Posts Tagged ‘bees’

Visualize Tolerance – Do the Eyes Have it?

Wednesday, June 23rd, 2010
A lovely garden scene marred by floating row cover

A lovely garden scene marred by floating row cover

Everyone has their tolerance level. Whether we’re talking how many weeds you’ll put up with in the garden or how many colors you’ll allow in your palette, there’s a level for everyone.

Today as I was working in my garden, I breathed a sigh of relief as I cleared away some of the ugliness I tolerate in the garden. And, I cheered for some of the beautiful results produced as a result of my tolerance for ugliness.  I present these photos for your consideration. Tell me, what would you tolerate?

First, consider growing in a broccoli in a garden visited throughout the growing season by brassica pest known as cabbage moth (really a butterfly). To protect it, I choose to cover it with floating row cover. This cover makes it impossible for the adult butterflies to lay their eggs on my delicious broccoli, which their caterpillar generation munches voraciously. The row cover interrupts the beauty of the overall garden design. But…

…a peek under the hood reveals big, delicious broccoli without caterpillar damage…no pesticide required! Dinner anyone?

A peek under the row cover reveals bountiful, pest-free broccoli

A peek under the row cover reveals bountiful, pest-free broccoli

After taking a peek at my drool-worthy broccoli, I decided to explore a few other eyesores in the garden. Having just passed solstice, we’re already on the slow march to winter. Shorter days are already happening. Cool season crops are under scrutiny for harvest. Warm season crops are beginning to make headway. It’s sometimes a juggle to stay on top of it all.

I decided today’s 75F weather was enough inspiration to dismantle the hoop houses around this year’s 3-Sister’s+ garden. I add the “+” because this bed not only contains the corn, squash and bean components of a 3-Sister’s garden, but it also has chard, lettuce, sunflowers, onions and marigolds. One area is also a bit overrun with lime thyme, but the bees love it. Once they flock to that favored flower, they’re likely to take a peek at the other flowers nearby — like the squash and beans! (more…)

  • Share/Bookmark

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Posted in Food for Thought | 3 Comments »

Growing a Greener World TV in My Garden

Wednesday, March 31st, 2010

For a month now I’ve been scrambling, with the help of many friends and my wonderful husband, to get ready for Joe Lamp’l (aka Joe Gardener) to visit my garden and film for a forthcoming episode of season one of Growing a Greener World TV, coming to PBS on May 15, 2010.

Joe Lamp'l Working with Director Carl

Joe Lamp'l Working with Director Carl

It’s been a month of learning a lot about bees, a month of hands-on gardening, a month of beg-borrow-steal-beg-for-help-from-friends, and a month of fun coordination with Joe and his Associate Producer (my friend) Theresa Loe. And, yesterday was the big day. So, of course, the sun barely came out, and it was really cold. Still, I had a fantastic time sharing my garden, the honeybees and insights about what I’ve learned so far about living with urban hives and building habitat to keep these bees happy, healthy and well fed and watered.

As I was putting the final touches on the garden yesterday, I started off the day hoping, wishing, praying and begging the sun to come out. The bees aren’t active in the cold. And, the bees were what the film crew wanted to capture most of all. Why the Winter-That-Never-Came decided to arrive in early Spring on the day that we really didn’t want it,  reminded me that Mother Nature is fickle and does whatever she darn well pleases. Fortunately, she didn’t dump rain on us all day. Despite a few sprinkles toward the end of our shooting time, we mostly enjoyed a frigid day with a bit of sunshine. Still, I probably should have worn a coat!

Joe, Theresa and I Discussing Plants Bees Love

Joe, Theresa and I Discussing Plants Bees Love

Along with my friends Joe and Theresa in the garden, Christina Salwitz also dropped by to say hello and snap loads of photos. When she walked in the door, she greeted me with a heartfelt, touching gift — tiny bee drop earrings by which to remember this day. I popped them in my ears, and I’ll be wearing them all the time from here on out — thank you Christina!

So, now that the ho0pla’s over I can relax a bit in the garden. The first round of spring clean up is done — and probably done better than I would have managed if I didn’t have this motivation. So, how does a gardening addict “relax”? Well, now, it’s time to really dive into getting the first of the edible seedlings out of the hardening off cold frame and into the hoop houses in the garden. Broccoli, cabbage, chard, lettuce and cauliflower are all ready to roll. Sure, they won’t be the ones to feed the bees, but my tomatoes aren’t far behind!

Thanks Corky of Ballard Bee Company. Thanks Bob. Thanks Catherine. Thanks Jessica. Thanks Christina. Thanks Jessi. Thanks Domanicos. Thanks Mari. Thanks Haaviks. Thanks Brad & Dave. Thanks Willi. And, thanks everyone else I may have missed who helped make my garden one to help illustrate the beauty of Growing a Greener World! And, thank you Growing a Greener World TV crew: Joe, Theresa, Carl and Leonard – you are just plain lovely to work with. Now…off to help someone else realize a beautiful garden in their little piece of our green world!

  • Share/Bookmark

Tags: , , , , ,
Posted in Gardening Television | 9 Comments »

Bee Here Now

Tuesday, March 9th, 2010

Yep, I can’t stop talking about my newest tenants. I’m pretty sure I have a crush on all of them.

First Brave Honeybees Exiting the Hive on a Cool Day

First Brave Honeybees Exiting the Hive on a Cool Day

They don’t pay rent. Instead, as they feed themselves and build their families, they earn their keep in my garden by pollinating. Or, er, they will when this cold weather passes and warm days encourage them to exit their hives to hit the blossoms. Right now, I’m closely watching the new honey bee hives Corky dropped off Sunday from Ballard Bee Company — a slight blast of sunlight and they start buzzing out to do their good works.

Plus, adding to the fun, I ran into Dave from Hunter’s Mason Bees just as he was dropping off my Orchard Mason Bee Boxes and tubes earlier today. And, how cute was the first male bee he had me hold?! That rambunctious guy had just hatched in his car during the warm drive over. Now, to find the time to get out and mount the boxes for the bee tubes on the South side of the house where it is warm — what the bees love.

Believe me, with Joe Lamp’l and his crew coming to meet and film my bees in my garden later this month for his new, forthcoming PBS Program, Growing a Greener World, I’m very focused on learning and sharing as much as I can about the bees in my garden! (And, yes, I’m trying to make my garden extra pretty early in the year. If the cold would pass, it would be a lot easier!)

Over the past several years, I’ve become more aware of the on-going declining populations in the bee world. I realize if they go, so too goes our food. These tiny little creatures not only produce the nectar of the gods (okay, that’s just the honeybees while there are so many other fantastic bees out there like my stinger-less masons.), but to produce it they have to do the work of spreading pollen from plant to plant — making fruits, nuts and what some would call vegetables. Still, I have so much more to learn — not only through reading and attending lectures, but also through observation and participation. And believe me, this garden mentor has a lot to learn from experts like Corky and Dave. For any of my clients I’ve talked into a glazey-eye’d stupor, know that these guys are putting me in my place in return! With the help of my new bee-keeping friends, I look forward to learning even more and continuing to do the right thing to improve the bees’ survival odds in our rapidly changing world.

Heck, today alone I convinced myself that I must add a Ceanothus to honor them; truly, this genus is an all-time bee favorite! And what fun it will be to watch and listen to them buzzing about its beautiful blue blossoms. Ah, a garden really is never done!

Stay tuned for more adventures with the bees! And be sure to tune in your DVR to catch Growing a Greener World, coming your local PBS affiliate later this year! You might even get a chance to see me dancing with the bees! Perhaps the motivation to bring even more urban hives to more communities around the world!

  • Share/Bookmark

Tags: , , , , , , , , ,
Posted in bees | 4 Comments »

New Report on Old Pesticides Harming Wildlife

Tuesday, April 21st, 2009

This just in: Biologists are naming 3 pesticides as harmful salmon including carbaryl, carbofuran and methomyl. This is in addition to three others named late last year:  malathion, diazinon and chlorpyrifos.

Carbaryl is also known by the trade name Sevin, which also harms bees as discussed here.  It, as well as malathion,  is also contained in other products as I found out last year when a reader asked me to look into Bonide Tree Fruit spray.  Carbaryl also makes an appearance in lawn care products.

Read more here about this study, the pesticides, the implications, the changes and recommended practices to help keep salmon (among other wildlife) safe.

  • Share/Bookmark

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Posted in IPM, bees, pesticides | No Comments »

UVA Study Reports Pollution Reduces Flower Fragrance & Bee Populations

Tuesday, June 10th, 2008

A fellow horty recently emailed me a link to the UVA newspaper  that reported earlier this spring that pollution is reducing the fragrance in flowers. In turn they have linked the reduction in flower fragrance to the diminishing populations of bees.

Unfortunately, the diminishing bee populations are becoming more and more apparent to me in my own little urban garden. Plants like rosemary, blueberries and rhododendrons that have, in past years, been swarmed with bees are visited this year by just a few intermittent buzzing bees. And, this year the honeybees are almost completely absent. Bumblebees are still finding me as are hover flies, but even they are fewer in number. And, so far, not one bald faced hornet has shown his glowing white and black face to me.

Yes, our spring has been unseasonably cold and wet, but we have had many hot days. Too, my greenhouse door is often open, and pollenators tend to head for the heat and flowers in it. A few yellow jackets, many flies, a couple of bumble bees and some parasitic wasps have made it in, but so far no honeybees. (Yes, some get caught on sticky traps and others just get confused in the ceiling, which is how I have an idea of what comes in. When I can I help them find their way out.)

What are your observations about bees and other pollenators this year and in years past?

  • Share/Bookmark

Tags: , ,
Posted in bees, pollenators | 2 Comments »