Feed the Bees Please!

(Great Blue Lobelia)

It’s not necessary to have an entire prairie to offer forage for bees.  A dozen or so species in an area as small as 100 square feet can make a difference.  Here at Prairie Moon we have plenty of native plants for seed production that provide excellent forage but I have been thinking a lot about what more we should do to help alleviate the plight of the bees, especially the native ones.  We have a great start on some plantings that we are putting in to landscape around our new building but we have a way to go.  These plantings are visited by lots of bees but we have the space and the means to do more.

Some of the flowers right around our main nursery building are:

Early bloomers:

Agoseris cuspidata, Prairie Dandelion

Anemone patens wolfgangiana, Pasque Flower

Aquilegia canadensis, Columbine

Astragalus crassicarpus, Ground Plum

Polemonium reptans, Jacob’s Ladder

Viola palmata, Early Blue Violet

Viola pedata, Prairie Violet

Mid season:

Agastache foeniculum, Anise hyssop

Amorpha nana, Fragrant False Indigo

Melanthium virginicum, Bunchflower

Baptisia leucantha, White Wild Indigo

B. australis, Blue Wild Indigo

B. leucophaea, Cream Wild Indigo

B. minor, Dwarf Blue Indigo

Campanula americana, Harebell

Dodecatheon meadia, Shooting Star

Phlox pilosa, Prairie Phlox

P. glaberrima interior, Marsh Phlox

Asclepias tuberosa, Butterfly Weed

A. incarnata, Swamp Milkweed

Camassia scilloides, Wild Hyacinth

Iris Virginica shrevei, Southern Blue Flag

Late season:

Aster oblongifolius, Aromatic Aster

Aster azureus, Sky Blue Aster

Aster ericoides, Heath Aster

Amorpha canescens, Lead Plant

Cassia hebecarpa, Wild Senna

Coreopsis palmata, Prairie Coreopsis

Solidago speciosa, Showy Goldenrod

Lobelia cardinalis, Cardinal Flower

L. siphilitica, Great Blue Lobelia

Liatris pycnostachya, Prairie Blazing Star

Rudbeckia subtomentosa, Sweet Black-eyed Susan

The plant that I noticed with the most bees last growing season was the Agastache foeniculum, Anise Hyssop.  It had a very long bloom period, too.  I did deadhead the Anise hyssop to extend the blooming and also to limit the number of self-sown plants since we already have more then enough of those.  While working among and around these plants I heard a constant buzzing noise from bumble bees working the blossoms.  They were audible from several feet away but the only time I got stung was after I gave a feeding bee a big squeeze when I grabbed a bloom to deadhead without noticing the bee on the backside.

(Purple Milkweed)

We started out with lots of blue-purple blooms that were great but we definitely need some yellow and other colors out there, too. I understand that bees are partial to flowers of both hues and a variety of color works the best.   Some of the employees here have started vegetable gardens on nearby plots and a few colorful plantings of native plant species right in with the vegetables would be helpful in drawing in bees and other pollinators to increase the vegetable garden production. Since we do completely cultivate this area in the spring it makes sense that any perennials should go over by the asparagus and rhubarb.

I have an area at home where I have planted some native plants with some non-native perennials. It has been very interesting to compare the pollinator action at the natives versus non-natives.

Some of the showiest plants that I have in my personal garden are an abundance of Asiatic Lilies.

They don’t seem to garner much action in the insect world despite how large and enticing they look.  The peonies get the ants of course and maybe a few bees.  The hollyhocks seem to draw in a few bees, too. Overall, this neighborhood doesn’t seem to have much in the way of gardens or even wild spots, so I feel like any kind of habitat is a bit on the sparse side.  Right in the same bed I have Asclepias purpurascens, Purple Milkweed and Silene regia, Royal Catchfly and also lots of Echinacea purpurea, Purple Coneflower. These plants are always busy with bees and hummingbirds and during times of drought conditions I water them to keep something out there for the pollinators.

Sometimes I think that I am so sick of the ubiquitous Purple Coneflower as a garden plant but when I see how many bumblebees feed on it and also hummingbirds and butterflies, not to mention the finches that eat the seed, I start looking for a spot to plant some more.

(Purple Coneflower)

On a picture-hunting trip to the plant production beds last summer, Becky and I were struck with the number of bees feeding on Polymnia canadensis, Small-flowered Leafcup.

(Small-flowered Leafcup)

That one appeared to be a great hit with the bees even though the flowers were not that showy. I would like to know more about that species. Maybe we will start a patch closer to the office.

Another personal favorite is Scrophularia marilandica, Late Figwort. I do love this plant for its form and for the constant activity around its small brownish flowers.  It attracts many small, fast, high-flying insects that look like tiny bees but I think that at least some of these are hover flies. It’s very cool to watch and would make a great demonstration for kids.  I allow Late Figwort to reseed and thread itself through some other plants in my small messy native garden.  The knotted seed heads are just as cool as the flowers.  This is another native perennial that can continue to put out a little bloom even as it is making seed.  It makes a great partner with Campanula Americana, Tall Bellflower, both visually and as food for pollinators.

A few years after I included these natives the back garden became host to two colonies of ground bees. I got stung and so did my dogs but after that first initial unpleasantness, we just gave the holes a wide berth and as long as we did not thump around the openings we had no problems.

This year if time permits I will try to get some bee houses put up. Bee-house designs are widely available and look simple and inexpensive to construct. Maybe I can get my grandson involved in that. It seems to me that have noticed in my lifetime so much fear invested in the ideas of stinging bees, poisonous plants and snakes. These are all things to be aware of and respected but too much fear isn’t helpful.

I am not able to identify the different bee species yet but working on these plantings will get me started. There are many good websites out there with pictures and planting suggestions but all it really takes is to plant some flowering species that are native to your area.

http://www.xerces.org/bees/

http://www.pollinator.org/guides.htm

http://audubonmagazine.org/features0805/pollination.html

If you can stagger the bloom periods, use a variety of color and forgo pesticides, your planting will be most effective at feeding and attracting bees and other pollinating insects.

Lets start an information exchange about which species work well for you in your area. Does anyone have an American Basswood, Wild Plum, or other native trees that you can recommend for pollinators?

(Wild Senna)