Kittelberger Florist & Gifts can’t say enough about bees. They are, in fact, the bees knees, these industrious little workers. Responsible for pollinating 1/3 of the food we eat (scientists estimate that one in every three bites comes from a bee-pollinated plant), bees are maybe the most essential creature on the planet. Without them, we wouldn’t have apples and avocados, cherries and coffee, oranges, pumpkins, flax . . . the list goes on. And of course, we wouldn’t have flowers.

We’re doing our part to promote bee-friendly flowers by locally sourcing two of the insect’s favorites—dahlias and sunflowers. We rely on Labor of Love Flower & Herb Farm in northern Ontario County to provide us with dahlias. The farm offers many varieties of flower, but we love these two summer standouts, which also happen to be beloved by bees. Worked into a garden-inspired design like Fields of Summer, can you blame them?

Flowers and bees have a mutually-beneficial relationship, with the former dependent on the latter to spread its pollen. Bees come for the nectar, and in the course of drinking it, collect pollen on their bodies. When they visit the next flower, they pass on this male genetic material, which pollinates the flower so it can create seeds. The cycle is crucial, and it’s why farms like Labor of Love have the gorgeous flowers to show for it.