My vegetable garden is approximately 1/2 acre. This past year I decided to let the aisles [areas between veggie/fruit rows] grow in and keep them mowed. My decision was based on hoping to help keep the garden cooler/moister as our summers have gotten increasingly hotter and dryer. These areas all grew in with a thick matt of white clover. My garden was more than abuzz with bees! In order to mow I often had to chase the bees off ahead of my mower. The clover stayed on through the fall and so did the bees. Not sure if I saw many of the small native bees on the clover but they are probably the ones that pollinated my strawberries as I saw a lot of them on that crop. Hoping the clover did help keep the garden cooler but definitely know it helped the bees! So white clover if you have the room is a great bee food...it does spread and forms a thick mat.
My vegetable garden is approximately 1/2 acre. This past year I decided to let the aisles [areas between veggie/fruit rows] grow in and keep them mowed. My decision was based on hoping to help keep the garden cooler/moister as our summers have gotten increasingly hotter and dryer. These areas all grew in with a thick matt of white clover. My garden was more than abuzz with bees! In order to mow I often had to chase the bees off ahead of my mower. The clover stayed on through the fall and so did the bees. Not sure if I saw many of the small native bees on the clover but they are probably the ones that pollinated my strawberries as I saw a lot of them on that crop. Hoping the clover did help keep the garden cooler but definitely know it helped the bees! So white clover if you have the room is a great bee food...it does spread and forms a thick mat.