Habitat Flower Garden to attract beneficial insects

[O'natural]

A seed company by the name of Kitchen Garden Seeds has habitat flower seed packets to attract Hummingbirds, Bumblebees, Butterflies and Songbirds. A number of the species that are included in the Bumblebee and Butterfly packets especially, are listed on the "Host Plants for Beneficial Insects" table in the permaculture book, Gaia's Garden. Have any of you purchased a habitat seed mix specifically for this purpose, and if so, where did you get it?

[chilzany]

I've been trying to improve bee habitat in my yard but slow going. Oregano and Marjoram did wonders this year for native and honey bees and the occasional bumblebee but only 1 plant of each. Native evening primrose volunteers (small flowers-tall stalk) made bumblebees happy, other bees weren't interested tho.

Canola (local agricultural volunteer, mustard family) and chicory (coffee-root form, not leaf form-from mesclun mix-Walmart seed packet ) each bloomed prolifically and a long time but none of the bees were ever enthused about those. may have to check out that company you mentioned.

[O'natural]

I've been thinking that this post could have (and maybe should have) easily been put in the Squashing Pests and Problems forum, because the beneficial insects will eat many of the problematic insects. It's a great form of natural pest control, especially because once the flowers are up your work is done. Years and years of pest control will follow at no cost, not to mention increased yields due to better pollination.

[Little Minnie]

Make sure to include flowers from the apiaceae family in flowering stage. These flowers have the shape required for some beneficial insects to drink out of: dill, parsley, cilantro, carrots, parsnips, lovage going to seed or Queen Anne's lace. Keep in mind too many black swallowtail butterflies will lay too many striped caterpillars that will eat these plants (I had this in 2011 and had to squish like 1 out of 2 or 3 striped caterpillars to save my carrots and parsley).

Bees really love borage. They also won't leave calamint alone. I mix flowers and herbs into my veggies.

[margez]

Someone on the Dave's Garden Seed Exchange is offering two different bird/bee seed packets for free. The packets contain an impressive list of seeds.

[O'natural]

Here is a link with info about the beneficial insects. The author considers dill and fennel to be the best of them all. http://habitat.ms11.net/bee/beneficial.htm

Little Minnie, can you explain the importance of having flowers of the same family as the vegetables? I'm guessing that the vegetables attract certain insects and the flowers of the same family attract the predators of those insects. Is that correct?

[roper2008]

Fennel is a good one. I have the one that does not make a bulb,
but it comes up every year. When it flowers there is all kinds
of beneficials on it. Parsley is also good, you have to wait
second year for it to flower. The honey bee's love oregano
flowers. Stevia is another good bee plant. I may have seeds
for the fennel and stevia.

[Little Minnie]

Originally Posted by O'natural

Here is a link with info about the beneficial insects. The author considers dill and fennel to be the best of them all. http://habitat.ms11.net/bee/beneficial.htm

Little Minnie, can you explain the importance of having flowers of the same family as the vegetables? I'm guessing that the vegetables attract certain insects and the flowers of the same family attract the predators of those insects. Is that correct?

I didn't say anything about having the same families, but most flowers are related to various vegetables (petunias and tomatoes, sunflowers and lettuce, etc). There are various methods of companion planting. One is to trap crop by planting something the bad bugs like more so they will eat that and not your veggies. Such as using nasturtiums to attract aphids. Drawing pollinators is what some flowers do and then you have plenty of squash. Having a mix of flowers with your veggies and allowing natural spots with flowers that are easy to drink out of like dill and fennel, will give you the most predators. You will only have predators when there are some bad bugs for them to eat.

[boizeau]

I have observed that wild bees are crazy about Goldenrod. Also Queen Anne's lace is a popular food source for several beneficial insects, and one more link is worth mentioning,

http://coopext.colostate.edu/4DMG/PHC/benefici.htm

[organicbaby]

I've never bought a seed mix specifically for this purpose. What I did do this year is hold on harvesting all of everything and left some of each go to flower... a somewhat 'messy' look at times but lots and lots of happy bees and butterflies.