I have a fondness for any kind of weeping tree. Here is a picture of my Weeping Pussy Willow Tree
beside the front entrance of my house. This is a tree that grows fast and is easy to grow and the bees LOVE it! It is one of the earliest trees to bloom in the spring and was simply covered with bees last spring. I do know that honeybees love all kinds of willows and this is certainly no exception. When we moved to our house a few years ago this was the first thing I ordered to plant outside. I loved it even before I became a beekeeper. You see last year was our first year to begin this beekeeping adventure and we were anxiously awaiting our first packages of bees.... On a warm spring day I was taking a tour of my yard and noticed the honeybees happily covering this tree! These were not even my bees because we hadn't even received ours yet! I was so excited and wondered if all these years when I was not even thinking about honeybees, they have been right under my nose the whole time - doing what they do best and I did not even notice! A warm, sunny spring morning and the contented sound of the bees buzzing and I was oblivious for so many years. I simply cannot wait to get a picture of this tree this spring covered with my girls. Just hoping all the frigid temperatures, snow and ice have not harmed this tree and all the other flowers I planted that will attract the ultimate pollinators.
I now have two shoots from this weeping pussy willow growing in pots over the winter to be transplanted as soon as possible this spring. I also have a couple of the bigger Weeping Willow
trees in my yard and hope they are big enough this year for the bees to enjoy also.Just wondering what kinds of trees and flowers you have planted to attract the honeybees to your space?
I would love to hear your stories!
Hi Dee. My mountain bees love lamb's ear. It's not my favorite plant, but the bees can't get enough of it so I've transplanted all over my garden. I also grow borage. Throw out a few seeds and you'll have it for life! Another favorite is tardiva hydrangea. It thrives in mountain soil and blooms late into the fall so is great for late season. Thanks for the tip about the pussy willow. That will be on my next order.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the comments and the follow. I am getting ready to place my seed order soon and have so many things I want to try and will have to till up more space! I will have to see if those will work in my zone, I know the Borage will, hope the lambs ear will too. I can see my list growing!
ReplyDeleteHi Dee, apart from all the herbs, especially hyssop that my bees love, they also seek out many of our native trees and plants, especially flax or Phormium tenax, hebes, pohutukawa, manuka, kanuka and many others. NZ bush honey is divine, quite dark and a mixture of tastes. My honey here at home is very sweet and floral. Early settlers and others over the years have introduced hundreds of plants to NZ, many have developed into weeds because our climate is temperate and plants grow very quickly here, ie gorse, wild ginger and other garden `escapees`, tradscantia is a real problem as our winters don`t kill anything or force them into hibernation so these climbing plants get out into our native bush and strangle trees, ivy is bad also.
ReplyDeleteHi Ngaio, I have not heard of most of those plants native to New Zealand! I imagine that you have many wonderful sources for the bees. I did plant hyssop last year, along with bee balm, thyme, asters and bachelor button (annual). I also had some salvia and lavender in my front garden that they enjoyed. We have a lot of white clover around and I think that most of our honey was from the clover - our honey was very light and sweet.
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