Most of us picture blooming meadows when we think of pollinator habitat. While wildflowers are essential for supplying nectar and pollen, a small bee must expend enormous energy to fly to flowers strewn across a landscape. In contrast, a single blooming tree offers a flower feast. To highlight this point, the North American Pollinator Protection Campaign’s annual poster for 2016 was “ Trees for Bees .”
 
Bee Culture Magazine  recently ran  an article  about the importance of hedgerows and trees—still an agricultural norm as late as the early 1900s—for providing pollinator forage, as well as nesting and overwintering habitat.  The Xerces Society wrote  this article  about the benefits of hedgerows in farm landscapes in 2016.

National Arbor Day is April 26, 2019. There are endless reasons for planting trees, not the least of which are storing carbon and oxygenating the air we breathe. This year, consider celebrating Arbor Day by planting fruit and other trees to offer meadows in the sky for our fuzzy little friends and food for hungry caterpillars. Visit Xerces’  regional plant lists page  and Bee City USA’s  Create Habitat  page for tips on selecting species that are native to your area.