roddey
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Bees, bees and more bees

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I live in a farming intensive area, main crops are almonds, walnuts, rice. The insects are in severe decline so I gave them a sanctuary in our small town. There is no insecticides(besides mosquito control by the city) sprayed on this property. This is about 1 year of growth in California . If more people would do this, instead of grass, shrubs and the like(looks like a sea of green around here)it could give the wild bees a chance. The bees, hummingbirds, have found it and there feeding everyday. Not much butterflies unfortunately.
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roddey
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All the food grown around the county and I only eat a handful of it a year. I do eat rice, but not the kind grown here. I agree with the Japanese, during negotiation on trade they agreed to buy some of the rice from the USA. They used it as animal feed, as no one would buy it. I eat jasmin rice from Asia.
So I live in a food desert, export style.

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applestar
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Location: Zone 6, NJ (3/M)4/E ~ 10/M(11/B)

Everything looks beautiful. Looks like you have plenty of nectar plants.

Are you also growing butterfly caterpillar food plants? That would definitely draw the butterflies to your garden. In addition to the more common butterflies as well as the Monarch butterflies that are regular visitors, I grow plants in hopes of attracting some butterflies that are rare around here. No luck yet with Baltimore Checkerspot — we are just a little bit too fringe/too far — but I HAVE seen the Spicebush Swallowtail considering my tiny spicebush (just as well it decided it wasn’t worth it) .. but my baby Spice Bush seedlings are growing and I’m going to increase the existing patch and plant another one.

I still have to get the Pipevine and grow it somewhere for Pipevine Swallowtails, but my Pawpaw trees are getting bigger and could host caterpillars if Zebra Swallowtails would ever find them.

roddey
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Thank you. You know, I knew about the decline in pollinators, but became more aware of it in my area because while I was waiting in the car while someone shopped, there was a gentleman in the next car to me and we started talking. He is a volunteer who monitors the wild bee populations in the area. While we were talking I told him I was about ready to plant my new landscaped area, and he asked me to try to plant nectar plants. He said that he was in town to collect samples from the oleanders in the division strips of the freeway. I guess its toxic to bees but they can collect the flowers and count the bees to give them a idea of how well there doing. Not good according to him. The ones left were in areas of town were there is no spraying. He also said that the towns is were there trying to get business and residence to change there landscaping behavior, to plant more appropriate plants to protect the bees. He said they did not make any headway at the commercial end of it, but his talk to me stuck. I decided to follow his advice and its actually makes a beautiful landscaping.

roddey
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I am reading about plants that supply food to butterflies. Thanks

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applestar
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Location: Zone 6, NJ (3/M)4/E ~ 10/M(11/B)

I LOVE IT!! It’s really so great that you did this.


And Oooh! That’s going to be a whole new project for you, but since you are already committed to chemical-free gardening, your garden will become a wonderful sanctuary for butterflies as well as the pollinators. Soon you will be saying (Pacific coast equivalent of) — oh, there’s the Grey Hairstreak ...probably from the clover, and Red Admiral has found the nettle patch, I guess no more harvesting for the rest of the season.... what’s that? Oooh a Buckeye! They must have found the plantain patch! :D

...something has been using the violets as host plant... I must find out what. :wink:

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Aida
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Location: Central Florida

So pretty! Hopefully some of your neighbors will be inspired and do the same. What a wonderful way to help out the local wildlife, and build a beautiful yard, too.

imafan26
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Location: Hawaii, zone 12a 587 ft elev.

June 18-24 is pollinator week. There should be all kinds of events planned all over the country. You can even register your garden as a pollinator garden in the million pollinator garden challenge
https://pollinator.org/million-pollinato ... -challenge
https://pollinator.org/
The great sunflower project is also a fun activity. You can even get free lemon queen sunflower seeds by joining part of the project monitoring the health of the pollinators
https://www.greatsunflower.org/
In June we will be putting on our annual pollinator event at the Urban Garden Center in Pearl City, Oahu. We will have the native hawaiian butterfly as well as the butterfly lady with monarchs in tents. We will have some pollinator and beneficial insect nectar and host plants for sale including milkweeds for the monarchs. We have planted a pollinator garden. Unfortunately most of the sunflowers bloomed a couple of week ago but a few buds may still come out. The heads are attracting cardinals. We will have a pollinator pledge and kids will be able to put their palms prints on a mural the palms will be the flowers on the painted stems. We have head in the hole sunflowers and bees.

We don't have honey because of the heavy rains and flooding a couple of months ago. The University's Waimanalo station lost some hives and the farmers lost their crops. The bees had no flowers to forage on so they ate their honey stores and beekeepers are feeding their bees now on the other side of the island.

Usually the honey flow would have started by now. We lost one hive because the rain kept bees from foraging and our weak hive was robbed. We just treated the hives with MAQ's for varoa mites and hope that will get them stronger. We did not have flooding on our side of the island so there is forage for the bees when it doesn't rain. The bees were out today en masse on the basil.

The pollinator garden that was planted has flowers, herbs and crops that attract bees, butterflies as well as beneficial insects like soldier beetles, pirate beetles, syrphid flies, parasitic wasps, lacewings, ladybugs and a few garden spiders. It also attracts grasshoppers, birds, moths, skippers, and flower beetles. It is not as neat as your garden. In fact, it has a definite wild look to it and it has a lot of weeds as well.

roddey
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I am not yet finished for me to submit for a competition. I just planted Santa Barbara Mexican Sage and some of the plants that went in last year are just now starting to grow well. Last year was hot in California, and I was struggling with the heat and enough water as the root systems were not established and water is expensive for the resident.
Last edited by roddey on Sun May 27, 2018 6:52 pm, edited 1 time in total.

roddey
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Here is a doc. explaining how people lost there human rights to clean, reliable, and affordable water in Calif.
“Water & Power: A California Heist”

Ksk
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This is great! You did great work. I did a bee garden (meadow style) this spring and found that the bees are crazy about yellow sweet clover. There are so many bees on these you can here a loud buzz all day. They work so hard. The smell is intoxicating. I will add butterfly weed and milkweed next year. I also live in an agriculture area.
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imafan26
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Location: Hawaii, zone 12a 587 ft elev.

Great choices. It is always a good idea to try to plant native plants in your area. To attract bees and other pollinators, it is important to provide a habitat. Shrubs trees, hollow logs, over turned broken pots, artificial beehives for homes and shelter, a shallow tray of water with pebbles in it especially in the summer as a water source. Most of all, a diversified landscape of nectar and pollen plants that will bloom in succession to provide a food source all season or year long.

I have basil which I allow to flower all year, cuphea, and alyssum also bloom year round for me. Seasonally, I will have alliums, cucurbits, roses, corn, Asian greens, and honeysuckle. Most tropical plants are pollinated by wasps, solitary bees, birds, moth, beetles, ants, and midges.



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