Flowers with Honeybees. 8.20.2020

 Just a mixture of photos of flowers with honeybees.

I think borage is one of the top honeybee forage flowers.  They do self-seed, prolifically, year after year.  However, the volunteer seedlings are easy to pull out if not wanted.  Borage has a long period of blooming, and is at its peak when a lot of the others are done.

A groundcover sedum, I think Sedum kamtschaticum.  These were cuttings, basically trimmings from someones plant, they left them on the break table at work for anyone who wanted them.  I just stuck them in the ground, no special care, and they took off and filled their space.  Honeybees seem to like most of the Sedums.

Milkweed.  I think this one is Asclepias incarnata.   I had covered the area this Spring with a ground fabric and tree mulch, but it came up at the edge.  I'm glad it did.  It also has an offspring in a container, which I intend to transplant.

Oregano flowers are usually covered with honeybees.  You can hear them hum before you see them.

I don't know this flower.  It came up in the uncut grass.

Some of the Chinese chives are still blooming.  Good for honeybees, who are always all over the chive flowers.

More oregano.

This is the larger, bushier perennial type sedum.  It's similar to "Autumn Joy" but I don't think it is. 

Bee Forage. 9.1.15

My Bee Border.  9.1.15

Honeybee Foraging Buckwheat Flowers.  9.1.15

 This is a difficult time for honeybees to find forage.   There isn't a lot blooming in the fields out there.  Some dandelions, wild carrot, and tansy ragwort.  Tansy ragwort has toxicity issues.  The honeybees don't seem to care for the wild carrot and have been ignoring the local dandelions.

While, in bee terms, my gardening efforts are small, they do forage heavily on some plants that I selected for that purpose.

Buckwheat - the foraging is variable.  Sometimes when I look, there are few bees present.   Then I look again an hour later, and the buckwheat flowers are full of bees.  Overall, this plant seems to be very good for honeybee forage.

The Chinese chives flowers are always full of bees.  As a perennial, this plant has good potential for bee forage in a flower border.  I don't know how much it takes to make a difference, but the bees are crazy about it.

There are always some bees on the French marigold flowers.  More on orange flowers than on yellow or brick red.  I am saving seeds from these plants for next year.  I like the yellow and brick red better, but I am saving some from each so the honeybees get some they like too.

Borage continues to bloom and honeybees continue to forage it.  This is the 3rd wave, from volunteer plants.

Pink Sedum is in full bloom.  Each flower head is busy with multiple honeybees.

All of these plants make an attractive front flower border.  The annuals and perennials make a nice mixture.  The perennials can be divided for more plants next year. and in the case of the Chinese chives, both divided and seeds saved.  I have cut dried flower heads from those, saving in a paper bag to dry more thoroughly.  I am saving seeds from the annual French marigolds.  I might from the borage as well. So next year, this bee border will be zero cost, and little effort.  I don't  have buckwheat in the border.  The garden rol of buckwheat is to build soil and potentially provide some grain.  However, a few buckwheat plants would also be attractive in a flower border.

Honeybees Foraging Chinese Chives Flowers.  9.1.15

Honeybees Foraging Chinese Chives Flowers.  9.1.15

Native Bee Foraging Marigold Flower.  9.1.15

Native Bee

Honeybee Foraging Chinese Chives Flowers.  9.1.15

Honeybees Foraging Sedum Flowers.  9.1.15

Buckwheat Stand.   About one month after sowing.  9.1.15

Honeybee on Marigold Flower.  9.1.15

Bee forage. 8.16.15

Chinese Chive Bee Forage.  8.16.15

 Main bee forage currently is Chinese Chive.  They prefer Chinese chive to all other currently blooming flowers.  These are really pretty.  For the looks and bees, drought and freeze tolerance and sturdiness, this plant is an excellent flower border plant.  They are also delicious as a filling for the world's best Manchurian dumplings.

The borage is also foraged fairly heavily.

Not just honeybees.  Other larger and smaller pollen foraging insects, butterflies, moths, hoverflies, and small bees, forage the chives.

Sedum flowers are not open yet.  Bees find the few flowers that are almost open, and check them to see if they are ready yet.

Oregano is heavily foraged but in decline.  They will probably be done in a week.

Bees are ignoring California poppies.  Not on the marigolds much now, either.

Flower Bed For Bees.  8.16.15

Insects on Chinese Chives.  8.16.15

Despite what I read, the honeybees and other bees, ignored the nasturtiums.

They check penstemon without much enthusiasm. Maybe this cultivar is not tasty.  I don't know the cultivar name.

Parsley fell over and may not bloom.  Only one plant.

A flower border for bees is incredible fun.  The air is alive and active, with bees and other foraging the flowers.  So much more than a sterile, store bought, "designer" "HGTV" border.

Bee Forage. 7.11.15

Bumblebee on French Marigold.  7.11.15

 Today I observed bumblebees foraging-

Borage, heavily.

French marigolds, moderately.

Penstemon, moderately.

Oregano, heavily.

Bumblebee on borage.  7.11.15

I have lilies, daylilies, and nasturtiums in bloom.  No bees are foraging those plants.

I also observed honeybees on squash blossoms.  They are open briefly, and somewhat hidden under the leaves.  They don't forage enough to guarantee pollination of the female flowers.  So I do that by hand.

Chives and cilantro finished blooming.  Bumblebees and honeybees foraged those heavily.  I cut off the chives, hoping for second bloom.  I am letting the cilantro go to seeds so I can save seeds, and have a big source for free instead of buying more.

Oregano with bumblebee.  7.11.15

Penstemon with bumblebee.  7.11.15

Puttering. 2.24.24

Shrub and tree cuttings, 1 to 2 years old.  2.24.15

Forsythia cutting.  One year old.  2.24.15

 Puttering.

I finished adding cedar wood chip mulch to the front border.  Now it should be maintenance free for a long time.  Maintenance free is good.

Forsythia cutting from this time last year is blooming.  Didn't grow much last year  Lots of roots.  I think it will grow this year.

Plum cuttings from last year are starting to grow.  No flower buds.

Two year old Laburnum / Golden Chain Tree cuttings, I removed from ground an potted for some TLC.   I think this is 2 years old, might be 3.  Buds starting to swell.

Potted genetic dwarf peach is starting to bloom.  If it frosts, I can move it inside.  Looks like growth is starting much lower on the tree.  Good.  I can prune it back for a more compact plant.  I kept it out of the rain all winter.  Too soon to see if that helped with peach leaf curl.  I am playing the bee with a paintbrush, to support pollination.  This is either Bonanza or Ponderosa.  I mix up the names, which shows my age.

Bee forage plots, seedlings have germinated.  Borage, Phacelia, Crimson Clover.   The borage will crowd and shade out all weeds and grasses in its plot, which is good.  I expect so will the crimson clover.

I transplanted lemon balm into the remaining bee forage plot.  Lemon balm / Melissa is considered great bee forage.  They ignored it last year.   I had it planted around seedling trees, but it's too vigorous and competed with the trees.  So today it's in it's own plot, much nearer the beehive.

Honeybees are out in force, for past 2 weeks.  This is good.  They survived the winter and did not swarm.   Which reminds me, I need to paint the new hive.  This time it will be a Warre hive, which I hope needs less effort to keep the honeycombs straight.

Within a few yards of beehive:  Linden, Sourwood, Melissa, Borage, Phacelia, bee-friendly Buddlea Blue Chip, lavender - minimal, and a few more yards away, Nings wildflower meadow.  more Lindens, maples, and others.  That won't be enough to keep all of the foraging at our place, but I hope it helps a bit.

Smith Fig, kept in garage all winter, growing.  I moved it inside with predicted 29 degree night, not is back outside.  None of the others is growing, even kept in garage next to Smith.  In-ground Smith thoroughly dead.  It is more suited for more southern climate.

 Or is that peach El Dorado?  Nothing to do with Bonanza?  I'll have to look it up.

Bonanza Peach.  2.24.15

Bonanza Peach.  2.24.15

Borage Seedlings at one week.  2.24.15

Crimson Clover Seedlings at one week.  2.24.15

Transplanted Lemon Balm.  2.24.15

Front of house, with beehive.  2.24.15

Smith Fig starting to grow.  2.24.15

Winter Puttering. 2.10.14

Borage 6.5.14

 No new photos today.  I puttered as much as my energy allowed.

Cleared up about 50 sq foot area in fig row, that I covered with black plastic last fall, to kill grass.  Now it's apparent the area was used by previous owners to dispose of fireplace ash.  The grass and weeds were thick so apparently not too toxic.  In the center of that area, I have already planted a start of "King" fig.  In the cleared portion, I smoothed with garden rake and scattered borage seeds for bee forage.

Borage grows rampantly.  Big lush, muscular, drought tolerant plants.  The honeybees and bumblebees both love it.  This is a much larger area, compared to last year's few borage plants.

I uncovered the rest of the killed grass.  That area needs some rain for softening, then some more borage seeds.

Between the fig trees in the row, I've laid down plastic to kill grass.  Each section is about 25 square feet.  I want to use each section for bee forage.

Borage with honeybee.  7.5.14

 Based on last year's results, other great bee forage plants include Phacelia "Bee friend", and Dutch clover.  Last year Dutch clover took over much of the yard.  It is not visible now, but I imagine when the warm weather hits, it will do so again.

I have also bought seeds for a patch of Crimson clover, and a patch of Agastache.  It's not a huge increase in the size of the bee forage area, but bigger than last year and with some more experiments.  All organic, no pesticides, no neonicotinoids, no round-up, just nature.

Borage.  7.5.14

I have also increased the amount of Chinese chives - another flower the bees love to forage.  Being perennial, all I need to do is save seeds and sow them.  Any that grow, are in addition to the existing clumps.

Borage with bumblebee.  7.5.14

Dutch Clover with honeybee.  7.5.15

Phacelia tanacetifolia "Beefriend"  6.22.14

 In addition to clearing that area, I planted a mini-dwarf Jonagold apple tree that I grafted last year, using sucker from rootstock of another minidwarf tree and scion from the top.  This is in a perennial, shrub, and herb border.  They are more ornamental than useful, but again, some bee forage, and a few apples should result.

I planted some Egyptian Walking Onions that were lying around sprouting.

Phacelia tanacetifolia "Beefriend"  6.22.14

I provided the last pre-spring nitrogen boost for young trees in the mini-orchard / food forest.  The trees that benefited were:  Two sweet cherries; 2 years old.  One North Star tart cherry.  2 years old.  Newly planted American persimmon, Yates; and 2 year old Nikita's Gift and Saijo persimmons.  The Saijo might be a mistake - near bearing size and I read nitrogen boost can call fruit fall.  All three of the three-year-old pawpaws.  Hollywood plum, 1 year old from cutting.

None of the plums got nitrogen boost, none of the peaches - those grow too rampantly as is, and are bearing size.  Rule of thumb for me - if bearing size, and last year's growth was more than a foot, then the extra nitrogen is probably not needed.  The plums grew more than 2 feet, and the peaches grew 2 to 3 feet, last year.  Ditto for Montmorency cherry.

There was some left over, so all of the fig trees in the fig row, south of the house, got nitrogen boost too.

"Nitrogen boost"  is euphemism for pee-cycling, or Urine Fertilizer.  In this case, I used 1:4 dilution.  One 1 liter, diluted, was watered in around each of  3 trees.

It's an early Spring.  Plum and peach buds are nearly open.  I hope we don't get a hard frost when they are susceptible.   If we do, we do.

Still anxiously awaiting Raintree nursery order and scion from Fedco.  Maybe end of the month.

borage. chinese chives. Bee forage. Borage. 7.4.14Chine.4.14

Bumblebee on borage.  7.5.14

Bees are actively foraging borage and Chinese chives.  The yard is bee paradise now.  The borage is massive.  I did fertilize with organic nitrogen earlier this year.

Next plan for Chinese chives is to have most in one raised bed, permanent.  A few will be planted around in the flower beds as ornamentals.

Honeybee on borage.  7.5.14

Chinese Chives.  7.4.14

Insect photos

Borage with honeybees.

Borage with honeybee.

 The good thing about fatigue is I can sit for a long time with the camera and catch some fleeting insects.  So here we are. 

I don't know the wasps that took over the oregano flowers.  They are a small wasp.  I think they are wasps.

Buddleia X  "Peach cobbler" with bumblebee.

Oregano flowers with wasps?

Another Buddleia  X "Peach Cobbler" with bumblebee.

Transplanting Borage

Borage in container

 I read that Borage can't be transplanted, so needs to be grown from seed in situ.  This plant was at the local farmer's market in a small container.  Looked droopy.  I planted in a larger container, gave some TLC (code name for Miracle-Gro 1/4 teaspoon per gallon, with each watering) and had it on the deck.  It filled in and now is covered with flower buds.

Since it survived that transplanting, I think it will survive being planted in the iris bed.  I was gentle with flipping it out if the pot.  Tried not to disturb roots.

I read this is a great bee plant.  There are others nearby, almost in bloom.  This was a challenge I wanted to try.

Borage planted in Iris bed.