Question of the Day: Where's the Bees?
It has been an interesting experience, buying a house that predates our moving in. It's a bit like reading a story by starting from Chapter 9, without any of the exposition that tells you why the protagonist is on this crazy mission in the first place.
As best I can tell, the previous owners of our house planted vegetables in the fenced-in garden, and the rest of the back yard was just meant to be kept tidy. I don't know whether they used chemicals, and I don't know how successful they were at growing what they planted, or what worked and what didn't. I don't know what varieties of grapes we have growing along the back fence, or whether they've ever produced well; they didn't do particularly well last year. I have no idea what the garden was like in the spring, or how well it did in years that weren't as rainy as the last one.
Our first attempt at growing vegetables was only marginally successful. We started late in the season, we had to contend with a lot of rain, and we didn't have a lot of experience under our belts. But one of the problems I didn't anticipate was a general lack of bees. We had issues with our melons and pumpkins, regardless of variety -- they'd bloom, but they'd never fruit.
I've read a lot in the last year about Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD) and the alarming decline in bee populations. Just as I want to plant strategically to attract and aid birds and butterflies, I want to plant to aid the local native bee populations, as well.
Is this something that others are thinking about, as well? I went to a grape pruning class at the Natural Gardener this past weekend, and John Dromgoole mentioned it in passing. Most of the specific strategies I've found on the web are regionally specific and may not apply to central Texas. What I've heard so far includes:
As best I can tell, the previous owners of our house planted vegetables in the fenced-in garden, and the rest of the back yard was just meant to be kept tidy. I don't know whether they used chemicals, and I don't know how successful they were at growing what they planted, or what worked and what didn't. I don't know what varieties of grapes we have growing along the back fence, or whether they've ever produced well; they didn't do particularly well last year. I have no idea what the garden was like in the spring, or how well it did in years that weren't as rainy as the last one.
Our first attempt at growing vegetables was only marginally successful. We started late in the season, we had to contend with a lot of rain, and we didn't have a lot of experience under our belts. But one of the problems I didn't anticipate was a general lack of bees. We had issues with our melons and pumpkins, regardless of variety -- they'd bloom, but they'd never fruit.
I've read a lot in the last year about Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD) and the alarming decline in bee populations. Just as I want to plant strategically to attract and aid birds and butterflies, I want to plant to aid the local native bee populations, as well.
Is this something that others are thinking about, as well? I went to a grape pruning class at the Natural Gardener this past weekend, and John Dromgoole mentioned it in passing. Most of the specific strategies I've found on the web are regionally specific and may not apply to central Texas. What I've heard so far includes:
- planting bee-friendly plants and flowers - but which of these are native or well-adapted to central Texas? What flowers seem to attract bees to your garden? I'm hopeful that my African basil, which brought bees to my mom's garden by the droves, will work well in mine, too.
- providing shelter for bees, by leaving brush piles and dead wood in the area, as well as by building bee houses
- maintaining an organic/pesticide-free yard to keep from inadvertently killing the bees - but the reality of living in a suburban neighborhood is that chemicals can drift in from neighbors' yards, or from the drainage ditch behind our property.
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No expert advice here - just a couple of observations, Rachel.
My rosemary plants and the pink cupheas were covered with bees as long as they had any open flowers.
Evergreen Ligustrum is one of those plants that are on the invasive list - I don't have any, but I can see my neighbor's large shrub from my garden, and when it was in bloom the number of bees, butterflies and other pollenators was astounding. If it were in my yard I'd probably let it bloom but cut off the berries.
Annie at the Transplantable Rose
I wanted to go to that grape pruning presentation but I had other commitments yesterday. When I see you at Spring Fling 2008, you'll have to share what you learned.
I find bees on almost any flower in my yard. I often get close with the camera lens set to macro before I see that I'm disturbing some bee. I was surprised to see a bee on the leatherleaf mahonia yesterday, one of the few plants in flower in my garden right now. I found it odd, too, that they really seemed to like garlic chives which blooms in the fall. If you want any, let me know because it's gotten out of hand in my meadow and I'm digging up lots of it. All summer long they cover the Antigonon leptopus (coral vine). I don't know where you could get that...I haven't figured out how to divide mine.
I first put Mexican (false) Heather plants in my front yard bed, as I was teaching at the time and needed something to fill in a huge, long planting area, with something that needed almost no care.
It worked. Boy did it work. It worked so well that I'm still trying to get rid of some of it to plant other things in that area.
However...it does have another redeeming quality other than hardy and ignorable...it blooms profusely and the bees LOVE it. Honestly, it would get scary at times, there were so many bees. Fortunately, they were happy to ignore me while gathering nectar and pollen. I had a problem with fruit not setting on my tomatoes last summer...I may be putting one or more of the Mexican false Heather's in a pot or three to lure bees back to the part of the garden they're needed in.