Pollinator Gardens

Turn your home into a pollinator sanctuary

You don't have to be a beekeeper to help support our local bee populations. It can be as easy as planting some native, pollinator-friendly flowers! It doesn't take much to provide real benefits to our pollinator communities—even a small patch of the right flowers provides another stop for bees as they traverse the neighborhood. When resources are scarce, a single bee can fly up to five miles in a day looking for food. Pollinator patches reduce that distance by providing more resources for bees to utilize.

If you're curious about bee-friendly gardening but don't know where to start, this is the place for you! Come join one of Beyond Toxics' work parties at our community garden plot to learn or use the resources provided on this page to get yourself started!

Beyond Toxics West Eugene Pollinator Garden

We are rehabilitating a small patch of beneficial insect habitat in West Eugene. This project is a partnership with Huerto de la Familia to serve Latinx and underserved community members who grow food their families need in the garden behind Kennedy Middle School. Food scarcity is a serious issue for working families. Click here to learn about Plaza de Nuestro Communidad's organic gardening program.

Rise as Leaders youth volunteers

A bee buzzing in the BT garden plot

Pollinator garden work party

How You Can Get Involved at The Beyond Toxics Garden

We host work parties throughout the spring, summer, and fall where we come together and work in our garden plot. These are great opportunities to find community and learn about bee-friendly gardening in a beautiful setting.

Curious? Then come join us! Click here to view our events page and see what's coming up.

Creating Your Own Bee-Friendly Garden

Pollinators, in general, are a vital part of a healthy environment. Native bees are North America's most important group of pollnators. Patches of flowers can be grown almost anywhere and will form an important resource for bees. Choosing the right flowers To help bees and other pollinators, like butterflies, you should provide a range of plants that will offer a succession of flowers, and thus pollen and nectar, through the whole growing season.

Patches of foraging habitat can be created in many different locations, from backyards and school grounds to gold courses and city parks. Even a small area planted with the right flowers will be beneficial, because each patch will add to the mosaic of habitat available to bees and other pollinators.

Say No to Neonics

A bee on native Yarrow flowers. Photo by Amy McAndrew.

Avoid pesticides containing neonicotinoids! Neonics are synthetic, highly toxic chemicals that are commonly found in pesticides and are a primary driver of bee declines.

Before buying products, be sure to check the labels. If you have any doubts about products you've applied to your yard, garden, or elsewhere, take the product to a local organic gardening center near you and ask for assistance. You can also reach out to Beyond Toxics at [email protected].

Products Compatible with Organic Landscape Management (PDF, Beyond Pesticides)

Fertilizers Compatible with Organic Landscape Management (PDF, Beyond Pesticides)

Grow Bee-Friendly Flowers

A bee buzzing on a borage plant, an annually blooming flower native to Oregon

With the right flowers planted, your garden can bloom continuously from spring to fall, providing uninterrupted food for local pollinators. Unfortunately, it is common for nurseries and garden centers to treat plants with neonics, so it's important to ask before buying. If a nursery cannot confirm whether their plants have been treated with neonics, it's best to find an alternative plant source.

You can also grow plants from untreated seeds or cuttings. Share untreated plants, cuttings, and bulbs with your friends and neighbors to spread the bee-friendliness!

Bee-Friendly Flowers & Bloom Calendar (PDF)

Enhance Ground Nesting Bee Habitat

A native Oregon sweat bee. Photo by Edwin Harris.

Did you know that approximately 70% of native Oregon bees nest in the ground and not in hives?

To create a bee-friendly garden that supports ground-nesting bees such as mining bees or sweat bees, you'll want to focus on providing a combination of flowering plants, undisturbed soil patches, and moist clay soil.

It's also helpful to let a bit of leafy debris stay on the soil to provide additional cover and shelter for ground-nesting bees.

Nurturing Mason Bees in Your Backyard in Western Oregon (Oregon State University)