We’ve been hearing a lot about bee and pollinator decline in the news. Though the implication is that “bees” means honeybees, there are over 4,000 native bee species providing us with free pollinating services — if only we provide the habitat for them to thrive.Many native bees are oligolectic, which means they forage for pollen and nectar only on a specific species of native plant — for example, one species of goldenrod or aster . Let’s assume that a calico aster () blooms for two weeks; that’s a very small window for adults to gather pollen and bring it back to egg cells in the ground or in hollow plant stems — and those eggs will turn into larvae and overwinter eating that pollen.What can we do in our small backyard gardens to support a diversity of bees and other pollinators? Plant as many native flowers as possible, and make sure they’re native to the area to support the largest amount of pollinators. Here are 15 native wildflowers that should be a great start in creating your own native bee garden