It was a Sunday afternoon in mid-August 2020…warm, not a cloud in the sky. We were enjoying our afternoon “tea” with some of the critters who call our place their home: a Pacific Chorus (Tree) Frog chatted in the pine tree next to our house and two (or maybe three) juvenile Cooper’s Hawks discussed their dinner plans while perched in the fir trees in the back-forty (thank you to the hawks for keeping the pesky squirrels away from my sunflowers this year! ) As I admired our gardens, I celebrated our diverse ecosystem we’ve cultivated since 2011. Then, I noticed a pattern — the color purple.

Over the years, I have been optimizing our gardens to attract pollinators. I did not focus on any specific fancy color scheme. My “method” seemed to be haphazard, even to me. I just wanted to collect as many flowers as possible to feed the bees. Also, I wasn’t really sure which plants would thrive on our little farm since it is surrounded by a wall of fir trees which block the sun for most of the day.

It was on this warm summer afternoon, while admiring the rich purple-blue-violet hues, when I decided we need a plan. Looking into next year, I’ll continue on this “purple-brick-road” and work toward purple blooms in all the seasons. Meanwhile, I’m sharing just a few of my favorite summertime flora from this year.

Perennials

I love perennials because with a one-time investment, we are graced with beautiful blooms year after year. Pictures below includes New England Aster, Geranium, Butterfly Bush, Blazing Star, Columbine, Echinacea (Purple Coneflower), Elephant Garlic.

Lavender

Lavender is a hardy perennial that grows well here in Western Washington. We have five different varieties on our farm, including the culinary and ornamental types. Yes! I included the white Edelweiss here, to show the diversity of lavender. Bumblebees, hummingbirds, and honey bees enjoy all kinds of lavender!

Annuals

Some favorite annuals include Verbana, Cosmos, Cornflower, and Candytuft

Bees love purple flowers

Do bees have a favorite color? Mother Nature, the ultimate matchmaker, may be able to help answer this question.

Purple flowers radiate an ultraviolet (UV) halo. Unlike humans, bees have enhanced UV color vision. The purple flowers with their alluring UV halo attracts bees. Bees and (other pollinators) lured to the violet and blue- hued flowers are rewarded with the highest volumes of nectar of all flowers. To me, the symbiotic relationship between purple flowers and bees is magical.

If you’re interested in adding pollinating plants to your yard, check out this Save the Bees article for a targeted list of purple flowers by season. And, next time you don that purple blouse, skirt, shirt, or hat, think about your own UV halo — and don’t be surprised if a little honey bee checks you out!

Sources 

The Adaptive Significance of Sensory Bias in a Foraging Context: Floral Colour Preferences in the Bumblebee Bombus terrestris, Raine NE, Chittka L (2007)

Mechanisms, Functions and Ecology of Colour Vision in the Honeybee, Ibarra, Vorobyev, Mezel (2014)

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