Do your bit to cultivate life: Protect pollinators

Ninety percent of all crops around the world are pollinated by insects of some sort. We tend to think of honeybees performing all the work, but there are a plethora of other pollinating insects that are just as important. Colony Collapse Disorder — the name given to the strange affliction suffered by European honeybees — is but one aspect of a general problem. In recent years, pollinators have been adversely affected by a reduction in habitat, new pests and the overuse of pesticides.

So what can we do? On this week's episode of "Cultivating Life," one of my guests, horticulturist Jessica Walliser, author of "Good Bug, Bad Bug," shares a few tips about pollinating insects and how we can all do our part to protect them. Whether you have a window box-sized garden or several acres, by adopting a few pollinator-friendly practices you can encourage and protect these hardworking members of the insect world.

Eliminate Hazards

When we use chemicals to rid the garden of pests, we may also be eradicating beneficial insects and animals. This often creates an imbalance that affects the overall health of the garden. Take a minute to find out what is truly attacking your plants or causing a problem before you use spray or powder. The best option is to eliminate all pesticide use, but if that is not an option, read labels carefully, select the least toxic, and apply it after dusk when most pollinators are no longer active.

Provide Food Sources and Water

Providing water and food sources for pollinators will attract them to your garden and make life a little easier for them. Add a shallow birdbath, make a mud puddle with your hose, or fill a small saucer with water and leave it in your garden. Try to include umbel-shaped flowers or shallow-lipped flowers in your garden beds. Most garden pollinators do not have specialized parts that allow them to reach pollen and nectar, so it has to be easily accessible for them to do their part.

Among the flowers that seem to draw all kinds of insect pollinators are: Goldenrods, dill, coneflowers, sunflowers, Joe-Pye weed, zinnias and marigolds. Place your bee, butterfly or birdhouse near these food sources. You may also want to try recycling your over-ripe fruit. Mashed or cut-up fruit will attract butterflies such as swallowtails, painted ladies and fritillaries. The high sugar content in ripe fruit is a preferred food source.

Create Habitat

The decline in the European honeybee population has made it even more important to protect and encourage our native bees. There are more than 3,500 species of solitary bees in North America, and these efficient pollinators do most of the pollinating of crops and gardens. Just like us, native bees need a place to live, especially during the winter months. Delaying your garden cleanup until spring is one way you can help. Leaving dried plant stalks and material (unless diseased) in the garden through the winter, provides habitat for pollinators that overwinter in hollow stems and holes found in dead plants and wood.

Adding a bug house to your garden is another way to encourage pollinators to take up residence. Here is a simple native bee house that will encourage native bees to call your garden home. Take a 4-by-4 board of untreated cedar, 15 inches long, and sand the surfaces and edges to a smooth finish. Drill holes on opposite sides of wood, using a variety of drill bit sizes. The various hole sizes will attract a variety of bugs. Screw an eyehook into the top center of the wood, attach some twine, and hang close to garden.