February has arrived, and while we can’t start new gardening projects yet, we can make plans for spring planting. Last night, Jim mentioned that next fall he wants to plant new daffodils around the sundial up in the field. The sundial once was surrounded by daffodils and irises, but those bulbs and rhizomes were moved two years ago to make way for raised vegetable beds, leaving the sundial looking lonely and forlorn.

Daffodils are the loveliest of spring flowers, but they lead short lives, so I want to add some colorful flowers that will bloom from summer through fall and attract bees, butterflies, and other pollinators.

Honeybees (Apis mellifera), which are native to Europe, were brought to North America by settlers. They are the only bees in the United States used to pollinate commercial crops and produce honey.

Native bees perform most of the hard work of pollinating home gardens. With careful planning and appropriate plant selection, we can encourage several species to se...