Staghorn NYC blog: Garden Design Challenge: Bee Allergies

Recently, I encountered a project challenge that was entirely new to me – How do I design a garden for a client with a severe allergy to bee stings? First of all, the client understands that a 100% bee-free garden isn't possible unless we're talking about constructing some sort of bio-dome, and we're not. After doing some research I found that what we can do is design a garden space that is, shall we say, less alluring to bees. Normally, I design gardens that do quite the opposite by re-establishing and/or supporting native habitats – and pollinators (like bees) are a crucial part of that. But with some careful finagling I think it'll be possible to design a healthy, sustainable garden without attracting too many stingers.

How do we begin? We think like a bee.

So what makes a flower attractive to a bee? A few key characteristics:

structure–easy access to nectar/pollen. Can the bee's body/proboscis reach the nectar? If the blossom is too long and narrow, no.

scent–pretty straight forward. Most highly fragrant flowers have a lot of nectar - a big draw for bees - so it's something to consider when selecting plants for bee avoidance.

color–blues and purples are easiest for bees to see, and therefore, especially attractive. Reds, on the other hand, looks black to a bee, so they generally ignore them.

Now that we've got this information, some strategic choices can be made in selecting plants for the garden that won't attract bees, but will attract other important wildlife like hummingbirds and butterflies.

Here's a list to get you started:

Cardinal flower – A great native flower that the butterflies and hummingbirds adore.

Red Coneflower – Double petal or classic, it's a gorgeous pop of color.

Crocosmia –Not a native, but the hummingbirds still love it.

Double-petal or "ball" Dahlias – The petals are too compact for most bees to get to their nectar, or they're sterilized. They come in a delightful array of colors.