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Seikou-Kishi
23rd July 2014, 06:19
Stewards of the Stewards of the Earth

Stewardship of the Earth is a broad heading, but the thing I want to talk about is something very specific: I want this thread to become a thread on which to discuss how to create an environment best suited to bees and hope that this thread becomes a resource to that end. How can humans work to provide an environment that best supports these creatures which do so much for the local ecology? How can we use our intelligence for their benefit as their industry has benefits beyond their own hives?

Many of us here are concerned about the condition of bees and value the effect these insects have on the ecosphere. Most of us can work to create relatively effort-cheap environments that maximise their appeal to bees. Many of the ideas I will raise will also increase a garden's appeal to many other useful pollinators like butterflies and hoverflies, and of course the more such insects you attract, the more insectivorous birds will be drawn to your garden, and so your effort will be a boon for many animals suffering for humankind's arrogant monopoly on the face of the Earth.

All of the techniques, ideas and "tricks" I am about to present are ideas I have used myself in creating my own "bee gardens", which is part of a conscious effort on my part to create refuges for bees at my various homes. In my own I also keep bees themselves and so each of my gardens has resident hives ready to capitalise upon the bounty I hope to provide for them. Keeping bees may or may not be a realistic idea for many people, as space and time will be limiting factors, but with or without resident populations, any garden tended with the benefit of bees in mind will attract bees and provide them with ample food, whether they shelter there or elsewhere.


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A Good Foundation

In order to produce the greatest success, careful attention applied in the initial stages will support and further the success of all succeeding stages, and to this end I recommend the use of mycorrhizae. Mycorrhizae are fungi (myco-) which work synergistically with plant roots (-rhizzae). Mycorrhizae work symbiotically with plants to provide a sort of subterrranean circulatory system that helps distribute nutrients about (and thereby contribute to the general health and even growth of the garden), and also provide related benefits by promoting soil cohesion: mycorrhizae are effective at inhibiting soil erosion (which would hardly be an issue in a garden as lightly-worked as this is intended to be), but also promote general plant health by providing reservoirs of moisture during dry periods and absorbing excess water during periods of heavy rain, thus plants are less vulnerable to drastic changes in the weather.

Mycorrhizae develop alongside growing plants and intermesh themselves with the roots of plants as they grow. This benefits the plants in that the surface area of their roots is drastically increased and they are able to draw upon nutrients from further afield. Well-fed and well-supported plants have more resources at their disposal and this means they are able to produce more pollen and nectar. The more of these they produce, the more bees you'll be able to support — whether your garden is their home or the local soup kitchen :-)


Optimising Garden Format

We might think of the typical garden, especially in suburbia, as being generally grassy bounded on its edges by floral borders. This is a greatly inefficient use of space if your goal is providing an atmosphere optimised for bees.

When I create a bee garden, I begin by designating the area that is to be transformed and then overhaul the area. There are less energy-intensive ways of reshaping a garden, but the energy expended in this complete overhaul is a one-off investment that sets up the garden right from the beginning. You can use a less energy-intensive method by simply gradually increase your floral border until it fills most of the garden. This has the benefit of spreading out the energy over a longer period and allowing the older areas to develop into their "wild" state, which is the ideal state for bees and the state that will minimise ongoing effort requirements.

Depending upon the size of the area you intended to give over to this "cause", your garden will be more or less complex and the plants you will use will of course be limited in size if your area is only small, but there are ways to optimise even very small spaces and what you can do, even if you can only do a little, will always be greater than what you do if you do nothing.

I begin by completely digging up the entire area. This has the benefit of allowing me to start from a blank slate. When I am not contending with what was there before, I can be sure that nothing enters into the new garden except those things that will maximise its usefulness. Beginning in this state (which includes digging up any and all grass) also allows me to incubate the soil with the mycorrhizae in preparation for the plants that will come: well fed plants can tribute more of their resources to producing pollen and nectar which will benefit the bees too.


Accounting for Seasons

Bees are active throughout Spring and Summer and so the best bee gardens will take this into account and provide food sources that extend throughout these seasons. The bonus to the human garden tender is a garden that will be in flower for a very long time and will provide a floral delight for a great part of the year. Your bee garden will be less appealing and useful as a source of food if its blooming window is very small and, for example, spikes in midsummer but is minimal in the periods before and after.

You can account for the narrower windows of blossoming by selecting plants that bloom at different times. By having two or three plants for each resource and for each blooming window, you can maximise your garden's usefulness throughout the year. By each "resource", I mean nectar and pollen. Some plants produce copious pollen and some produce copious nectar. Since adult bees consume nectar (and produce honey from it), but bee larvae consume pollen, producing both through-out the year is the best way to promote the local bee population. Some plants that are notable for their pollen production produce little nectar and vice-versa: a plant that attracts bees in one way might not attribute the same resources to attracting them in the other way.

So we have two key concerns: which plants produce the greatest amounts of pollen or nectar, and when do those plants bloom? By combining both, we can ensure that the space in our garden is maximised in its usefulness.

It is always best to provide a choice of plants in order to give the bees access to varied nutrition. For this reason, 2-3 plants for each resource in each window is ideal, thus you will have 4-6 plants for each blooming window.


Arboreal Bordering

If you're working with a large area, using trees to create natural borders is a sound investment: as trees are long-lived and develop slowly in comparison with herbaceous plants, you are working producing a garden that will have a usefulness to be counted in human generations, and not merely a few seasons. If your bee garden is big enough that you can border it with trees, you have the added bonus of protecting the area from harsh weather, extending the area's "temperate season" in both directions. Tree borders need not be just a single tree deep, and you might consider planting smaller trees inside and larger trees on the outer edge.

Not only this, but by planting many trees, you will also provide homes for many of the birds that will be attracted to your garden by its bountiful insects. I will list a few trees below that are ideal for these purposes.

Hazel: Hazel is a tree which flowers very early on in early Spring but is of mixed usefulness for a bee garden. While the catkins it produces are pollen rich, it is wind-pollinated and has adaptations to that end, and so bees aren't able to capitalise upon it as surely as they are other sources of pollen. It has its usefulness though in that each hazel produces both male and female catkins and the male catkins appear so early on (mid February) that, though not the best source of pollen, they are often one of the first. The hazel has the added bonus in the nuts it produces. If you wish your garden to have usefulness for wildlife other than bees alone (and why not?), the nuts provide food for birds and squirrels. If you choose to use hazel trees, plant at least two, because female catkins cannot be pollenated by male catkins from the same tree.

Alder: A much more useful early source of pollen (with less usefulness beyond bees, though they provide food for numerous butterflies and moths). Alder are early sources of pollen and provide pollen from as early as January until March. As an early pollenator, its pollen availability for bees is notably reduced (early pollinators tend not to rely on bees, which aren't very active at this time of year). If you live in a warm climate where bees are active earlier, the alder is a useful source.

Cherry: Cherries are a very valuable addition to any garden. Not only can they be used as full-sized trees, because of their fruits they are widely available in "patio-sized" forms grown to maximise flower and fruit output in a small space. Cherries provide both pollen and nectar for March, April and May. The variety "Autumnalis" produces pollen in winter, too. It need hardly be said that the fruit would be attractive to many species of bird (not to mention the garden-tender).

Blackthorns and Hawthorns: I've included these together as they're very similar in terms of their usefulness. Blackthorns produce both nectar and pollen from March until May, while Hawthorns produce in May. The Hawthorn's narrower window is made up for in the sheer abundance of nectar it produces. Both produce fruit that will attract birds, and both produce fruit that is edible and even desirable to humans. Blackthorns produce the sloe berry (the tree is also called the sloe) while the fruit of the hawthorn are called haws, which have a variety of health benefits for humans. They have the additional usefulness in that they are often grown as hedging rather than as trees and so could provide bordering in a garden not large enough to support many fully-grown trees, but they can also be used in gardens that use trees as a tighter, lower border protecting against low winds. Blackthorn and hawthorn hedging admirably fills up space between the trunks of trees and will go a long way to windproofing your oasis.

Lime: Lime varieties provide from June until August, and honey from such lime trees has delicate citrus notes, providing an added bonus to any garden-tender who intends to keep his own "residents". The lime trees are not related to the fruit called lime (except insofar as trees are all related as angiosperms), but it does have other food uses. The leaves make an excellent tea, and honey derived from lime nectar is pale, delicate and delicious, and makes an excellent contribution to any bee garden.

Chestnuts and Horse Chestnuts: These are fantastic additions because they provide nectar and pollen over a very long period. Different varieties have different windows, and so a combination of different types is the best way to provide throughout the bees' active season. By using a few varieties, you can ensure a productive window ranging from April all the way into August. The trees have the added benefit of providing living space and food for squirrels, too.

Many of you might like to combine usefulness to bees with usefulness for your own food stores. The cherry, blackthorn and hawthorn spoken of above all produce excellent fruit for human consumption.

Most fruit-bearing trees are excellent producers of nectar, as these trees are no strangers to producing sweetness and have a great need to attract bees. The following fruit-bearing trees are supreme additions to a bee garden for the nectar they produce (many also produce respectable quantities of pollen, but it is the nectar that stands out)

Almond: These trees have great appeal to human garden-tenders who love almonds (as I do; be sure to plant only sweet alonds; bitter almonds are toxic). They also have the added bonus that they require bees for pollination, and thus the nectar they produce (and which they produce profusely) will be aimed directly at the bees upon which they depend. The flowers appear early in the spring and provide a great source of nectar and pollen early on. In fact, the flowers appear even before the leaves, which make almond trees especially delightful to look upon, as they are awash with flowers ranging from pure white to delicate pink.

Peach: Relatives of Almonds, peaches (and nectarines, which are peaches with a recessive smooth-skin allele) have similar benefits. They bloom before the leaves and the flowers are also white or pink. They're excellent pollen sources and bloom in Spring and endure for a while. Apricots have similar details and are slightly more resistant to the cold. The two are very closely related plants. Hybrids among the related species of almonds, peaches, apricots and plums can flower at different times and so feed bees from Spring (the "normal" varieties) up to Summer (some of the hybrids), which also gives the garden-tender a staggered fruiting season, able to collect peaches and almonds early on and the hybrid "apriplums" and so on later in the year. This also has obvious benefits for fruit-eating birds and mammals. Plums flower in early April and have the same benefits as others of these related species.

Rowan: a good producer of both nectar and pollen and also a producer of abundant and delicious fruit.

Apple: Apples are good trees to plant for nectar and flower from April until late in May, giving a good window of food availability for bees. They also produce adequate pollen but it is their nectar which overflows. They fruit from late Summer into Autumn, providing food for animals and the human garden-tender. Fruit that is allowed to fall to the ground and go soft makes easy nutrition for the winter and also helps maintain soil nutrient levels (which the mycorrhizae will distribute about the garden for optimal garden health). Pears might be a customary twin of apples, but they are to be avoided in a bee garden as their pollen is rarely used and their nectar is not so grand either. All in all, a somewhat useless tree for bees is the pear.


Floral Carpets

The point of a bee garden is to produce as much as possible that will benefit bees, and thus lawn space is not a vital consideration. Because of this, grass is to be greatly discouraged, as it competes with many of these flowers and provides nothing. If I used grass at all, I would limit it to tracks used as paths rather than as a general backdrop.

If you need a path through your garden because you intend to access it regularly (either because you will need access to your beehives if you have them, or because you want to be able to sit in your garden), a good plant to use as "pathing" is clover. It is a great provider of nectar and grows so close to the ground that it behaves the same as grass (but feels "richer", I find). This is of course assuming that the entirety of the area will be devoted to providing for bees (either your own or "guests"). Even a path paved with stone would not be out of the way, but anything which does not serve the bees detracts from the bee garden's usefulness for the bees. If you wish to maximise your space's appeal and usefulness, clover is an excellent plant for any area not given over to flowers, taking the place of any grassy areas and lining any pathways through the "tended wilderness".

A few general rules of thumb can be observed when selecting flowers for a bee garden: avoid flowers that are too tightly packed in large, constricted flower heads as these are obstacles a bee must overcome in order to reach the nectar or pollen. Flowers which are loose and large are much more desirable. Many flowers are also tubular, and where these are too narrow, the nectar or pollen, however inviting, remains out of reach. Flowers in this general category which are useful for flowers include snapdragons and foxglove. Lastly, bees have a marked preference for purple flowers. If, like me, you love the colour purple, having a bee garden that overflows with purple flowers throughout the year will not come as too great a burden ;-)

A quick and easy way to provide a bee garden is to go to a garden centre and buy one of those "shake and sow" boxes full of wild-flower seeds. If you take this option, be sure to buy one which promises blooming throughought the year (by using a selection of plants with different blooming windows). Many of them are also sorted by colour, so buying a purple box will help bring in the colour bees prefer. Just remember that for all bees might prefer purple, they will take whatever flowers offer them what they need. It is likely (at least, it is my hunch) that bees prefer purple flowers because they stand out best against the general green colour of the rest of the plant and so are most obvious.

Many plants suggested below are poisonous, so exercise due caution and keep children informed and garden-savvy.

Foxglove is an excellent plant for bees. It produces sufficient amounts of pollen and nectar and is usually purple, too. They are ordinarily biennial, flowering only in the second year, but annual forms are available. The best, though, are perennial forms, which will flower for many years, reducing the garden-tender's workload. They bloom in early Summer.

Aconite/Monkshood make good attractions for bees and winter aconite, as its name suggests, blooms in the winter. There won't tend to be any bees around at this time, however, so its usefulness is small.

Iris, especially the purple iris, is an excellent plant for bees. It flowers generally in the Spring, though different cultivars extend this window from ealiest Spring all the way to Summer. These plants are plants which have devoted considerable evolution to optimising their relationship with pollinators and make a great addition to a bee garden. Their general aesthetic appeal for humans is a happy bonus. A good Spring herb is Rosemary.

Bluebells are great additions. Their shape is ideal for bees and they bloom early, providing both pollen and nectar which sustain beehives and also contribute to their future growth (by nourishing larvae)

Hyacinth is a great flower to include. Other Spring flowers include wood anemone, Muscari (use Muscari if your soil is alkaline and bluebells if it's acidic). Daffodils are good spring flowers for bees, too, as is the crocus. Currant bushes producing black, red and white currants all bloom in spring and make great additions to a bee garden. Rhodendrons are great additions too, especially if the purple varieties are used.

Early Summer flowers include everlasting sweet pea, delphinium (with vivid purple hues, too!) foxglove (which I mentioned above before the Spring flowers), snapdragon, hardy geranium (not pelargonium; bees and most other insects don't like it). A good herb for this time of year is Thyme. Agapanthuses make great additions too. Plants for later summer include Angelica, single-flowered dahlia varieties (bees love dahlias), fuchshia, cornflower, heather and lavender, scabious, etc. General summer plants include hollyhocks, lilac, sunflowers and clematis. Verbena bonariensis is a great hit with bees — as are dandelions, and they're hardly hard to grow! Dandelions and clover together on your "pathways" are an excellent way to keep a section tame enough to walk through without wasting the space.

Herbs are also often attractive to bees and give the garden-tender something too. Good herbs to grow include rosemary, thyme, oregano, borage and chives (ladybirds love chives). Marjoram and lavender are among the plants which most appeal to bees and so are invaluable additions. Mustard is another good herb to include as it appeals to both bees and ladybirds.

Other good plants to plant include the marigold, which self-seeds and thus takes little maintenance even in the course of years. It is excellent kept in pots as patio plants. They flower from May until Autumn, providing their nectar for a great period. They also attract many insects you'll want in your garden, like butterflies, and ladybirds, which will be your garden's pest control force :D — the advantage is that any plant that attracts aphids will indirectly attract ladybirds. It is possible to buy, from garden centres, habitats designed to give ladybirds a place to "overwinter", and such habitats are commonly available for ladybirds and lacewings, another pest controller. Site any such things in places where they will be sheltered from the weather. Affixed to a gardener's shed and especially insulated against the cold is ideal.

Poppies. If you really want to go for a wild feel, poppies are great as they are visited by many insects as, perhaps, befits a flower that is associated with the wilderness.

Statices are attractive to both beeds and ladybirds. The purple varieties will fit in well with a mostly purple bee garden :D

Nettles! Nettles are beloved of ladybirds, which often lay their eggs on their leaves. Nettles are great plants and have a reputation (and sometimes hatred) that is very unjust. They are great sources of iron and vitamin c (which is necessary for iron absorption). When decocted in alcohol, the alcohol turns brilliant red first because the iron content is so high. It is a great blood purifier, too, and is useful as a plant for energy work linked to the planet Mars and the sign Aries. Given all this, it is a plant that deserves a place in any garden, especially any garden aiming to bring in a little wilderness and which wants to aim for organic, natural methods of pest control (because of their appeal to ladybirds).


Floral Climbers

These plants are useful for capitalising upon vertical space to create a truly three dimensional garden. My favourite flowers for these purposes are climbing roses and morning glory varieties. My father had a love for what he called "tree dressing" which was a term he used to describe grafting climbing flowers onto the bottoms of the tree trunks around which they would climb. Then he'd train their growth to spiral around the trunk of the tree. In this way, the two plants became one and the trunks were awash with bright flowers. This is obviously not necessary, but you will likely have a lot of vertical space you could seize to maximise your garden's usefulness.

Long before I ever decided to start creating bee gardens I had (and still have) a huge garden devoted entirely to wisteria that was planted by my father. The wisteria garden was planted entirely for appreciation of wisteria, which creates truly magnificent scenes. It is also a huge bee magnet and the wisteria garden is aswarm with bees throughout its flowering period (May). My father created something like the "wisteria tunnel" of Japan, though I don't if he was aware of it. He intended it as something to be walked through, but I have taken the Japanese approach and added benches inside it. In May, I often sit in the tunnel and listen to the bees going about their business. They'll climb up anything and grow with outstanding ease, and as such can be trained to grow along any vertical structure. The classic look for a Wisteria is growing up along the wall of a house (for which wisteria rivals climbing roses in quaintness, and beats ivy in appearance).

Clematis is another good climber, and with trellises or wires it can be trained to take advantage of wallspace or fencing. Another climber that appeals greatly to bees is the aptly named honeysuckle (even though honeysuckle flowers are often born in pairs, which bees usually do not like); their nectar is very worth it, apparently. Lonicera caerulea produces strangely-shaped fruit which is edible (most honeysuckles are mildly poisonous to humans). If you have a shaded area, honeysuckle will work well there where sun-lovers might not do so well. They often fall prey to aphids (particularly in sunny areas), but any garden grown as described will attract hoverflies and ladybirds too, both of which are voracious aphid eaters.

Jasmine is another plant (or group of them, rather) that attracts bees. I speak of the genus Jasminum, not things like the Jasmine cactus. They come in many forms, including climbers, and these can be used to take advantage of vertical space. They're also attractive to ladybirds.


Insect Waterer

Insects require water as anything does, but many sources of water, especially things which seem like significant sources to us huge humans, are not great watering holes for insects. The best way to provide water for the bees that will visit your garden is to create a source of water that is shallow. This can be achieved by having a bowl in which are placed marbles or glass pebbles (those often used as decorative elements). If this is left in a shaded corner, it will require minimal attention. The pebbles help break up the water so that it is not so much a single mass of water but a large surface coated in a thin film of water from which bees and ladybirds, etc., can take a little water as needed. You will often find it recommended online to add a little sugar to the water to give your bees a little energy, but they will be surrounded by a garden full of flowers overflowing with nectar and it would be undesirable if they took the empty calories of sugared water instead of the nutritious nectar of plants just because it was easier to reach.


Pest Control

This has been handled in other sections dealing with ladybirds and lacewings, but a final note on how to control pests if this isn't happening well enough is needed. It should go without saying that commercially available pesticides are out of the question. If you need to make your own "pesticide", add peppermint oil to water and shake to form an emulsion, then spray this mixture onto flowers attacked by aphids, blackfly, etc.. You can also make a spray with garlic. It's also possible to make a past of garlic powder and water and smear this onto plants at vulnerable positions. None of these will hurt plants or bees, but they will keep pests away. These won't kill anything, they'll just drive things away.

The only concern is when applying these, try not to get the peppermint or garlic sprays on the flowers as this could keep the bees away. If a mass "sweep" is necessary because of universal infestation (which really shouldn't be a problem), try to spray your sprays in the evening once bees have retired and later into the night when the flowers will be closing.


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Attached is a handy little resource to use when considering what flowers to include in your bee garden (Source: British Beekeepers' Association (www.bbka.org.uk))

Ria
23rd July 2014, 07:59
I am just stating up my new garden, which is quite small, though interconnected with all my neighbours. I have decreased the boarder on the South side as it's completely overshadowed by a walnut tree next door. I have greatly increase the other side as it gets some sun in the morning and afternoon. I was going to do away with grass, now changed my mind since seeing a program on grounding and the benefits on you health so dedicating a small spot enough to lie down on. I have planted a cherry tree and another in a pot. I have a designated veg patch spot(very small) a memorial spot, I also have a slopping section which I am filling with mixed flowers and herbs, later I hope to do some vertical growing for salad veg on the walls which get the East to SE sun. I am still working out the terracing regarding the different levels. Big problems with snails and slugs.
My neighbours have some very well tended gardens but use all the sprays for weed killing etc and set in there ways.
I would like to come up with something cheap and very effective to give to them, even then...? I am already a bit of a joke my love of nature is the butt, "o she would resuscitate a fly if it had a problem". As it happens flies, mosquitos, wool eating moths I am very happy to exterminate.

Bees, I have wanted my own bees for the last decade. I have made friends with a man who has about 13 hives last year did very badly.
I have found a spot I might be able to use. Two draw backs investing in solid fencing from the public, second I'm told they need warmth on the hive to wake up and collect pollen.

A question I am happy to have a lawn of something els, if it can take a little ware and comfortable underfoot? Said lawn a little shady.

Seikou-Kishi
23rd July 2014, 09:31
That shaded spot that isn't getting much light sounds like it would be perfect for honeysuckle, if that's something you might like. It's one that prefers the shade. I agree there's great benefit in connecting with the earth (especially through the bare feet) and grass provides a suitable connection for that. Grass is not bad, certainly not, it's just other things are better for bees (which may or may not be something you might consider). Clover can be bought very commonly and sown as a seed just like grass can and provides the same kind of "matting" feeling that grass provides so that it doesn't feel as though one's feet are touching bare earth (which is no great hardship, really) — clover is something bees love and who knows, you just might find one with four leaves.

I love anybody who loves nature. If they think you'd carefully nurse an ailing fly, it's not so bad an impression for somebody to have. I'm the same with flies, though. I will kill any flies that enter my house, or mosquitoes. I tend not to kill moths, though. I think of them as sombre butterflies lmao XD. If I'm outside though, I'd never kill anything like that. Even mosquitoes, which I feel for (lol). Even if I am inside and a mosquito lands on me, I often leave it to finish what it's doing. I have a lot of blood and English mosquitoes don't transmit anything so I don't mind lol. If I want to avoid being bitten (they seem to like my taste lol) I just use a homemade cream or deodorant with oils like citronella in them.

When it comes to slugs and snails — the best ways of dealing with them are by using a beer trap (dig a hole big enough to fit a glass half full with beer; they'll be attracted, fall in and drown) or by spraying coffee around. Make a spray of strong coffee (not de-caf) and spray it on plants and around borders to keep them out, as they can't cross the caffeine. This has the benefit of not killing anything, and it's also good for the plants (coffee grounds make good plant food, and sprinkled in a flowerbed, they'll act as a slug-and-snail barrier).

When it comes to your neighbours, there's nothing really that can be done. However, they are required to take care that their sprays don't enter your garden if you ask them to take such care. This is especially true if you are growing things to be eaten. It's a shame that people like your neighbours are so addicted to their poisons, because if gardeners used fewer poisons, they'd find wildlife would step up to control pest populations. The poisons that keep pests out also keep out the beneficial animals that would remove them naturally.

Ria
23rd July 2014, 09:56
Thanks for the clover tip.

I don't drink beer or coffe, I will see if the local pub will help me out. I have used beer in my previous garden.

I look like I have had the pox after a moskito had a go at me, I have a bad reaction, I understand vit B and marmit make you less tasty, yet to try it.

Moths only the wool eating ones I hate when your jumpers end up looking like mad string vests.
I came acros a beautifull moth that was a greenyblue colour(took a pic ) in my home yesterday haven't yet identified it, I'v opened all the windows he's gone now.



Just found it http://www.uksafari.com/emeraldlg.htm

Ria
23rd July 2014, 10:05
I think this is fantastic. http://sciencealert.com.au/news/20142107-25892.html
And very beautiful.

Seikou-Kishi
23rd July 2014, 10:15
Oh, that is amazing. I really want to give it a try now lol.

The One
23rd July 2014, 10:19
I love anybody who loves nature. If they think you'd carefully nurse an ailing fly, it's not so bad an impression for somebody to have.

Funny how you mention that,just yesterday i watched a fly fly straight into a spiders web.I could see the fly flapping its wings trying to get out.I then noticed the spider was on its way down and i new what was coming next so i immediately released the fly.I did feel good then i thought to myself should i of intervened and was this just nature's way.

Ria
23rd July 2014, 10:37
Oh, that is amazing. I really want to give it a try now lol.

seriously if you do, I won't one and happily pay for it.

Ps I have a couple of honey suckles just waiting for the cabin thing to be painted so they can grow over it.

Seikou-Kishi
23rd July 2014, 15:58
Ha Malcolm! To the fly you're surely a hero, to the spider a heartless beast :D Have you considered coaching the spider in taking up a vegan diet? :P

Ah Ria, you could have one freely. I wouldn't have heard of it if you hadn't shared that link. (The honeysuckle sounds perfect by the way).

Cearna
24th July 2014, 03:15
Hi Ria, just a t'ought there is a camomile grass that is able to be walked on, and you do get the camomile flowers on it. I think but not sure that it can grow in some shade. I bought some years ago and I think it may have finally gone to all the grasses in the sky at long last with the extended hot period last year, but each year little patches managed to survive, for I suppose 10 years now by self seeding. :ok:

Ria
24th July 2014, 08:40
May be a camomile and clover lawn might work :sun:

Cearna
24th July 2014, 08:50
Might just be the trick, have you thought about buying the pyrethrum plant to make you own spray for bug spray from its flowers??? Slugs and snail well we have stacks of the, I keep hoping the blue tongue lizards will eat them, but too many stone walls for them to live in.

Ria
24th July 2014, 09:16
It kills bees, so not so good
This article is part of our Organic Pest Control Series, which includes articles on attracting beneficial insects, controlling specific garden pests, and using organic pesticides.


What Is Pyrethrum?

One of the oldest pesticides known, pyrethrum is also the strongest insecticide allowed under National Organic Standards guidelines. Made from the dried flowers of a little white daisy now classified as Tanacetum cinerariifolium, pyrethrum insecticides are known for their fast knock-down of unwanted insects. Insects typically become paralyzed as soon as they come into contact with pyrethrum, so it’s often used in wasp sprays. Pyrethrum use in the garden should be undertaken with care and only after cultural methods that might manage a pest have been exhausted. Pyrethrum insecticides are highly toxic to bees, wasps and other beneficial insects, as well as to fish.


Which Pests Does Pyrethrum Control?

Aphids, armyworms, cucumber beetles, cutworms, squash bugs, whiteflies, leafhoppers, thrips and Colorado potato beetles are often brought under control with pyrethrum. Pests that cannot be reached with the spray — for example, corn earworms or leaf miners — should not be treated with pyrethrum products. Additionally, very challenging pests such as cucumber beetles and squash bugs are best managed by excluding them with row covers, with pyrethrum used as a late-season remedy should pests get out of control.




Read more: http://www.motherearthnews.com/organic-gardening/make-organic-pyrethrum-spray-zw0z1304zkin.aspx#ixzz38NLuGBP6

Spiral
24th July 2014, 09:36
Re climbing plants, I have a Virginia Creeper growing over a pergola,https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parthenocissus_quinquefolia it attracts hundreds of bees when in flower although the flowers are very tiny indeed.

In winter the berries are much sought after by many types of small bird too.

Here's a house covered in it, it goes a wonderful red in autumn

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8c/Gr%C3%BCnes_Haus_Gie%C3%9Fen.jpg

Ria
25th July 2014, 07:53
:Bump::Bump::Bump:

Stewards of the Stewards of the Earth

Stewardship of the Earth is a broad heading, but the thing I want to talk about is something very specific: I want this thread to become a thread on which to discuss how to create an environment best suited to bees and hope that this thread becomes a resource to that end. How can humans work to provide an environment that best supports these creatures which do so much for the local ecology? How can we use our intelligence for their benefit as their industry has benefits beyond their own hives?

Many of us here are concerned about the condition of bees and value the effect these insects have on the ecosphere. Most of us can work to create relatively effort-cheap environments that maximise their appeal to bees. Many of the ideas I will raise will also increase a garden's appeal to many other useful pollinators like butterflies and hoverflies, and of course the more such insects you attract, the more insectivorous birds will be drawn to your garden, and so your effort will be a boon for many animals suffering for humankind's arrogant monopoly on the face of the Earth.

All of the techniques, ideas and "tricks" I am about to present are ideas I have used myself in creating my own "bee gardens", which is part of a conscious effort on my part to create refuges for bees at my various homes. In my own I also keep bees themselves and so each of my gardens has resident hives ready to capitalise upon the bounty I hope to provide for them. Keeping bees may or may not be a realistic idea for many people, as space and time will be limiting factors, but with or without resident populations, any garden tended with the benefit of bees in mind will attract bees and provide them with ample food, whether they shelter there or elsewhere.


http://img690.imageshack.us/img690/2636/u928.png


A Good Foundation

In order to produce the greatest success, careful attention applied in the initial stages will support and further the success of all succeeding stages, and to this end I recommend the use of mycorrhizae. Mycorrhizae are fungi (myco-) which work synergistically with plant roots (-rhizzae). Mycorrhizae work symbiotically with plants to provide a sort of subterrranean circulatory system that helps distribute nutrients about (and thereby contribute to the general health and even growth of the garden), and also provide related benefits by promoting soil cohesion: mycorrhizae are effective at inhibiting soil erosion (which would hardly be an issue in a garden as lightly-worked as this is intended to be), but also promote general plant health by providing reservoirs of moisture during dry periods and absorbing excess water during periods of heavy rain, thus plants are less vulnerable to drastic changes in the weather.

Mycorrhizae develop alongside growing plants and intermesh themselves with the roots of plants as they grow. This benefits the plants in that the surface area of their roots is drastically increased and they are able to draw upon nutrients from further afield. Well-fed and well-supported plants have more resources at their disposal and this means they are able to produce more pollen and nectar. The more of these they produce, the more bees you'll be able to support — whether your garden is their home or the local soup kitchen :-)


Optimising Garden Format

We might think of the typical garden, especially in suburbia, as being generally grassy bounded on its edges by floral borders. This is a greatly inefficient use of space if your goal is providing an atmosphere optimised for bees.

When I create a bee garden, I begin by designating the area that is to be transformed and then overhaul the area. There are less energy-intensive ways of reshaping a garden, but the energy expended in this complete overhaul is a one-off investment that sets up the garden right from the beginning. You can use a less energy-intensive method by simply gradually increase your floral border until it fills most of the garden. This has the benefit of spreading out the energy over a longer period and allowing the older areas to develop into their "wild" state, which is the ideal state for bees and the state that will minimise ongoing effort requirements.

Depending upon the size of the area you intended to give over to this "cause", your garden will be more or less complex and the plants you will use will of course be limited in size if your area is only small, but there are ways to optimise even very small spaces and what you can do, even if you can only do a little, will always be greater than what you do if you do nothing.

I begin by completely digging up the entire area. This has the benefit of allowing me to start from a blank slate. When I am not contending with what was there before, I can be sure that nothing enters into the new garden except those things that will maximise its usefulness. Beginning in this state (which includes digging up any and all grass) also allows me to incubate the soil with the mycorrhizae in preparation for the plants that will come: well fed plants can tribute more of their resources to producing pollen and nectar which will benefit the bees too.


Accounting for Seasons

Bees are active throughout Spring and Summer and so the best bee gardens will take this into account and provide food sources that extend throughout these seasons. The bonus to the human garden tender is a garden that will be in flower for a very long time and will provide a floral delight for a great part of the year. Your bee garden will be less appealing and useful as a source of food if its blooming window is very small and, for example, spikes in midsummer but is minimal in the periods before and after.

You can account for the narrower windows of blossoming by selecting plants that bloom at different times. By having two or three plants for each resource and for each blooming window, you can maximise your garden's usefulness throughout the year. By each "resource", I mean nectar and pollen. Some plants produce copious pollen and some produce copious nectar. Since adult bees consume nectar (and produce honey from it), but bee larvae consume pollen, producing both through-out the year is the best way to promote the local bee population. Some plants that are notable for their pollen production produce little nectar and vice-versa: a plant that attracts bees in one way might not attribute the same resources to attracting them in the other way.

So we have two key concerns: which plants produce the greatest amounts of pollen or nectar, and when do those plants bloom? By combining both, we can ensure that the space in our garden is maximised in its usefulness.

It is always best to provide a choice of plants in order to give the bees access to varied nutrition. For this reason, 2-3 plants for each resource in each window is ideal, thus you will have 4-6 plants for each blooming window.


Arboreal Bordering

If you're working with a large area, using trees to create natural borders is a sound investment: as trees are long-lived and develop slowly in comparison with herbaceous plants, you are working producing a garden that will have a usefulness to be counted in human generations, and not merely a few seasons. If your bee garden is big enough that you can border it with trees, you have the added bonus of protecting the area from harsh weather, extending the area's "temperate season" in both directions. Tree borders need not be just a single tree deep, and you might consider planting smaller trees inside and larger trees on the outer edge.

Not only this, but by planting many trees, you will also provide homes for many of the birds that will be attracted to your garden by its bountiful insects. I will list a few trees below that are ideal for these purposes.

Hazel: Hazel is a tree which flowers very early on in early Spring but is of mixed usefulness for a bee garden. While the catkins it produces are pollen rich, it is wind-pollinated and has adaptations to that end, and so bees aren't able to capitalise upon it as surely as they are other sources of pollen. It has its usefulness though in that each hazel produces both male and female catkins and the male catkins appear so early on (mid February) that, though not the best source of pollen, they are often one of the first. The hazel has the added bonus in the nuts it produces. If you wish your garden to have usefulness for wildlife other than bees alone (and why not?), the nuts provide food for birds and squirrels. If you choose to use hazel trees, plant at least two, because female catkins cannot be pollenated by male catkins from the same tree.

Alder: A much more useful early source of pollen (with less usefulness beyond bees, though they provide food for numerous butterflies and moths). Alder are early sources of pollen and provide pollen from as early as January until March. As an early pollenator, its pollen availability for bees is notably reduced (early pollinators tend not to rely on bees, which aren't very active at this time of year). If you live in a warm climate where bees are active earlier, the alder is a useful source.

Cherry: Cherries are a very valuable addition to any garden. Not only can they be used as full-sized trees, because of their fruits they are widely available in "patio-sized" forms grown to maximise flower and fruit output in a small space. Cherries provide both pollen and nectar for March, April and May. The variety "Autumnalis" produces pollen in winter, too. It need hardly be said that the fruit would be attractive to many species of bird (not to mention the garden-tender).

Blackthorns and Hawthorns: I've included these together as they're very similar in terms of their usefulness. Blackthorns produce both nectar and pollen from March until May, while Hawthorns produce in May. The Hawthorn's narrower window is made up for in the sheer abundance of nectar it produces. Both produce fruit that will attract birds, and both produce fruit that is edible and even desirable to humans. Blackthorns produce the sloe berry (the tree is also called the sloe) while the fruit of the hawthorn are called haws, which have a variety of health benefits for humans. They have the additional usefulness in that they are often grown as hedging rather than as trees and so could provide bordering in a garden not large enough to support many fully-grown trees, but they can also be used in gardens that use trees as a tighter, lower border protecting against low winds. Blackthorn and hawthorn hedging admirably fills up space between the trunks of trees and will go a long way to windproofing your oasis.

Lime: Lime varieties provide from June until August, and honey from such lime trees has delicate citrus notes, providing an added bonus to any garden-tender who intends to keep his own "residents". The lime trees are not related to the fruit called lime (except insofar as trees are all related as angiosperms), but it does have other food uses. The leaves make an excellent tea, and honey derived from lime nectar is pale, delicate and delicious, and makes an excellent contribution to any bee garden.

Chestnuts and Horse Chestnuts: These are fantastic additions because they provide nectar and pollen over a very long period. Different varieties have different windows, and so a combination of different types is the best way to provide throughout the bees' active season. By using a few varieties, you can ensure a productive window ranging from April all the way into August. The trees have the added benefit of providing living space and food for squirrels, too.

Many of you might like to combine usefulness to bees with usefulness for your own food stores. The cherry, blackthorn and hawthorn spoken of above all produce excellent fruit for human consumption.

Most fruit-bearing trees are excellent producers of nectar, as these trees are no strangers to producing sweetness and have a great need to attract bees. The following fruit-bearing trees are supreme additions to a bee garden for the nectar they produce (many also produce respectable quantities of pollen, but it is the nectar that stands out)

Almond: These trees have great appeal to human garden-tenders who love almonds (as I do; be sure to plant only sweet alonds; bitter almonds are toxic). They also have the added bonus that they require bees for pollination, and thus the nectar they produce (and which they produce profusely) will be aimed directly at the bees upon which they depend. The flowers appear early in the spring and provide a great source of nectar and pollen early on. In fact, the flowers appear even before the leaves, which make almond trees especially delightful to look upon, as they are awash with flowers ranging from pure white to delicate pink.

Peach: Relatives of Almonds, peaches (and nectarines, which are peaches with a recessive smooth-skin allele) have similar benefits. They bloom before the leaves and the flowers are also white or pink. They're excellent pollen sources and bloom in Spring and endure for a while. Apricots have similar details and are slightly more resistant to the cold. The two are very closely related plants. Hybrids among the related species of almonds, peaches, apricots and plums can flower at different times and so feed bees from Spring (the "normal" varieties) up to Summer (some of the hybrids), which also gives the garden-tender a staggered fruiting season, able to collect peaches and almonds early on and the hybrid "apriplums" and so on later in the year. This also has obvious benefits for fruit-eating birds and mammals. Plums flower in early April and have the same benefits as others of these related species.

Rowan: a good producer of both nectar and pollen and also a producer of abundant and delicious fruit.

Apple: Apples are good trees to plant for nectar and flower from April until late in May, giving a good window of food availability for bees. They also produce adequate pollen but it is their nectar which overflows. They fruit from late Summer into Autumn, providing food for animals and the human garden-tender. Fruit that is allowed to fall to the ground and go soft makes easy nutrition for the winter and also helps maintain soil nutrient levels (which the mycorrhizae will distribute about the garden for optimal garden health). Pears might be a customary twin of apples, but they are to be avoided in a bee garden as their pollen is rarely used and their nectar is not so grand either. All in all, a somewhat useless tree for bees is the pear.


Floral Carpets

The point of a bee garden is to produce as much as possible that will benefit bees, and thus lawn space is not a vital consideration. Because of this, grass is to be greatly discouraged, as it competes with many of these flowers and provides nothing. If I used grass at all, I would limit it to tracks used as paths rather than as a general backdrop.

If you need a path through your garden because you intend to access it regularly (either because you will need access to your beehives if you have them, or because you want to be able to sit in your garden), a good plant to use as "pathing" is clover. It is a great provider of nectar and grows so close to the ground that it behaves the same as grass (but feels "richer", I find). This is of course assuming that the entirety of the area will be devoted to providing for bees (either your own or "guests"). Even a path paved with stone would not be out of the way, but anything which does not serve the bees detracts from the bee garden's usefulness for the bees. If you wish to maximise your space's appeal and usefulness, clover is an excellent plant for any area not given over to flowers, taking the place of any grassy areas and lining any pathways through the "tended wilderness".

A few general rules of thumb can be observed when selecting flowers for a bee garden: avoid flowers that are too tightly packed in large, constricted flower heads as these are obstacles a bee must overcome in order to reach the nectar or pollen. Flowers which are loose and large are much more desirable. Many flowers are also tubular, and where these are too narrow, the nectar or pollen, however inviting, remains out of reach. Flowers in this general category which are useful for flowers include snapdragons and foxglove. Lastly, bees have a marked preference for purple flowers. If, like me, you love the colour purple, having a bee garden that overflows with purple flowers throughout the year will not come as too great a burden ;-)

A quick and easy way to provide a bee garden is to go to a garden centre and buy one of those "shake and sow" boxes full of wild-flower seeds. If you take this option, be sure to buy one which promises blooming throughought the year (by using a selection of plants with different blooming windows). Many of them are also sorted by colour, so buying a purple box will help bring in the colour bees prefer. Just remember that for all bees might prefer purple, they will take whatever flowers offer them what they need. It is likely (at least, it is my hunch) that bees prefer purple flowers because they stand out best against the general green colour of the rest of the plant and so are most obvious.

Many plants suggested below are poisonous, so exercise due caution and keep children informed and garden-savvy.

Foxglove is an excellent plant for bees. It produces sufficient amounts of pollen and nectar and is usually purple, too. They are ordinarily biennial, flowering only in the second year, but annual forms are available. The best, though, are perennial forms, which will flower for many years, reducing the garden-tender's workload. They bloom in early Summer.

Aconite/Monkshood make good attractions for bees and winter aconite, as its name suggests, blooms in the winter. There won't tend to be any bees around at this time, however, so its usefulness is small.

Iris, especially the purple iris, is an excellent plant for bees. It flowers generally in the Spring, though different cultivars extend this window from ealiest Spring all the way to Summer. These plants are plants which have devoted considerable evolution to optimising their relationship with pollinators and make a great addition to a bee garden. Their general aesthetic appeal for humans is a happy bonus. A good Spring herb is Rosemary.

Bluebells are great additions. Their shape is ideal for bees and they bloom early, providing both pollen and nectar which sustain beehives and also contribute to their future growth (by nourishing larvae)

Hyacinth is a great flower to include. Other Spring flowers include wood anemone, Muscari (use Muscari if your soil is alkaline and bluebells if it's acidic). Daffodils are good spring flowers for bees, too, as is the crocus. Currant bushes producing black, red and white currants all bloom in spring and make great additions to a bee garden. Rhodendrons are great additions too, especially if the purple varieties are used.

Early Summer flowers include everlasting sweet pea, delphinium (with vivid purple hues, too!) foxglove (which I mentioned above before the Spring flowers), snapdragon, hardy geranium (not pelargonium; bees and most other insects don't like it). A good herb for this time of year is Thyme. Agapanthuses make great additions too. Plants for later summer include Angelica, single-flowered dahlia varieties (bees love dahlias), fuchshia, cornflower, heather and lavender, scabious, etc. General summer plants include hollyhocks, lilac, sunflowers and clematis. Verbena bonariensis is a great hit with bees — as are dandelions, and they're hardly hard to grow! Dandelions and clover together on your "pathways" are an excellent way to keep a section tame enough to walk through without wasting the space.

Herbs are also often attractive to bees and give the garden-tender something too. Good herbs to grow include rosemary, thyme, oregano, borage and chives (ladybirds love chives). Marjoram and lavender are among the plants which most appeal to bees and so are invaluable additions. Mustard is another good herb to include as it appeals to both bees and ladybirds.

Other good plants to plant include the marigold, which self-seeds and thus takes little maintenance even in the course of years. It is excellent kept in pots as patio plants. They flower from May until Autumn, providing their nectar for a great period. They also attract many insects you'll want in your garden, like butterflies, and ladybirds, which will be your garden's pest control force :D — the advantage is that any plant that attracts aphids will indirectly attract ladybirds. It is possible to buy, from garden centres, habitats designed to give ladybirds a place to "overwinter", and such habitats are commonly available for ladybirds and lacewings, another pest controller. Site any such things in places where they will be sheltered from the weather. Affixed to a gardener's shed and especially insulated against the cold is ideal.

Poppies. If you really want to go for a wild feel, poppies are great as they are visited by many insects as, perhaps, befits a flower that is associated with the wilderness.

Statices are attractive to both beeds and ladybirds. The purple varieties will fit in well with a mostly purple bee garden :D

Nettles! Nettles are beloved of ladybirds, which often lay their eggs on their leaves. Nettles are great plants and have a reputation (and sometimes hatred) that is very unjust. They are great sources of iron and vitamin c (which is necessary for iron absorption). When decocted in alcohol, the alcohol turns brilliant red first because the iron content is so high. It is a great blood purifier, too, and is useful as a plant for energy work linked to the planet Mars and the sign Aries. Given all this, it is a plant that deserves a place in any garden, especially any garden aiming to bring in a little wilderness and which wants to aim for organic, natural methods of pest control (because of their appeal to ladybirds).


Floral Climbers

These plants are useful for capitalising upon vertical space to create a truly three dimensional garden. My favourite flowers for these purposes are climbing roses and morning glory varieties. My father had a love for what he called "tree dressing" which was a term he used to describe grafting climbing flowers onto the bottoms of the tree trunks around which they would climb. Then he'd train their growth to spiral around the trunk of the tree. In this way, the two plants became one and the trunks were awash with bright flowers. This is obviously not necessary, but you will likely have a lot of vertical space you could seize to maximise your garden's usefulness.

Long before I ever decided to start creating bee gardens I had (and still have) a huge garden devoted entirely to wisteria that was planted by my father. The wisteria garden was planted entirely for appreciation of wisteria, which creates truly magnificent scenes. It is also a huge bee magnet and the wisteria garden is aswarm with bees throughout its flowering period (May). My father created something like the "wisteria tunnel" of Japan, though I don't if he was aware of it. He intended it as something to be walked through, but I have taken the Japanese approach and added benches inside it. In May, I often sit in the tunnel and listen to the bees going about their business. They'll climb up anything and grow with outstanding ease, and as such can be trained to grow along any vertical structure. The classic look for a Wisteria is growing up along the wall of a house (for which wisteria rivals climbing roses in quaintness, and beats ivy in appearance).

Clematis is another good climber, and with trellises or wires it can be trained to take advantage of wallspace or fencing. Another climber that appeals greatly to bees is the aptly named honeysuckle (even though honeysuckle flowers are often born in pairs, which bees usually do not like); their nectar is very worth it, apparently. Lonicera caerulea produces strangely-shaped fruit which is edible (most honeysuckles are mildly poisonous to humans). If you have a shaded area, honeysuckle will work well there where sun-lovers might not do so well. They often fall prey to aphids (particularly in sunny areas), but any garden grown as described will attract hoverflies and ladybirds too, both of which are voracious aphid eaters.

Jasmine is another plant (or group of them, rather) that attracts bees. I speak of the genus Jasminum, not things like the Jasmine cactus. They come in many forms, including climbers, and these can be used to take advantage of vertical space. They're also attractive to ladybirds.


Insect Waterer

Insects require water as anything does, but many sources of water, especially things which seem like significant sources to us huge humans, are not great watering holes for insects. The best way to provide water for the bees that will visit your garden is to create a source of water that is shallow. This can be achieved by having a bowl in which are placed marbles or glass pebbles (those often used as decorative elements). If this is left in a shaded corner, it will require minimal attention. The pebbles help break up the water so that it is not so much a single mass of water but a large surface coated in a thin film of water from which bees and ladybirds, etc., can take a little water as needed. You will often find it recommended online to add a little sugar to the water to give your bees a little energy, but they will be surrounded by a garden full of flowers overflowing with nectar and it would be undesirable if they took the empty calories of sugared water instead of the nutritious nectar of plants just because it was easier to reach.


Pest Control

This has been handled in other sections dealing with ladybirds and lacewings, but a final note on how to control pests if this isn't happening well enough is needed. It should go without saying that commercially available pesticides are out of the question. If you need to make your own "pesticide", add peppermint oil to water and shake to form an emulsion, then spray this mixture onto flowers attacked by aphids, blackfly, etc.. You can also make a spray with garlic. It's also possible to make a past of garlic powder and water and smear this onto plants at vulnerable positions. None of these will hurt plants or bees, but they will keep pests away. These won't kill anything, they'll just drive things away.

The only concern is when applying these, try not to get the peppermint or garlic sprays on the flowers as this could keep the bees away. If a mass "sweep" is necessary because of universal infestation (which really shouldn't be a problem), try to spray your sprays in the evening once bees have retired and later into the night when the flowers will be closing.


http://img690.imageshack.us/img690/2636/u928.png

Attached is a handy little resource to use when considering what flowers to include in your bee garden (Source: British Beekeepers' Association (www.bbka.org.uk))

Stoat muldoon
25th July 2014, 14:25
I'm not sure if you are aware or not but a petition has just won, a reprieve for the UK bee . The UK government was putting to the vote for a very dangerous pesticide that would have most certainly been the end for the UK bees . There was a massive outcry and many thousands signed the petition and the government backed off . However , our bees are in decline and we need to help them as best we can , bright flowers to attract them and encourage them to multiply .

Ria
25th July 2014, 16:24
I'm not sure if you are aware or not but a petition has just won, a reprieve for the UK bee . The UK government was putting to the vote for a very dangerous pesticide that would have most certainly been the end for the UK bees . There was a massive outcry and many thousands signed the petition and the government backed off . However , our bees are in decline and we need to help them as best we can , bright flowers to attract them and encourage them to multiply .

Thanks for the good news , it's insanity to think we have to fight to keep the bees in the first place .:crazy:

Stoat muldoon
25th July 2014, 19:11
Thanks for the good news , it's insanity to think we have to fight to keep the bees in the first place .:crazy:Isn't it , we should not have to fight people who should know better . Everything is back to front .