There are three key considerations to make to attract native pollinators, especially bees, to your garden. 1) You must plant plants that are animal pollinated. Perennials and fruiting trees and bushes are the best for attracting a variety of bee species, and you can guarantee that they will flower again in successive years. Selecting the right plants to add to your garden is tricky; you will have to do a little research to find out which plants are the most attractive to different pollinators, and which plants that can grow in your local area. For my research in central Pennsylvania, I use Echinacea, Joe-pye weed, Senna, Slender mountainmint, Boneset, Culver's root, Wild bergamot, Spiderwort, New England Aster, and Goldenrod, but there are a wealth of others. 2) It is recommended now, especially for bee conservation, to place solitary bee nesting sites in your garden. These are fun to construct and largely adaptable to your aesthetic preferences. 3) Reducing or eliminating the use of pesticides in your garden, especially in the areas you want to attract pollinators.

There is a wealth of good public information out there that can point you to the right plants in your area to attract your local pollinator community and how to construct nesting sites. A good place to start is Penn State's Center for Pollinator Research Public Outreach page, http://ento.psu.edu/pollinators/publi.... Here you can find literature and links related to pollinator conservation and gardening. Also, the Xerces Society's Pollinator Conservation page has great links to local plant lists for pollinator conservation http://www.xerces.org/pollinator-cons....