Fight the African Tulip Tree threat by creating a bee friendly garden

The Bonny Hills resident wants to encourage other people to make their gardens bee friendly, in an effort to help make the species strong.

The message comes after Jim and other residents urged people to remove African Tulip Trees from their garden, as they are killing off the area's population of Australian native bees.

The native honey bees or Tetragonula are tiny (3 - 5mm), black and stingless. These bees thrive on the Mid North Coast as they are a tropical species.

Bonny Hills Landcare member Fred Love said Australian native bees are vital to the environment as they contribute to agricultural production through the pollination of crop plants.

He said horticulturists are experimenting with strains of plants, such as cherry tomatoes, deliberately adapted to pollination by one or more native bee species.

Since introducing a number of bee hives into his backgarden, Jim's vegetable, herb and fruit plants have thrived.

Jim said his strawberry plant has grown exponentially since he introduced the help of his bee friends.

He said bees also enjoy the nectar from the flowers of passionfruit plants, macadamia trees and avocado trees.

Jim said it's important to only introduce local plants into a garden and people should do their research on what plants will grow best in their location.

Jim said bees are attracted to native plants with flowers. Examples of these plants include grevilleas, bottlebrush (callistemon), paperbark melaleuca, lemon scented tea tree, banksia, hakeas, grass tree, native sarsaparilla, native daisy, native viola, native fuchsia and Christmas bush.

Other plants, Jim said include the ivory curl, sacred bamboo, camellia, gerbera, sweet alyssum, nasturtium, cosmos, sunflower, salvias, snapdragons, bacopa, butterfly bush, southern magnolia, crepe myrtle, helenium and dahlia.

Jim has also set up a bee hotel utilising wood according to the type of bee they attract.

Jim has an established bartering system with his friends, as he trades them honey for fish in return.