I have been considering building a bee bed with “bee” plants for our girls and of course all the other insects and all those thoughts have come to fruition.
I have researched plants that are good for pollinators/bees alike, plants that we don’t already have in the garden, plants that will survive the winter and thrive.
The list is as follows
Helleborous Argutifolius, Helleborous Foetidus for flowers first thing in the spring
Monarda Hybrid “Fireball” because I really like Monardas and I have managed to locate a nursery which sells it and the bees like it,flowers from July
Campanula Pantaloons this one has huge pink mauve bell flowers that arrive from June
Hyssopus Officinalis ” Roseus” a compact herb with pink flowers from July
Anaphalis Margaritacea “Neuschnee” compact perennial with little white flowers that can be used for dry flowers, flowers from July
Hieracium Aurantiacum with orange flowers from June flowers stand out from the plant
Achillea “Hrusky” commonly known as Yarrow, with pink flowers but I found out that it can be a bit of an invading plant so have created a bed just for it
As a solitaire tree we chose Quercus rubra which is not so much for the bees as it is for us and the rest of the planet.
and here is the new bed:
above this and to the side we created wind breaks one is full of Berberris the other of Physocarpus Opulifolius, leaves resemble the once from a Ribiz shrub bears white flowers in summer which turn to berries, lime green leaves in spring which change color for Autumn. Should be beautiful once it all settles down. Will keep you posted.
the Bees themselves seem to be all right, we have had pretty unsettled weather, Monday we had snow, since than the temperature has gone up to +13 during day, had 3 days of rain on and off, with a little bit of sun shining on Friday morning, Bees came out then and looked pleased to see the sun. We are still picking Autumn Raspberries, there are not that many new flowers on them anymore, Nepeta is still in flowering but that is just about it really, a few field flowers here and there but nothing fresh/new. I have only looked at the bees by lifting the roof as I have a see through plastic sheet between the supers and roof, they look all right, sound all right. I am going to slide them closer to each other so there is less wind going through the hives but otherwise I am going to leave them alone.