“Evolution has not been kind to the bees.”

R. Hellmann

Plant ecologist Robert Hellmann has a lifelong love of studying plants. His passion is now being lived out as he restores six acres of abandoned farm land to reflect the native wildlife areas of New York. His [...]]]>

“Evolution has not been kind to the bees.”

R. Hellmann

Plant ecologist Robert Hellmann has a lifelong love of studying plants. His passion is now being lived out as he restores six acres of abandoned farm land to reflect the native wildlife areas of New York. His approach is that of a scientist that loves to garden… after all he has advanced degrees in ecology and education… but you’ll never meet a more dedicated and down-to-earth teacher. Bob shared many gems of wisdom and knowledge with me as we toured his property, this is just the beginning.

Help Bees To Conserve Calories

In nature everything works in cycles, a delicate balancing act that is easily altered. The changing landscape of today has made it more difficult than ever for pollinators, especially bees, to carry out their jobs. How so? Aside from the environmental onslaught of pesticides and other synthetic chemicals, the way we garden affects how efficiently they perform their duties.

Bees, by their very nature, are programmed to forage from a single nectar source at a time. In a native wildlife setting you won’t often see a wide variety of blossoming plants, but rather the area undergoes several different phases with large masses of a single plant ultimately dominating the landscape for a period of time. This is ideal for the bees who expend a lot of calories searching for the same blossoms to collect from. In many home gardens the focus is, of course, color and flowers throughout the season which is excellent for pollinator food sources, but the way we plant them can be detrimental to the bees’ efforts.

How can we help bees conserve calories and encourage strong populations? Easy. Here are a few suggestions:

1. Grow gardens that include plants native to your area which are rich nectar sources for bees and other pollinators and food sources for other wildlife. (Your local cooperative extension has lists of  natives for your area.)
2. Plan the garden beds so that there are periods with just one or two varieties of plants blooming at a time, and plant them together in drifts.
3. Include larger plantings of late summer and fall flowering plants to help colonies survive through winter.
4. In the vegetable garden the same idea applies. If you are seed saving and want to prevent cross-pollination of your open-pollinated varieties you can stagger the flowering times by starting different varieties from seed a week or two apart. (You can also isolate blossoms.)
5. To ensure a healthy garden use organic and sustainable garden practices.

I confess my gardens are a jumble of flowering plants and vegetables at any given time. Now that we’re moving our vegetable beds and creating a new garden, I’m going to plan a bit more. Planting in drifts that bloom at different times isn’t a new design concept by any means… it’s just one I haven’t followed very closely. There’s always something new to try…and the bees are worth it! Happy gardening!

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the bees come uninvited.

~Ramakrishna quote

One step outside the door and you can’t miss the sights or sounds of our end-of-summer garden… the constant flitting and steady hum of insect wings. Summer vegetable blossoms for the most part have slowed or stopped [...]]]>

When the flower blooms,

the bees come uninvited.

~Ramakrishna quote

One step outside the door and you can’t miss the sights or sounds of our end-of-summer garden… the constant flitting and steady hum of insect wings. Summer vegetable blossoms for the most part have slowed or stopped with our cool days and even chillier nights, but the herbs and wildflowers are blooming like mad and our hungry garden dwellers couldn’t be more pleased! The steady hum of activity begins early and lasts until sundown.

With less than five minutes to spare this morning before our crazy daily rush began, I took a quick walk through our gardens with camera in hand to see what all the buzz is about. It’s really fascinating to realize how many bees, flies and wasps alone there are visiting our blooms each day!

There are more, many more. It will be a fun challenge to see how many I can find… and hopefully identify! Happy gardening!

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The sun is not yet hot. Sweet vapors rise from the earth.

Night dew clings to the soil and makes plants glisten.

Birds call to one another. Bees are already at work.

~William Longgood

In [...]]]>

Morning is the best of all times in the garden.

The sun is not yet hot. Sweet vapors rise from the earth.

Night dew clings to the soil and makes plants glisten.

Birds call to one another. Bees are already at work.

~William Longgood

In one small moment, one revelation, our garden world has been changed.

This is a (very) large oregano plant that needs dividing. I’d planned to do it yesterday until I noticed:

A hole.

We have field mice and other small visitors that frequent the garden, I’d assumed one had taken up residence in the shade of the oregano. I wasn’t keen on the thought of digging into a mouse nest that may be full of spring babies so I held off on dividing the plant until hubby came home. Am I ever glad I did! I made a discovery later in the day that was truly incredible.

Bees! As I rested late in the day yesterday, I was delighted to be able to snap a picture of a bee visiting the Dicentra blossoms. I observed for a few minutes and when it flew off, I followed. The journey was erratic and if it weren’t for the loud buzzing to guide me I might have given up. I’m sure you have guessed where the flight ended… in the burrow next to the oregano.

As I stood reflecting on the new existence of bees residing in our garden my thoughts turned to the tiny bees I’d seen swarming above the soil all morning as I transplanted. They were digging. Excitedly I remembered the small “hills” we suspected belonged to ants and it all came into clear focus. Years of organic gardening methods and planting of beneficial pollinator plants have blessed us with a bevy of bees! Honeybees, digger bees and bumble bees… and perhaps more! I’ve always wanted to be a keeper of bees, turns out we already are… naturally. How cool is that?!

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~Peter Fonda

I knew when I heard the soft sound of buzzing it was officially spring in the garden. If the bees are awake and foraging what other proof could we demand? At once the transformation from winter to spring [...]]]>

It’s wonderful to me that bees have this simple, age-old thing going on.

~Peter Fonda

I knew when I heard the soft sound of buzzing it was officially spring in the garden. If the bees are awake and foraging what other proof could we demand? At once the transformation from winter to spring is over and we are in the midst of warmth, sunshine and early preparation of the garden. Yes, it’s a bit early and surely late snows will send my friend into hiding again. No matter… this busy bee has brought a celebration to my garden!

I’ve been working outside in the gardens for more than a few days now. I’ve raked up dried grass, cut back perennials and removed thick layers of wet, matted leaves smothering yellowed and light-starved foliage. I’ve plunked in rows of peas and lettuces and carrots and watched birds return to gather bits and twigs for nests. Truthfully, it never really felt like gardening until I heard the gentle buzzzz. It’s the happy busy bee making my garden so delightful to work in and profitable as well. Garden labor is fruitless, quite literally, without the unceasing efforts of the precious bees.

I’m celebrating the return of these happy, hard-working friends! Once again they’ve triumphed over environmental onslaughts to feed and feast upon early blooming crocuses. Throughout the season we’ll work side-by-side in this petite patch to grow a green, fruitful and healthy garden in which we all thrive. The bees’ return signals not only the beginning of spring, but a new beginning in my efforts to have healthy, organic, safe places to live and grow. A bee in my garden… now that’s worth celebrating!

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