We're having a problem here in that our honeybees don't have enough forage to eat at this part of the summer. The big blooms are mostly done and everything is sort of just simmering in the heat. There's a few things blooming here and there (mostly in my garden) but not enough to keep my bees going. They've been dipping into their honey supplies and lack the forage to resupply.
So I went to the garden center today and loaded up on flowers. I planted two big flats of something called "pentas" simply because at the store there were bees all over them going crazy. So if town bees like them then I guess my country girls will too. I also got a couple of oleander bushes (trees?) and some honeysuckle. We're going flower crazy here.
I've never had the time nor inclination for ornamentals but these are both permaculture AND forage for my bees. In a strange way, flowers will help us survive. I had never considered that before.
So we'll make the desert bloom.
(NOTE: Yes, I know I do not live in the technical desert. The geotype I live in is called "arid scrubland", not desert, but since I spend most of my days walking on sand and rocks in 100+ degree heat then it's close enough to a desert for me. About 40 miles west of me the land drops off the mesa down into the actual desert. Of an evening when the wind turns then sometimes the deep desert sands blow up and turn the sunset blood red.)
It's a visually stunning place.
2 comments:
Well, heck, I never thought of it that way. I've always been the "if I can't eat it why bother" kind of person. May just have to add a few flowers for the bees next year....
We have bees. We put out thick sugar water for them when forage is lacking.
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