bee kind... I've always had a fondness for bees, especially big, fat, round, buzzing honeybees. Now, I feel it is my duty as a gardener to help support the increasingly fragile bee population any way I can. Just check out PBS's documentary Silence of the Bees and you'll be racing to plant an extra stash of echinacea and tomatoes. It is mindboggling to think of how massive the shrinking honeybee population has become worldwide. From killing mites to Colony Collapse Disorder to chemical pollution, these past few years have taken the bee population to a critical level. I cannot (and will not) fathom a world without bees and all of the beauty they create.
I aspire to be a beekeeper one day, but until then, there are some easy gardening practices that I do to help out my neighborhood bee population:
• Garden! The more gardens we plant with bee-friendly flowers and vegetables, the happier the bees.
• Don't use pesticides, herbicides, and fungicides!
• Plant a a little of everything: flowers, veggies, and herbs with bloom times from spring until frost. Bees especially love old-fashion wildflowers, so add some lavender, geraniums, honeysuckle, rosemary, violets and foxgloves to the mix. And don't forget the tomatoes, cranberries, blueberries, and eggplant.
• Create a "wild spot" for foraging and nesting bumblebees by planting native grasses and wildflowers.
• Buy bee! Buy local honey, bees wax and other bee-friendly products to help the struggling bee keepers.
• Give them shelter from the storm... Native bees don't live in hives, so in a sheltered, shady area, set a flat rock on the ground. Lay a handful of cotton or fine, dry grasses on the rock. Set a 6" pot over the grasses; prop the pot up 5/8ths of an inch with a piece of wood. Set a brick or flat stone on top of the pot to cover the drainage hole (bees nests must be kept dry).
7 comments:
i have a little garden in my little home,i love it to death,hehe,now i am learning to handle it beautifully.
Beautiful post and artwork. I love bees as well. When I planted my yellow and purple garden (yarrow, lavender, russian sage) the bees would bounce off me as I walked up the path.
ooooh, me too! I'm going to see 'The Vanishing of the Bees' tomorrow (http://nipitinthebud.wordpress.com/2010/01/19/the-vanishing-of-the-bees/). We're hatching a plan to try and get some hives on the allotment - a friend has reignited his passion for bee-keeping and is happy to tend the hives, just needs space somewhere. The honey from his bees was simply gorgeous.
Good for you! A plot neighbour keeps bees on his allotment so there's always plenty of honey bees buzzing around. My own plot is wildlife friendly and I'm more than happy to see bees on it! Flighty xx
Good for you sticking up for the bees :) I too want to have a beehive someday. I planted clover instead of a lawn. Apart from other benefits it attracts bees.
Thanks Allison! I have added The Silence of the Bees to my Netflix queue. Not sure if you have heard of The Great Sunflower Project? You can help count bees for science. Just google it if you are interested. I also purchased their calendar and it features a native bee every month - there are so many beautiful bees out there! And so many more flowers to plant!
i'm loving all the outpouring of bee support. and what a great suggestion from The Violet Fern. i'll most definitely check out the Great Sunflower Project. thanks!
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