Easy Watering Station for Bees
One summer evening, when I was about eight years old, I was drifting slowly into dreamland on sheets that Mom had just torn from the clothesline before dusk. There is no better smell than clothes that have been dried out in the open air of nature, am I right? It is as if the fabric soaks up the sunshine so that we can hold onto it a little longer as the night sky rolls in.
Anyway, back to the story. The window was open in my room, so I could hear the Pennsylvania peepers singing up a storm. I always tried to fall asleep as soon as I could, because I didn’t want to be awake when the coyotes came through. They usually woke me up anyway, but it was less scary when you had a giant dog in front of your bed and a big, strong cat snuggled at your feet.
I was just about asleep when I heard the buzz. Buzz! Buzz! Buzz! I yelled for Mom (like you do) and she came busting into my room like Kramer on Seinfeld. We searched all over and discovered it was coming from my Aladdin pillowcase. Mom unearthed the honey bee from behind Genie’s eyeball and raced to the front door to set it free. She never kills anything, even spiders. She’s a better woman than I am.
A few days later, I told my Grandpa Boz about the unwanted visitor. He explained that the bee probably just needed a rest and was likely thirsty. Thirsty? Yep, that’s right! They will land on clothing that is still wet and suck up the water that still remains. Back then I thought it was neat, now it just strikes fear into my heart for the honey bees. Think about the detergents and dyes and chemicals that people wash their clothing in! Think about the swimming pool and hot tub chemicals folks use, or even those that people dump into their manmade ponds. Honey bees are consuming that garbage, and it makes me so sad.
Bees need water and we need bees. In fact, as a gardener, I really need our little pollinator friends. This year, I’m introducing an easy bee watering station to my garden. Why not give them fresh water to drink while they work in my garden as much as I do? It’s so easy to do and the bee watering station adds a little bit of character to my garden!
Here’s what you’ll need for your own bee watering station:
1. One (or more, if you’d like) planter saucer, preferably terra cotta or ceramic, just not metal or plastic. You know, the things you stick under your potted plants so that they don’t leak all over.
2. Rock or marble-sized filler. I understand the attractiveness of using iridescent vase fillers, but I don’t like the idea of not having something natural for my bee watering station.
Important: You'll want enough to cover the entire bottom of the saucer and enough that they won't all be submerged.
3. Water - easy enough, right?
Assembling your easy watering station for bees:
Take the saucer and place it wherever you’d like. You could put it in a raised bed, in an in-ground garden bed, flower beds, etc.
Fill the saucer with your filler of choice. Be careful when you fill the saucer, you don't want it to chip or crack.
Add clean water to the saucer. You want water that is clean enough that you would drink it, too.
The idea is for the rock or filler to provide a landing spot for our pollinator friends. This way they can rest and drink. This is why it is important to make sure you have enough filler that some has not been completely submerged.
It’s easy to keep it full since you can just refill it each time you water your garden. If over time, it begins to get grimy, you can put the filler in a colander and rinse really well with hot water until clean. You can do the same with the saucer.
Grab your kiddos and get to work! It’s easy, it’s helpful, it’s fun, and it’s cheap to do, so why don’t you see what all the buzz is about?