Your wife sounds like she has her heart in the right place. You can put up a bee box and let bees use it just like a bird house. The optimum volume in North America is 40 liters with a 30 mm entrance hole mounted 4 m off the ground. If you live closer to the equator the volume should be smaller.

Honeybees are fond of lemongrass oil. If you put a little bit on a cottonball and place it in the hive the bees are more likely to move in.

Let us know how your project goes.