It is a commonly known fact that you can thank a pollinator for one out of three bites of food you eat. We understand that we need pollinators. We hope for them to create our wonderful bounty of edible crops. We wait for them. We worry about if and when they will come. The service that pollinators provide is part of a mutually beneficial symbiotic relationship with plants. The bee ensures plant species\u2019 survival by moving around the male pollen to the female flower. In exchange, the bee receives nectar and\/or pollen to ensure its own survival. The pollinator doesn\u2019t know that it is helping the plant, and the plant doesn\u2019t know that it is helping the pollinator. Each species is oblivious to the other and is concerned only about its own needs.<\/p>\n
In this respect, maybe it comes naturally to humans to be focused on our own needs and oblivious to the needs of the rest of nature. But we do so at our own peril. Because one-third of our food crops are dependent on pollinators, it is the least we can do to give them one-third of our growing space for their food and shelter.<\/p>\n
For example, if your garden is 100 square feet in size, plants rich in pollen and nectar should cover at least 33 square feet. If your garden is 1,000 square feet. pollinator plants should cover 330 square feet. If the total of your front and back yards is 5,000 square feet, then a minimum of 1,650 square feet should be planted with pollinator plants.<\/p>\n