter entitled Bee garden basics which gave instructions on how to create nesting sites for bees. One of the things that make this such a great book is the inclusion of lots of photos that allow the reader to visualize what the authors are describing. I came away with a lot of ideas about what plants I could incorporate into my garden in order to encourage more bees.
I also came away knowing so much more about how many different types of bees there are and other interesting information. For example, I was unaware that bees are able to see blues, yellow and whites more so than pinks or reds. This book made me realize that I need to pay more attention to what is attracted to my garden and why.
The fact that spring is just around the corner makes this book a must have for any gardener or anyone who is interested in helping bees flourish. The list of bee friendly plants included makes it easy for anyone to head out to a local nursery and get started creating a fun, useful and nurturing garden.
Thanks to Blogging for Books for allowing me to read this book in exchange for an honest review.
For more reviews see: www.susannesbooklist.blogspot.com
August 5, 2016
Useful and informative.
June 3, 2022
This lovely book is full of information for the gardener who wants to attract pollinators, especially the all important bees. Without becoming overwhelming, the author introduces bee behavior, the importance of native plants, misuse of pesticides, and other helpful factors that will keep your garden, big or small, abuzz (sorry). She has included plant lists for each area of the country, and lists of helpful organizations and web info. My only confusion came when I read paragraphs that would refer to many plants that particular bees like with no reference right in the paragraph as to which area of the country those plants would work in. You have to refer to the back of the book.
The pictures and captions are attractive and informative, and the different bits of bee anatomy and physiology that you pick up are quite astounding. Definitely a good book to read as we enter the summer season with and eye and an ear to creating the best environment for ourselves and our helpful and necessary insect colleagues. We have control over this in a world where we don't seem to control very much.
The pictures and captions are attractive and informative, and the different bits of bee anatomy and physiology that you pick up are quite astounding. Definitely a good book to read as we enter the summer season with and eye and an ear to creating the best environment for ourselves and our helpful and necessary insect colleagues. We have control over this in a world where we don't seem to control very much.
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February 27, 2018Beautiful book with plenty of suggestions for plants to make a bee friendly garden.
July 30, 2018
One-line summary: Focus your planting on all flowering native plants, and the bees will thank you for it.
With the continued nationwide crisis with bees (my state of Virginia lost 60 percent of its bees last year), I am super-focused on encouraging pollinators however I can. This book is a handy guide (with lots of visual inspiration and practical lists) for anyone who has a bit of outdoor space and feels similarly concerned.
With the continued nationwide crisis with bees (my state of Virginia lost 60 percent of its bees last year), I am super-focused on encouraging pollinators however I can. This book is a handy guide (with lots of visual inspiration and practical lists) for anyone who has a bit of outdoor space and feels similarly concerned.
August 7, 2020
This made me appreciate and notice bees a lot more. I love them.
April 3, 2016
[Note: This book was provided free of charge by Blogging For Books/10 Speed Press in exchange for an honest review.]
As someone who reads a fair amount of books on gardening [1], there are a few things I look for when I think about gardens or ponder any future gardening efforts of my own. I like quirky and attractive but low-maintenance gardens, wish to support native animal life, and enjoy edible plants that will enliven my dinner table, herbs and vegetables and the like. I value a combination of practicality as well as aesthetic appeal when it comes to plants, and people for that matter, with a certain core set of spiritual concerns that support life, abundant life even. This book is one designed for a wide audience across the United States and focuses on annuals, perennials, hedges, and trees that support bees, hummingbirds, and other beneficial life. The authors have a strong interest in native plants, and have gorgeous photography filling the pages of this book, all of which greatly improve the book's visual appeal.
In terms of its structure and contents, the book is organized in a sensible way. The book begins with a preface and introduction that seek to convince the reader of the benefits of a bee-friendly garden in terms of plant health and variety. After this, the authors have a chapter that shows the many ways that bees are friends to mankind by virtue of their efforts at pollinating a wide variety of plants, especially those that are native or that are beneficial as food crops or beautiful from an aesthetic perspective. Then the authors talk about plants across the United States that are suitable for bee-friendly gardens and then give a brief but practical chapter on which edible plants are beloved by bees. Then there is a discussion on the basics of bee gardens, some discussion on how to design a bee garden, focusing on avoiding a surfeit of hardscaping as well as a clever use of perimeter spaces to provide food for bees and other beneficial insects and birds, and a final chapter that encourages readers to become activists for the well-being of bees through collaborating with others. After the main material of the book is complete there are some resources and regional plant lists, and also photography credits that are well-earned.
This is, make no mistake, a political book. The authors talk about a few bogus concepts like co-evolution, and in the main, are very open and honest about their ambitions for the reader, and about the point they are seeking to convey: "Understanding the relationship between plants and their pollinating visitors is to see into another world and helps us form an attachment to it. We cannot look at either the plants or the bees in the same way after the experience of observing them together (168)." It is fortunate, though, that what is good for bees is often good for humans as well, and so creating bee friendly gardens serve a variety of aims simultaneously--often bees enjoy gardens that contain long seasons of flowering, as do humans, enjoy edible plants, herbs and fruit, just like people, eat the sort of plants that house other beneficial insects that kill undesirable pests like aphids, and enjoy gardens that may require only a couple of hours a month of maintenance that do not require boring tasks like cutting grass, which means that one can be a fairly lazy gardener of bee friendly plants if one chooses, which sounds like the best of all possible worlds--gardens that support robust life, are extremely easy to maintain, and gardens that provide visual appeal as well as practical benefit for one's food supply. What is not to like about that?
[1] See, for example:
https://edgeinducedcohesion.wordpress...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.wordpress...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.wordpress...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.wordpress...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.wordpress...
As someone who reads a fair amount of books on gardening [1], there are a few things I look for when I think about gardens or ponder any future gardening efforts of my own. I like quirky and attractive but low-maintenance gardens, wish to support native animal life, and enjoy edible plants that will enliven my dinner table, herbs and vegetables and the like. I value a combination of practicality as well as aesthetic appeal when it comes to plants, and people for that matter, with a certain core set of spiritual concerns that support life, abundant life even. This book is one designed for a wide audience across the United States and focuses on annuals, perennials, hedges, and trees that support bees, hummingbirds, and other beneficial life. The authors have a strong interest in native plants, and have gorgeous photography filling the pages of this book, all of which greatly improve the book's visual appeal.
In terms of its structure and contents, the book is organized in a sensible way. The book begins with a preface and introduction that seek to convince the reader of the benefits of a bee-friendly garden in terms of plant health and variety. After this, the authors have a chapter that shows the many ways that bees are friends to mankind by virtue of their efforts at pollinating a wide variety of plants, especially those that are native or that are beneficial as food crops or beautiful from an aesthetic perspective. Then the authors talk about plants across the United States that are suitable for bee-friendly gardens and then give a brief but practical chapter on which edible plants are beloved by bees. Then there is a discussion on the basics of bee gardens, some discussion on how to design a bee garden, focusing on avoiding a surfeit of hardscaping as well as a clever use of perimeter spaces to provide food for bees and other beneficial insects and birds, and a final chapter that encourages readers to become activists for the well-being of bees through collaborating with others. After the main material of the book is complete there are some resources and regional plant lists, and also photography credits that are well-earned.
This is, make no mistake, a political book. The authors talk about a few bogus concepts like co-evolution, and in the main, are very open and honest about their ambitions for the reader, and about the point they are seeking to convey: "Understanding the relationship between plants and their pollinating visitors is to see into another world and helps us form an attachment to it. We cannot look at either the plants or the bees in the same way after the experience of observing them together (168)." It is fortunate, though, that what is good for bees is often good for humans as well, and so creating bee friendly gardens serve a variety of aims simultaneously--often bees enjoy gardens that contain long seasons of flowering, as do humans, enjoy edible plants, herbs and fruit, just like people, eat the sort of plants that house other beneficial insects that kill undesirable pests like aphids, and enjoy gardens that may require only a couple of hours a month of maintenance that do not require boring tasks like cutting grass, which means that one can be a fairly lazy gardener of bee friendly plants if one chooses, which sounds like the best of all possible worlds--gardens that support robust life, are extremely easy to maintain, and gardens that provide visual appeal as well as practical benefit for one's food supply. What is not to like about that?
[1] See, for example:
https://edgeinducedcohesion.wordpress...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.wordpress...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.wordpress...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.wordpress...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.wordpress...
March 21, 2016
First the cover, and then the title drew me in to reading this book. I know and have been reading about the bees dying, and we are heading for a major disaster if that happens.
I do plant my flower garden with the bees in mind, along with the hummingbirds, Monarda, Oswego Tea, or Bee Balm, all the same name for one plant, is one of the plants that comes to mind.
This book is a plethora of beautiful pictures and advice, and it is one that I will be referring to for a long time to come. Love that we come to the back of the book there are plants that are suggested along with their climate zones for each section of the country. I am sometimes very surprised that I can grow a plant that I didn’t realize would tolerate my zone.
There is so much information presented here, I love it!
I received this book through Blogging For Books, and was not required to give a positive review.
I do plant my flower garden with the bees in mind, along with the hummingbirds, Monarda, Oswego Tea, or Bee Balm, all the same name for one plant, is one of the plants that comes to mind.
This book is a plethora of beautiful pictures and advice, and it is one that I will be referring to for a long time to come. Love that we come to the back of the book there are plants that are suggested along with their climate zones for each section of the country. I am sometimes very surprised that I can grow a plant that I didn’t realize would tolerate my zone.
There is so much information presented here, I love it!
I received this book through Blogging For Books, and was not required to give a positive review.
March 10, 2016
This book is loaded with bee info! Not only are there beautiful pictures of flowers and bees but anything you ever needed to know about bees must be in this book. If you want to have a bee-friendly garden this book lists the best plants to grow and also the ones that bees don't like. In the back of the book I found the most helpful list of flowers to plant that work in my area. It was an interesting book and if you had a good spot to plant flowers and create a bee garden this is the book for you!!
"I received this book from Blogging for Books for free in exchange for an honest review."
"I received this book from Blogging for Books for free in exchange for an honest review."
August 7, 2016
Wonderful book on so many levels - the photographs of gardens, plants and bees are beautiful and inspiring (and educational!) while the advice given regarding what bee-friendly plants work where and how to make your space friendly to bees not just with plants but nesting sites, design ideas and the like is well-organized and practical as well as inspiring. I also appreciated the section on citizen science and the simple ways we can advocate for bees and their habitat. I had this on loan from the library but I'm planning on buying a copy so I can refer to it often. Very recommended.
June 12, 2021
I work with two faculty members who are bee keepers, and one is even using his bees in his current research. As I continue to learn from these two men, bees are super fascinating! I'm trying to learn even more about them and how I can help the bee population.
I really enjoyed this book, as it touched on a lot of species of bees not just honeybees. Carpenter bees even help pollinate and often times open flowers wider for honeybees.
If you have an interest in bees, I would recommend this book. I learned a lot.
I really enjoyed this book, as it touched on a lot of species of bees not just honeybees. Carpenter bees even help pollinate and often times open flowers wider for honeybees.
If you have an interest in bees, I would recommend this book. I learned a lot.
August 15, 2018
My favorite bee-friendly gardening book to date! Very well-rounded, it covers multiple topics, including bee biology, descriptions of the most common species of bees in North America, plants that are good for bees, plants that are bad for bees, bee-friendly layouts, and how to design a garden. The example lists of plants in each section are helpful, and an extensive list of resources and regional plants are included in the back.
April 28, 2023
I’ve always loved flowers, but I haven’t been so keen on bugs. My little boy loves bees, and I think his three-year-old self is on to something. He has sparked a small passion in me for bees and other pollinators! This book taught me so much I didn’t know about bees and ways we can start making our own yards more bee-friendly. I’m taking an inventory of the plants we already grow that bees love and thoughtfully planning which ones to grow next!
June 20, 2017
An excellent and comprehensive book about bees, and about gardening for and with bees. Well indexed, great list of resources broken out by region, and with beautiful photos for inspiration. I'll be looking to buy my own copy of this to use as reference time and again as I transform the gardens of the house we bought a few months ago into a friendlier place for wildlife of all sizes.
March 2, 2025
So many varieties of bees! I was happy to learn that many of our plants are bee friendly. We have a Joe Pye Weed that the bees love, and many herbs.
I learned that single dahlias are better for bees than the full petal varieties. The color photos were lovely and made me want to buy more plants. Coneflowers were recommended.
I learned that single dahlias are better for bees than the full petal varieties. The color photos were lovely and made me want to buy more plants. Coneflowers were recommended.
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March 25, 2025Some good information on the needs of native bees, but the design portion of the book includes many non-native plant species as well as invasive species. There are some very pretty pictures of gardens, but these also include many non-native/invasive plants that we don’t want to use here in the southeast, especially.
January 29, 2019
I wish it hadn't been so obviously geared towards the Western US ( I live in the East), but I still felt like there was a lot of good info in this book. I learned a bit and now have grand plans for my garden!
July 16, 2021
Lots of information about bees. Has plant selection for a variety of areas (chart included). Covers basic garden planning guidelines as well as specific bee-friendly suggestions. Includes both the why and the how to incorporating more bee-friendly plants in your garden.
January 19, 2025
The first 13 pages are obnoxious because it explains the importance of a bee garden. I would assume that most people picking up this book already share that level of awareness and understanding. The rest of the book is informative. The photography is beautiful.
June 11, 2017
A must read for any gardener wishing to create a bee friendly and beautiful garden with a great regional plant list.
June 14, 2017
Informative and fun to read. Plus the pictures were absolutely beautiful!
February 3, 2019
I actually just skimmed through this book. I now have lots of great ideas for my gardens. Bees are great.
April 30, 2019
Excellent resource
February 8, 2020
Lots of information to use if you're completely bee ignorant, or a great resource to use for notes on which flowers are bee friendly!!! 😁
February 26, 2021
Great book - lots of information on plants, bee, landscape design and more.
December 10, 2021
Despite being written for an American audience, the basics and terminology were beneficial. Good insights!
December 29, 2021
A handy blend of pollinator biology, ecology, and landscaping that helps open our urban spaces to tiny, busy guests that need a break
January 13, 2017
More of a 3.5 rounded up for photography. I think the appendix of climate zones would have been more useful to the reader as a preface.
March 22, 2016
Bee-friendly annuals and perennials are among the plantings that we are planning for our current container garden–and those I’d eventually like to incorporate into a water garden near. We’ve all heard how the bee population is decreasing and how important they are pollination. Last year, we noticed that our variegated dogwood blooms and zucchini flowers were particularly attractive to bees. By planting more bee-friendly plants, we will add to the food supply for local bees; in return, they will pollinate our vegetables and increase our yield. The Bee-Friendly Garden is has been incredibly helpful resource for planning this year’s garden.
The Bee-Friendly Garden is filled with plenty of helpful information on the plants, shrubs, and trees that attract bees—and even on common flowering plants that specifically do not attract bees or may be harmful to them. Co-authors Kate Frey, an international garden designer, and Gretchen LeBuhn, a biology professor, also guide gardeners in putting together your favorite bee-friendly plants with such necessary elements as water sources, to create a bee garden for all types of growing regions and garden styles and sizes. Beyond planting bee-friendly plants, the most important action humans can take to help the bee population is to maintain and organic garden. Pesticides kill bees.
The Bee-Friendly Garden describes the appearance and habits of about 10 common North American bee genuses. Bumblebees, a native bee, are my favorite to watch. They are the large, furry bees that buzz around gardens and appear so heavy that it’s a wonder they can fly. There are actually 46 species of Bumblebees in North America. They are social bees, not solitary nesters, and unlike other native bees, their queens survive the winter.
Interestingly, and important for gardeners who want to attract bees, our friendly flyers possess a visual spectrum that includes short wavelength ultraviolet colors beyond human perception. Their visual acuity is much greater for blues, yellows, and whites than for reds. Beyond color, flowers also attract specific types of bees through their various shapes and sizes.
The Bee-Friendly Garden allayed concerns about encouraging bees to visit our backyard. Until reading the book’s chapter, “Our Friends the Bees,” I never knew that bees are vegetarians. Their omnivore cousins the wasps (including yellow jackets) are the ones attracted to our food and drink. Other facts learned from this chapter alone: more than 20,000 types of bees exist; 4,000 types inhabit the U.S.; honey bees are interested in just the nectar; native bees are the power pollinators; male bees do not have stingers; and, honey bees are very unlikely to sting when focused on foraging for nectar. Most bee species have pollen preferences, and some even specialize in only one type of plant.
For bee enthusiasts, the authors provide a chapter on bee activism and projects for teaching others about bees. I appreciate the appended regional plant list of bee-friendly annuals, perennials, shrubs, and trees. I expect this resource, along with my organic vegetable gardening books, to become a valued member of my gardening library.
The Bee-Friendly Garden is filled with plenty of helpful information on the plants, shrubs, and trees that attract bees—and even on common flowering plants that specifically do not attract bees or may be harmful to them. Co-authors Kate Frey, an international garden designer, and Gretchen LeBuhn, a biology professor, also guide gardeners in putting together your favorite bee-friendly plants with such necessary elements as water sources, to create a bee garden for all types of growing regions and garden styles and sizes. Beyond planting bee-friendly plants, the most important action humans can take to help the bee population is to maintain and organic garden. Pesticides kill bees.
The Bee-Friendly Garden describes the appearance and habits of about 10 common North American bee genuses. Bumblebees, a native bee, are my favorite to watch. They are the large, furry bees that buzz around gardens and appear so heavy that it’s a wonder they can fly. There are actually 46 species of Bumblebees in North America. They are social bees, not solitary nesters, and unlike other native bees, their queens survive the winter.
Interestingly, and important for gardeners who want to attract bees, our friendly flyers possess a visual spectrum that includes short wavelength ultraviolet colors beyond human perception. Their visual acuity is much greater for blues, yellows, and whites than for reds. Beyond color, flowers also attract specific types of bees through their various shapes and sizes.
The Bee-Friendly Garden allayed concerns about encouraging bees to visit our backyard. Until reading the book’s chapter, “Our Friends the Bees,” I never knew that bees are vegetarians. Their omnivore cousins the wasps (including yellow jackets) are the ones attracted to our food and drink. Other facts learned from this chapter alone: more than 20,000 types of bees exist; 4,000 types inhabit the U.S.; honey bees are interested in just the nectar; native bees are the power pollinators; male bees do not have stingers; and, honey bees are very unlikely to sting when focused on foraging for nectar. Most bee species have pollen preferences, and some even specialize in only one type of plant.
For bee enthusiasts, the authors provide a chapter on bee activism and projects for teaching others about bees. I appreciate the appended regional plant list of bee-friendly annuals, perennials, shrubs, and trees. I expect this resource, along with my organic vegetable gardening books, to become a valued member of my gardening library.
July 28, 2016
I love gardening, and luckily I married a girl who loves to have a beautiful garden. Unfortunately, her idea of what makes a garden beautiful and my idea are a little different. For me, I like it to be interesting and I don't always care if it looks as tidy or uniform as something you'd see in a magazine. I love to see bees and butterflies and birds, and I want to smell the flowers. She's a landscaper, however, and she has a rare eye (more rare than she knows) for knowing what looks good and what doesn't. And as much as I appreciate her talent, I'd still like my garden to be interesting and useful, so as we plan for a re-do of the beds in our backyard, I'm hoping to incorporate more of the flowers I loved in my dad's garden (stuff like bee balm, black-eyed susans, cleome, and even the garish marigolds and red salvia), even though they might be a challenge for the overall scheme of things.
This is an interesting book. It focuses primarily on attracting bees - both honeybees and other native types - into our gardens. They are, after all, not only helpful but essential to polinating certain fruits and vegetables. It even discusses concerns some gardeners may have, such as kids and bee stings, but says the concern is mostly over-rated (I would agree, but I'm not allergic). It talks about the different kinds of bees a gardener is likely to see and why we should want them in our gardens. There are some pictures, but I was disappointed that they are very small - about an inch square - and difficult to see very well. Annuals and perennials are listed, as well as flowers that attract bees and hummingbirds, although the lists are a bit on the short side. Interestingly enough, even plants to avoid are listed - something I hadn't thought of.
There are a lot of very beautiful pictures here. As I mentioned, some of them are very small and more pretty than helpful. There is also at least one page that has the credits for the pictures incorrectly - a middle row shows 3 pictures but only 2 descriptions (I think the 3rd picture is listed with the bottom row), and I suspect there's at least one picture that is incorrectly identified. The text seems to be without such flaws, but with gardening books the pictures are as important as the information, so I feel obligated to mention it. Otherwise, however, it's a very nice book and I'm using it to pick some flowers I want to plant this year.
This is an interesting book. It focuses primarily on attracting bees - both honeybees and other native types - into our gardens. They are, after all, not only helpful but essential to polinating certain fruits and vegetables. It even discusses concerns some gardeners may have, such as kids and bee stings, but says the concern is mostly over-rated (I would agree, but I'm not allergic). It talks about the different kinds of bees a gardener is likely to see and why we should want them in our gardens. There are some pictures, but I was disappointed that they are very small - about an inch square - and difficult to see very well. Annuals and perennials are listed, as well as flowers that attract bees and hummingbirds, although the lists are a bit on the short side. Interestingly enough, even plants to avoid are listed - something I hadn't thought of.
There are a lot of very beautiful pictures here. As I mentioned, some of them are very small and more pretty than helpful. There is also at least one page that has the credits for the pictures incorrectly - a middle row shows 3 pictures but only 2 descriptions (I think the 3rd picture is listed with the bottom row), and I suspect there's at least one picture that is incorrectly identified. The text seems to be without such flaws, but with gardening books the pictures are as important as the information, so I feel obligated to mention it. Otherwise, however, it's a very nice book and I'm using it to pick some flowers I want to plant this year.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 54 reviews