The green house
HGADVICE
168 | AUSTRALIAN HOUSE & GARDEN
THE BEE’S KNEES
Planting a flower-filled garden will gladden your heart and help
our native bee population at the same time, writesSarah Pickette.S
hould you be keen to help protect Australia’s native bee
populations, there’s one very simple yet important thing you
can do, and that’s plant flowers, says Doug Purdie. Purdie is
co-founder of The Urban Beehive, a Sydney-based business that
manages city hives and runs courses for anyone interested in backyard
or rooftop beekeeping. “All bees, natives included, are attracted to
blue-flowering plants, such as lavender, borage and basil, but what’s
more important is that there’s a diversity of flower shapes and types
for them year-round,” he says.
You might expect that native bees would feed exclusively on the
pollen from native plants, but that’s not always so, Purdie explains in
his new book,TheBeeFriendlyGarden.Most will happily feast on the
pollen of introduced plant species as well. Native bees do, however,
play a crucial role in pollinating native flora. “We have about 2000
species of native bee and many of them are specialists,” says Purdie.“They have certain attributes they’ve evolved for pollinating particular
types of native flora. They’re incredibly important to our biodiversity.”
The prevalence of low-maintenance gardens in our suburbs means
that, unfortunately, native bees can become ‘islanded’ in urban areas.
“They can only fly short distances, so if there’s no foliage around they
tend to get stuck, and they can’t fly to the next area because there’s
nothing to eat on the way.”
Purdie, who lives in inner-city Sydney, says he often spots the native
blue-banded bee and teddy bear bee around his home. “These
common natives do like to live in urban areas, but without enough
plants for food we’re likely to see less of them.”
In other parts of the world, ‘pollinator highways’ have been
implemented. “Flowering plants are grown in tracts, along streets and
on roofs, to enable bees and other insects to move around safely,”
says Purdie. He would love to see a similar strategy put in place in
Australia’s cities. “Spare a thought for the bees and grow some
flowers in your garden or on your balcony. That will help them
move about and stay fed.” #
The Bee Friendly Garden, $45, is published by Murdoch Books.BEAUTY AND THE BEES
TETRAGONULABEES“This species of small,
stingless bees is found in many backyards in
warmer parts of Australia.Theylive in a social
structure like European honeybees.”BLUE-BANDED BEE“Its deep-blue stripes
make this one of the easiest Australian bees to
identify,” says Purdie. “They’re solitary bees and
one of the most common natives.”METALLIC CARPENTER BEE“This native bee
makes a low-pitched sound as it flies, and prefers
to make its habitat in old or dead trees. It’s quite
large, and the female is a golden-green colour.”‘AUSTRALIA HAS MORE THAN 2000 SPECIES OF NATIVE BEES.
SOME RELY ON A SINGLE FLOWER SPECIES FOR FOOD, WHILE
OTHERS WILL FORAGE ON WHAT THEY CAN FIND.’DOUG PURDIEPhotography fromThe Bee Friendly Garden.