Had a deep convo with my neighbor about why she grows nothing but native plants

I was out watering my roses last Tuesday and she just came over and started talking about how my plants are basically useless for local bugs. Said she counted 14 different bee species in her yard last summer but sees maybe 2 or 3 in mine. It hit different because I always thought I was doing good by having flowers at all, but now I'm wondering if I've just been planting pretty things that don't actually help anything. Anyone else had a reality check like this about what you grow?

2 comments

2 Comments

robin_wright1mo ago

Wait, is it really that deep though like your yard still looks nice and has flowers even if the bees aren't throwing a party over them? @cole_davis47 you're not a dummy for liking roses, people act like you have to turn your whole property into a prairie just to feel good about yourself.

cole_davis471mo ago

Stop it. 14 different bee species? Thats wild. I thought I was doing pretty good with my zinnias and marigolds but I bet I get maybe 3 or 4 regulars at best. Honestly this kind of makes me feel like a dummy for planting a whole row of those fancy hybrid tea roses that smell great but probably dont do jack for anything with wings. I mean youre right, having any flowers seems better than nothing but hearing about that kind of diversity really puts things in perspective. Guess I got some homework to do on what actually feeds the local bugs around here.