The Bee Garden Favorites

Author: Meera, September 22, 2014

I spent Sunday building a rock circle around the circumference of our towering elm tree. I want to conserve water around the base of the tree and to also grow more plants for my bees to have abundant food.

 

 

We had a pile of river rock donated to us, so I thought it might look nice to create a wide circle, maybe three feet high around the tree like a watering basin/retaining wall, using the rock.

 

 

 

The round shape of river rock forms the basis of a water basin, flower/herb bed around the base of a tree

The river rock piled on top of retaining wall stone forms a water basin around the base of an elm

 

 

 

Inside the circle, I transplanted some yarrow and white geranium. Already, there are white roses  that boom all summer long under the tree.

 

 

But bees like nectar-rich plants with pollen, so I’ve put together a list. Over the next week, I’ll add some of  these in my new bed beneath the elm. This is a partial list of plants bees love.

 

  • Rosemary
  • Lavender
  • Russian sage
  • Basil (African blue)
  • Honeywort
  • Mexican Sunflower
  • Borage
  • Cerinthe
  • Greek oregano
  • Sweet marjoram
  • Purple coneflower (echinacea)
  • California poppies
  • Lupine
  • yarrow
  • sunflowers

 

Eucalyptus on the property behind our farmette is not yet covered with fall bloom. The bees love that bloom but now they make do with the star thistle on the brown hillsides and by foraging on the French perfume lavender and the Spanish variety in my garden.

 

 

Honeybee forages on Spanish lavender blooms

Honeybee forages on Spanish lavender blooms

 

 

Of late, I’ve discovered the honeybees foraging on the sweet nectar at my hummingbird feeders, so I worry about them getting enough food. The drought has sapped everything. At any rate, I’ll hold off taking honey this fall, leaving it in the hives for the bees. They’ll need food to get through the rainy season.

 

 

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Attracting Butterflies into Your Garden

Author: Meera, August 27, 2013

 

Western Yellow Tiger Swallowtail butterfly on geraniums

The Western Tiger Swallowtail, shown here on geraniums, resembles its counterpart,  the Eastern Tiger Swallowtail

 

While sipping my morning coffee today, I spotted a Western Tiger Swallowtail butterfly in my garden. So naturally, I had to put down my mug of coffee and grab my camera.

 

These beauties have wingspans stretching up to four inches. The butterflies are often seen in woodlands around streams and riverbanks or canyons in the west. For a complete list of butterflies for Northern California, see http://www.thebutterflysite.com/california-butterflies.shtml

 

Here on the farmette, these beautiful butterflies feed on the nectar of the garden plants. I often see them on the blooms of my hedge of lavender and elsewhere on the zinnias. They also flit over and and perched on the water fountain near where I grow roses and wisteria.

 

You can attract these particular butterflies into your Northern California gardens by planting petunia, Mexican sunflower, dianthus, and the butterfly bush. But do a little research on creating a butterfly garden if you want to attract different types of butterflies. And don’t use pesticides or insecticides if you are serious about creating such a haven.

 

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