Annuals and Perennials to Help Save The Bees

I've been reading for over a year now about the decline in the global bee population. This season, there was even a noticeable decrease in our local bees. In today's Wall Street Journal, Josie Glausiusz reviews Fruitless Fall by Rowan Jacobsen which examines what's happening. Sadly, Ms. Glausiusz writes:

"No one knows where the bees have gone. No one knows the cause, either, though theories abound, ranging from the absurd (cellphones, the hole in the ozone layer) to the alarming (rampant pesticide use, widespread loss of habitat). After extensive interviews with beekeepers and bee biologists, Mr. Jacobsen concludes that a "rogue's gallery" of stresses may have driven honeybees to the edge: parasitic mites and beetle beehive-invaders, and a slew of bacterial, fungal and viral diseases, not to mention "pesticides, antibiotics, malnutrition, urbanization, globalization and global warming." Florida's state apiarist, Jerry Hayes, tells the author: "I'm surprised honeybees are alive at all.""

My favorite ice cream maker, Haagen Dazs, has set up a website http://helpthehoneybees.com/. On this website, under "How you can help," it suggests four things: plant bee-friendly plants; donate to universities that are doing research on Colony Collapse Disorder; support beekeepers; and tell your friends. The bee-friendly plants they suggest are: lavender, glory bushes, jasmine, rosemary, coreopsis, violets, thyme, wisteria, bluebells, trumpet vine, sunflowers, cosmos and cone flowers.

Well, I've already planted most of these bee-friendly plants and now I'm telling my friends. Please do the same!