Woman's 'excellent' gardening hack thrills Aussies: 'Would never have thought of it'

An Aussie woman's simple backyard suggestion has gained thousands of reactions. Here's how she came up with it.

One of the water bowls in Sharon Preston's yard seen with banksia cones floating on top.
A gardener's 'excellent' hack for thirsty bees that live on her 10-acre property in Western Australia has gone viral. Source: Sharon Preston/Supplied

A woman’s “excellent” gardening hack to help thirsty wildlife on her 10-acre property has sent Aussies bolting to their own backyards to mimic the “great idea”.

A couple of years ago, Sharon Preston was wandering around her rural home near Donnybrook, south of Perth, when she casually picked up some dried banksia cones to burn them in her wood fire.

“I also place them around the garden for creatures to hide in or around. It looks nice too,” she told Yahoo News Australia. However, this time she decided to add them to four bird baths nestled in the lush yard — much to the delight of the thousands of bees living in her two hives.

“I thought, this is a great idea, because they’ve got the little seed pods so it’s safe for them to drink in because bees can’t swim,” Preston said, noting the multiple holes in the insect’s thorax.

Left, a blue bird bath on Sharon Preston's property with banksia cones sitting in water. Right, a terracotta water bowl in the woman's garden featuring two banksia cones for bees to drink from.
The cones work perfectly because the bees can suck the moisture from it without going near the water, Sharon Preston said. Source: Sharon Preston/Supplied

The animals are able to “suckle on the cone” because it’s “nice and wet” and they don’t have to go anywhere near the water. Preston said she previously tried recommended foam tools to help bees have a drink, but started to worry about them breaking down and the potential environmental effects.

ADVERTISEMENT

“I’ve had these cones in the water for about two years,” the gardener told Yahoo, adding she simply refreshes the water on a regular basis.

Over the weekend, the 67-year-old was tending to her little slice of heaven when she snapped a video of a handful of bees eagerly enjoying the moisture from the dried flowers and posted them online.

“I had an idea I wanted to share. Banksia cones are great for the bees to have a drink on and they last a long time in my water baths/bowl,” she wrote in a Facebook group dedicated to the insects — thrilling more than 20,000 Aussies with her “great” hack.

Preston said she had no idea her simple comment would gain so much attention. “It’s amazing. I was waiting on people to say ‘Oh yeah, I do this too’, or I thought I might get some other suggestions,” she told Yahoo.

Instead, fellow bee enthusiasts couldn’t contain their excitement over the “clever” move, saying they “would never have thought of it”.

ADVERTISEMENT

“Oh I love this idea. I normally use rocks and aquarium bridges but I would prefer this,” one person responded. “I'm gonna go find some now...good thinking!” another announced.

“I usually put in a flat rock but going out now to trim the old banksia cones off!” someone else commented.

Preston said she was happy to see so many people wanted to create the same magic at their own homes. “Even if you’re in suburbia… look after what you’ve got there, including planting native flowers and shrubs,” the self-professed “nature lover” added.

Love Australia's weird and wonderful environment? 🐊🦘😳 Get our new newsletter showcasing the week’s best stories.