Author: Laura Russo, Assistant Professor of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Tennessee

In order to reproduce, most flowering plants rely on animals to move their pollen. In turn, pollinators rely on flowers for food, including both nectar and pollen. If you’re a gardener, you might want to support this partnership by planting flowers. But if you live in an area without a lot of green space, you might wonder whether it’s worth the effort. I study bees and other pollinators. My new research shows that bees, in particular, don’t really care about the landscape surrounding flower gardens. They seem to zero in on the particular types of flowers they like, no matter…