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. 8.9.15

French Marigolds with Foraging Bumblebees.  8.9.15

Container-Grown Milkweed.  8.9.15

 There is not a lot out there for bees to forage.  Dandelions are having a moderate bloom.  On the deck, the large containers of marigolds attract many bees, continuously.  Mostly bumblebees.  Given the dearth of bee forage now, I am thinking I should plant some big patches of marigolds next year.  Each flower produces a big crop of seeds, so it will cost nothing if I save the seeds.

It looks like they prefer gold to yellow or red.  I am not certain about that.

Milkweed has not reached bloom stage.  As a perennial, I did not expect that until next year.  The plant I grew in container is much larger and more robust, compared to the plants I grew in the ground.  There is a big diversity of size and appearance, in keeping with what were probably wild-collected seeds.

Chinese chive is a major attraction for honeybees, more than bumblebees.  This variety is the heirloom type I collected as seeds from my parents' yard in Illinois.  I know those were there for more than 45 years, because I was the one who planted them.  They survived the intervening decades without care, in fact my parents didn't like them, so just mowed along with the rest of the yard.  This variety - land race?- is smaller and much later blooming, compared to the commercial Chinese variety Ning obtained.   Both are good forage for bees.  I will collect more seeds from my Illinois Chinese Chive, intending to have a large patch of those for bee forage in a couple of years.

It's interesting to view the Chinese Chive next to some Wild Carrot.  Both flowers are white, with small flowers.  But the bees very much prefer the Chinese Chive.

The second wave of borage is blooming.  Smaller than the first wave.  Bees constantly forage the borage.  There are 3rd wave borage sprouting from seeds.

The Joe Pye Weed that I grew from seeds last winter, is making flower buds.  The Anise Hyssop that I grew from seeds is growing, but I doubt they will bloom this year.  Perennials are a 2-year investment in time and space, but once established, I don't have to start from seeds again.

Milkweed Plants Grown In Ground.  8.9.15

Honeybee on Chinese Chive.  8.9.15

Blooming Chinese Chive.  8.9.15

Bees Prefer Chinese Chive to Wild Carrot.  8.9.15

Red Sedum with Honeybees  8.9.15

Red Sedum with Honeybees.  8.9.15

Starting Buckwheat for Green Manure / Cover Crop / Bee Forage. 7.21.15

Bed prep for buckwheat.  7.21.15

Today I took a little time to prep the former borage bed for Buckwheat.  I planted the borage late winter.  In this location, the borage plants grew to 5 foot tall, some 6 foot.  Might have been influenced buy the organic nitrogen, and might have been due to whatever was already in the soil.  The soil has been used, either as a dumping location for fireplace or grill ashes, or was a burn location.  Lots of biochar and ashes.  That may not be a good thing, for many reasons.  But the borage grew like gangbusters.

 The borage has dried out and was done blooming.  I wanted to collect seeds, but not up to it.  It pulled out  very easy, leaving an almost weed-free bed.  Quite a bit of water was needed to soften the soil, then worked it shallowly, smoothed with garden rake, spread buckwheat seeds, smoothed a little more, and watered.

Original book source: Prof. Dr. Otto Wilhelm Thomé Flora von Deutschland, Österreich und der Schweiz 1885, Gera, Germany.  Image via commons.wikipedia.org

From what I read, buckwheat is an excellent plant for conditioning the soil (green manure, cover crop).  It crowds out most weeds - which apparently borage also does - and is killed by the first frost.  Buckwheat grows in hot summer, and has a fast life cycle.  I don't know yet, but am hoping it will bloom in the fall.  Buckwheat is also considered excellent bee forage.  A comment on solarbeez blog states buckwheat started flowering 3 weeks after planting.  Mother Earth News states some bloom starts as little as one week from planting.  From Mother Earth News:  "Buckwheat is one of the best sources of high quality protein in the plant kingdom. It's easy to grow, harvest, and process; it prospers on soils too poor for other crops; and it's not susceptible to any major disease or pest problems. On top of all that, buckwheat is an excellent smother crop for weed control, a superb green manure crop, and a legendary nectar source for honeybees.".  From this extension website, Buckwheat is not tolerant of hot, dry conditions.  I'm thinking it will need the same watering as I am currently doing for squash and corn, until fall arrives.  Never having grown buckwheat, some experimentation is likely needed.  Also from the extension site:  "Buckwheat can be raised for grain if planted by mid-July in northern states or by early August in the South.  If we want to try, according to Mother Earth News, a gardener can get a usable amount of buckwheat for food in 40 square feet - a little more than my raised beds.  I guess, for us or for the chickens.

The seed package was very large - 5 pounds.  Plan: pull the weeds out of the 3 raised beds I lost to weeds, and plant buckwheat.  The area planted here is about the same as 1 1/2 raised bed.  Ditto for the garlic bed, once the garlic is harvested.  Ambition and energy, those are the limitations.

Chive and other Allium species Seeds. 7.12.15

Chives Seed Heads.  7.12.15

Removing Chives Seeds from Seed Head.  7.12.15

 This week I have been collecting seed heads from alliums.  Bees of multiple types forage many types of alliums.  They bloom at different times, allowing for a long nectar flow.

Kitchen chives (Allium schoenoprasum) have a long bloom period and are very pretty.  Bees forage them continuously when blooming.  They are perennial and easy to grow.  The seed heads and stems have dried out and become brown, so they ready for seed harvest.

Allium karataviense "Ivory Queen" was a new addition last fall.  Of the several bulbs in the backet, only one grew and bloomed.  They are interesting and pretty, and later blooming than most spring bulbs.  It would be nice to have some more, but I don't want to buy them.

I also have a number of specimens of Allium aflatunense 'Purple Sensation' that are at the stage of dried seed heads, ready to harvest seeds.

The seed heads would be nice for dried flower arrangements, too.

The process of collecting seeds is almost too simple for words.  Just cut off the seed heads, collect them in a bowl, and shake them upside down in another bowl.  Most of the seeds will just fall out.  Rubbing the seed heads a little between the fingers will remove more.

I collected them into labeled envelopes, but have left them unsealed.  They are quite dry, due to 2 weeks in the 90s with no rain.

There are several options for planting them.  The easiest would be, plant in flowerpots or flats and leave them in a sheltered place for the winter.

I need to look them up.  Some may need stratifying or aging.  If it looks promising, I will plant them soon, to get a head start.  It may take a couple of years for flowering alliums to bloom.  Chives should bloom next year.

Seed Heads of Allium aflatunense. 7.12.15

Chives and Allium karataviense  Seeds.   7.12.15

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

Squash and Corn Bed. 5.30.15

Fig, corn, and squash bed.  5.30.15

The original plan for this bed was to plant bee forage.  I have plenty of those.  I needed a place for squash and corn.  This is the warmest, sunniest part of the  yard, south of the house.

I also planted two rows of Asclepias syriaca, Common milkweed / Butterfly flower.  Those are for honeybees and local bees.  As perennials, they may not bloom until next year.

The fig trees on the left look healthy.  They do not need the space yet.  The small fig trees will not shade the annual crops, which are on the south side of the fig trees.

Gardening this area saves some mowing.  This has always been a difficult spot.  A fence, to the neighbor's field, is directly adjacent.

Fig row / bee forage seed beds. 2.18.15

When we bought the place this was all weeds, especially Johnson Grass and some very tough weeds.

I wanted to make the mowing easier, so I covered the ground between the fig tree saplings, with plastic for the winter.  That killed the grass.  Last weekend I pulled up the plastic, and raked the soil reasonably smooth for seed beds.  I scattered borage seed on the largest bed, and the others are either phacelia or crimson clover. 

This abuts a neighbor's weedfield.  The appearance isn't very important.  I want to be able to run the lawn mower up and down both sides, without the much more difficult method of mowing around each tree.

If the beds work out, next year I can make them much wider, and just have 2 mower-widths of lawn on each side

One seedbed remains.  I bought Viper's Bugloss seeds, reported as excellent bee forage.  Then I read there are toxic pyrolizidine alkaloids in Bugloss' nectar and pollen.  Probably not enough to matter, but I may plant something else - maybe Agastache.  Another choice, lemon balm - I have lots of volunteer plants I can move there, enough to fill in an entire bed.

The lawn was carpeted with white Dutch clover last year.  I don't see any now.  It may just not be ready to grow yet.  I hope it does - excellent bee forage.

The areas just adjacent to the fig trees will be mulched, with a space between mulch and trunk.  I'm thinking of using straw.

This area is almost done and ready for Spring.  About the only maintenance will be quick runs of the lawn mower.

Front Borders Work In Progress. 2.18.15

Front Border and Walk.  2.18.15

Front Walk and Border.  2.18.15

So far, here is the front walk and border bed.  I've been working on them for 6 months.   The themes, if there are any -

-Most plants are usable for bee forage.

-Most plants were self-starts or transplants.

-Most plants are deer and rabbit resistant.

-Some edible plants are included, mainly herbs.

-Pavers are about 1/2 reused from various places, and 1/2 new.   So that they don't look uneven, I've been randomly mixing old and new, and the new is a mix of grey, brick red, and brown pavers.  Edging is also about 1/2 reused (grey) and 1/2 new (brick red). 

Under the mulch is a layer of cardboard food packaging, to prevent perennial weeds from coming up through the wood chip mulch.  It's working very well.

The plastic is there to kill the grass.  It's much easier to smooth the soil and prep a base for pavers, when the sod has been killed by this method.  It's slow - takes a few months.  But no hurry.

Front Border.  2.19.15

Front Border.  12.18.15

 By the house foundation, I will have a gravel walkway.  That avoids plants from growing up to the siding, and reduces risk for carpenter ants and termites.   It's been inspected - there are none.  I want to keep it that way.

For bee forage -
Sedums, big bunches of large varieties.
Helelborus - new clumps.
Daffodils, many.
Chinese chives, many clumps.
Lavender.
Rosemary
Sage.
Oregano, multiple clumps
Chives.
Daylilies, multiple clumps.
Blue chip Buddleia.
Alliums - multiple

For kitchen herbs and kitchen garden -
Rhubarb - large established clump and one I rescued.
4 miniature sized apple trees, 3 are columnar.
Oregano, Rosemary, Sage
Chives, Chinese Chives
Multiplier onions

This list is far from complete.  There are more varieties of bulbs including lilies and irises, Hyacinthoides and Leucojum and others.  There are groundcover sedums, violets, a big lilac that came with the place, some roses, and some I have forgotten.

Once the rest of the mulch is down - not much remaining to fill in - the bed should be mostly low  maintenance.  The edging and walkways will cut weed invasion back to a minimum.  The mulch will reduce water need.  The edging will keep grass out.  There is pretty good access via the walkways.  The edging needs tidying, the walks need completion and leveling, and that's about all.

Buddleia, Butterflies, and Bees. 7.27.14

Honeybee on Buddleia "Honeycomb"  7.27.14

Honeybee on Buddleia "Honeycomb".  7.27.14

Butterfly on Buddleia "Blueberry Cobbler".  7.27.14

One of the main reasons I planted buddleias was for bee forage.  It turned out, honeybees don't care for Blueberry Cobbler and Peach Cobbler varieties, and not too crazy about the red "Miss Molly" and "Miss Ruby" varieties. 

This year I added the variety "Honeycomb".  They do like this one.

All of these are responsible, sterile, noninvasive, legal varieties in the Pacific NW.

Butterflies and Bumblebees like all of the varieties.

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

Bees forage the clover lawn. Hummingbirds in the Crocosmia. 7.4.14

I've been planting clover seeds in the lawn, for the past 2 years.  This is a chemical-free, fertilizer-free lawn.    Now, as the hot days of sumer are here, the grass stops growing.  The clover is in full bloom.  When white clover is intermixed with grasses, the clover supports nitrogen-fixing bacteria, pulling nitrogen out of the air and into the soil in forms plants can use.  The grass grows better, and so does the clover.  White clover is also one of the best bee forages.  They are actively foraging the clover lawn now.  Walking through the lawn, I can hear them hum.  It looks prettier in person than in the photo.  The clover lawn benefits the grass, the soil, the bees, and the environment.

Clover lawn.  7.2.14

Humingbird on Crocosmia.  Photo by Ning Wang.  7.4.14  

I

Hummingbird on Crocosmia.  Photo by Ning Wang.  7.4.14

Hummingbird.  Photo by Ning Wang.  7.4.14

Honeybee on Clover.  Photo by Ning Wang.  7.4.14

Honeybee on Clover.  Photo by Ning Wang.  7.4.14

Phaselia. 6.22.14

Phaselia.  6.22.14

Phaselia.  6.22.14

I planted Phaselia ("Bee Friend") for bee forage.  I didn't know what to expect.

They are blooming now.  About 2 feet tall.  Beautiful, fern-like leaves.  A bit floppy, they fall over.

So far I've seen bumblebees on them, but no honeybees.

Borage is blooming now too.  Bees usually go crazy for borage, but not yet.  So maybe there's just too much other bee forage around.  They love Ning's meadow.

Ning's Meadow. 5.10.14

Ning Planting Lavender Meadow

Ning Planting lavender meadow.

Ning has been putting in large areas of wildflowers and herbs.  He covers the grass with a big sheet of black plastic, leaves it for a few months, and removes it.  That kills of the vast majority of weeds and grass.  Then he plants wildflower seeds, using a container like a big saltshaker.  For the Lavender and Sage meadow, he bought starts.

When these bloom they will be awesome.  Honeybees love lavender and I think they will love the sage too.

Package Bees Arrive. 4.23.14

Two Packages of Bees

Today the packaged bees arrived.  Italian honeybees.  I installed them in the two beehives.  To each colony, I provided a quart of 1:1 cane sugar:water, and a patty of pollen substitute from Ruhl Bee Supply in Gladstone.

Now it's time to leave them alone, except checking on the queen in a few days and checking on the food supply.

At the bee supply store they had large packets of bee flower seeds.  From those, I think I'm on the right track.  Borage, Phaselia, and others.  I picked up a packet of Limnanthes douglasii.  Give it a try.  Yesterday at Lowes for deer fencing, I picked up a couple of Veronica plants in bloom, also for the honeybees.

Bee forage

Bumblebee on Buddleia X "Peach Cobbler"

I don't see a lot of foraging by the honeybees.

Buddleia - bumblebees like them, and continue to forage.  But not honeybees.

Sedum Autumn Joy and similar - a fair amount of foraging.  I'm glad I moved these mature plants to the Battleground yard.

Sedum "Autumn Joy"

Sedum "Autumn Joy"

Lots of bees on these succulents.

Not much forage remaining on Oregano.  At this point, oregano is no longer a significant source.  Given how much it was foraged earlier, I want to add more, next year.

Anise hyssop is also done.  Coreopsis and Caryopteris are nearly done.

I can't imagine there is much more nectar and pollen remaining.  At this point, the honeybees will need to depend on what they have stored.  If that runs out, I might need to add some sugar water.

Sourwood Tree profile. Oxydendrum arboreum.

I noted in previous post, I bought a fair sized specimen Sourwood tree.  Oxydendrum arboreum.

Sourwoods are native to the Southeastern united states.  They are relatively undomesticated.  In other words, there are few cultivars.  This specimen was labeled, just, "Sourwood Tree".

According to Portland nursery, in this area, the tree is upright, slow growing, with a rounded top appearance.   They grow 25 to 30 feet tall, but in their native habitat grow much taller, 100 feet.  They like an acidic, peaty soil, and should be mulched without much plant competition under the tree.

Portland nursery states when planted in lawns, the tree does not thrive. Since I won't have grass growing up to the trunk, and will keep it mulched and add compost, I hope it will do better.

According to http://forestry.about.com/od/silviculture/p/sourwood.htm, sourwoods tolerate clay soil, and loam, sand, acidic soils.  My soil is a clay soil, somewhat acidic.  Also stated there "Reportedly not highly drought tolerant, but there are beautiful specimens in USDA hardiness zone 7 growing in the open sun in poor clay with no irrigation."

 Pic from wikimedia commons .  Sourwood trees make a great varietal honey.   I will have a beehive near this tree, so maybe there will be a small amount of sourwood honey flavor in the honey. At least, it should feed the honeybees.  Along with the lindens I planted, and the fruit trees, and the herbs and flowers.

Yesterday I raked back the straw mulch, and added a few inches of compost to enrich the soil and feed the tree.

I hope it grows.

Fruit Tree Order for Spring 2014

From Raintree Nursery.  I've made a habit of ordering way ahead.  Not wanting many additions this time.  Each has a specific reason -


Jujube Sugar Cane.  According to the web page very sweet but very thorny.  Raintree states they send 3 to 5 foot trees.  The trees I One Green World sent last year were 1 foot trees - pretty lame.  They survived and grew, and are now whopping 18 inch to 2 foot trees.  Look out Sequoias, your record is about to be broken!  So I want to jump start a little and add a taller one.  Different variety for novelty sake.  It's not clear if they need pollenizers.  According to CFRG, jujubes don't require cross pollenation, but according to Raintree they do.  CFRG states:  "Small to medium fruit which can be round to elongated. Extremely sweet fruit but on a very spiny plant. The fruit is worth the spines!".  Maybe the spines will frustrate marauding deer, or at least annoy them.  Pic is from Raintree site at link above


Q-1-8 Peach.  I researched many websites for a late blooming, peach leaf curl resistant variety.  I'm not sure about the late-blooming aspect, but Q-1-8 is described by most as quite leaf curl resistant.  Since I have 2 yellow-flesh varieties, this white-flesh variety will be a novelty.  It takes a few years to start bearing,  and I want to see if I can get enough peaches for a pie, from any variety.  Pic is from Raintree site at link above.  Kind of a cute name for a peach.  Rolls off the tongue....  but if it bears OK, resists peach leaf curl, and tastes good, that's all I need.

PrairieFire Crabapple.  To feed honeybees and provide pollen for other apple varieties.  DEscribed by Raintree as "A disease resistant, upright crabapple to 20' with reddish bronze leaves, pink flowers, and bright red 1/2' fruit loved by birds.".   WSU Extension states "Very resistant to apple scab, cedar-apple rust, fireblight and mildew."  Pics are from WSU Extension.  This might be the one I saw at Home Depot on sale, but that was similar size and I like the idea of buying from Raintree.  Raintree states they sell 4 to 6 foot trees.  If it was 6 foot it would be awesome.    Many of my spring blooming trees have white flowers, so one with pink or red would be a nice addition.