Bee Garden Plant List, the Good and the Toxic

I was recently looking through my beloved seed catalogs -- one of my favorite pasttimes, usually a winter exercise. Now it's been extended into a year-long exercise in patience and anticipation because of our decision earlier in the year to keep only herbs and trees (in buckets, of course, ha!), but not to grow any spring or summer-bearing plants. Ergo, no "true" garden -- and it's sheer torture seeing all the bounty growing in everyone else's gardens just now, but always a thrill to see what's doing well for different folks, and always a kick seeing the harvests coming in and what they become...meals, pickles, jams, home-canned goods, pantry staples, baked goods, soaps, papers, forages, cover crops, etc. Mmmmmm!!

My husband uttered some very dangerous words the other day, as he was looking at the buckets of green things and thinking into the future to the months we can grow seasonal crops..."we need to grow some flowers."

It's a very dangerous sentence to say aloud in my presence!

Flowers and flowering things are to me what fancy cars, great chocolate, and a getaway weekend cruise are to some folks. Or maybe they are my "beauty fix," or some soothing form of therapy. I love watching bees and insects exploring dancing floral stems, and love the worlds contained there, if I'm still enough to stop and observe. I love that some are smooth, others downy with fine hairs, and yet others are jewels set in a tangled fortress inhabited by every sort of small creature.

I'm not sure why, but as I've grown older, my preferences in flowering plants have transformed from the "perfected" hybrids to the more earthy naturally-occuring forms of these plants, which often are more highly specialized in certain respects, such as native vigor, exquisite fragrance, more natural form, and specific bloom times. My first experiment with this was years ago, when I bought a lot of roses from Jackson and Perkins, among which were hybrids and old-fashioned varieties. The hybrids were little showmen, but lacked...something. The old-fashioneds quickly sorted themselves out into two categories...survivors and casualties...either they thrived or they just died...my first gardening lesson in choosing plants suited to geographic location. The old-fashioneds bloomed only for a few weeks during a particular time of year, specific to their type, but were they ever a riot of beauty then! And the fragrances were beyond description...fragrances never captured in today's bottled perfumes. In the end, the hybrids were dug up and given away to people skilled in nurturing fussy plants, and the other survivors stayed and lived on happily.

What does this have to do with Bee Garden plants?

Lesson learned...look for plants suitable to locale first...

And mine, now, will only be open-pollinated organic seeds and starts. The thing bees and I have in common?

We adore flowers...

--------------------------

Here is the broad list I've compiled so far. They are the common names, rather than the Latin...a more complete list by Latin names is included at the bottom. These are a wide variety of plants good for either their forage, nectar, pollen, and out-of-season food extendering qualities-- primarly for honeybees, even though many of these would be great for other types of bees and pollinators as well.

I'll narrow these down with more research into which ones are specific to my region. The nice thing is that many of these plants are adaptable to many regions nationwide, and perhaps worldwide.

I'm trying to be cautious about two things:
1. Being aware of what plants are toxic to bees, or would taint the honey of honeybees or make the honey undesirable/toxic to humans.
2. Wanting to incorporate these flowers INTO an existing garden diversity of vegetables, fruit trees, herbs, etc., rather than as an isolated "bee crop." We'll be depending on our garden to be our supermarket, and we need those bees to pollinate ALL the available plants. It IS possible to plant bee-loving plants so heavily that they actually draw pollinators AWAY FROM gardens and orchards. I want the plants to be incorporated amidst each other for diversity and the potager-type garden mixed-planting beauty...more like nature does. I don't want to have a separate garden removed from the veggies, etc., that competes for pollinators to the exclusion of the other plants receiving the pollinators' attention. So, in conclusion, the bee-loving plants need to be suitable to grow among the other plants in a diverse garden setting. I don't want to introduce plants into my garden that would be invasive, or harmful to the surrounding plants...thistle would be such a plant. Some plants would be better suited to a meadow situation, fenceline, or wilder areas. Another consideration would be to situate certain plants as to their companionability to certain other plants. Basil does well near tomatoes. I need to hone my research of the following list to see what companion plants each plant is best suited for.

Here's the list! (in no particular order)

Rocky Mt. Bee Plant
Bee Balm
Fireweed
Honey Locust trees
Clovers
Legumes
Raspberries
Asters
Hyssop
Anise Hyssop
Buckwheat
Sunflowers
Elderberry
Wild Plum Tree
Mulberry Tree
Phacelia Tanacetifolia
Mints
Borage
Mexican Sunflower
Hollyhock
Nasturstium
Nicotiana
Stevia (??)
Tupelo Tree
Redbud Tree
Maple Trees
Blackberry
Ajuga
Tulip Poplar Tree
Honeysuckles
Privets
Chaste Tree
Sourwood Tree
Sumac Shrub/Tree
Crape Myrtle Shrub/Tree
Echinacea/Purple Coneflower
Partridge Pea
Brazilian Pepper Bush (invasive)
Goldenrod
Black Eyed Susan
Joe Pye Weed
Currant Bush
Sages/Salvias
Willows
Basils
Cotoneaster
Lavenders
Globe thistle
Hyssops
Marjoram
Rosemary
Wallflower
Zinnia
Comfrey
Germander
Veronica
Nasturtium
Buglass
Chamomile
Chicory
Dropwort
Fennel
Ground Ivy
Hyssop
Lavender
Marjoram
Melilot
Dead Nettle
Queen of the Meadow
Winter Savory
Fuschia
Blanket Flower
Snapdragon
Rosemary
Pincushion
Goldenrod
Yarrow
Milkweed
Aster
Bellflower
Cornflower
Chrysanthemum
Lily of the Valley
Foxglove
Fleabane
Russian Sage
Sages
Buckwheat
Lungwort
Pulsatilla (Pasque Fl)
Lemon Balm
Thyme
Borage
Snakeroot
Button Bush
Russian Olive
Hebe
Bush Clover
Spice bush
Bush Cherry
Firethorn
Sumac
Pussy Willow
Thimbleberry
Snowberry
Blueberry
Lingonberry
Cranberry
Manzanita (UvaUrsi)
Oregon Grape
Mock Orange
Hollies
Desert Willow
Crape Myrtle (pruned to bush)
Escallonia
Catmint
Catnip
Clovers
Cresses
All Mints
Teasel
Daphne
Dandelion
Wineberry
Honeysuckles
Loquat
Bee Bee Tree
Silverbell Trees
Hollies
Quince
Redbud
Lilacs
Blue Mist (Coryopteris)
Serviceberry
Plum trees
Dwarf fruit trees
Hazels
Alder
Medlar
Crape Myrtle
Golden Raintree
Tulip Tree (Yellow Poplar)
Abelia
Tree of Heaven
Acacia (Locust or Wattle)
Maples (Red, Silver, Sugar etc)
Devil's Walking Stick
American Yellow Wood
Summer Sweet
Cotoneaster
Hawthorn
Tupelo (black gum)
Sorrel (Sourwood)
Willows
Basswood
Linden
Elm
Chaste Tree
Persimmon
Horse Chestnut
Chinese and Oregon Ash
Apples
Cherries
Peach
Apricot
Plum
Pears
Citrus (all varieties)
Corn
Tomatoes
Peppers
Cucumbers
Melons
Beans
Legumes
Maples
Alder
Dandelion
Winter Honeysuckle
Willows
Pussy Willow
Peaches
Plums
Apples
Buckwheat
Crabapples
Asters
Calliopsis
Clover
Marigolds
Poppies
Sunflowers
Zinnias
Buttercups
Clematis
Cosmos
Crocuses
Dahlias
Echinacea
English Ivy
Foxglove
Geraniums
Germander
Globe Thistle
Hollyhocks
Hyacinth
Rock Cress
Roses
Sedum
Snowdrops
Squills
Tansy
Yellow Hyssop
Blackberries
Cantaloupe
Cucumbers
Gourds
Peppers
Pumpkins
Raspberries
Squash
Strawberries
Watermelons
Wild Garlic
Borage
Catnip
Coriander/Cilantro
Fennel
Mints
Rosemary
Sage
Thyme
Blueberry
Butterfly Bush
Button Bush
Honeysuckle
Indigo
Privets
Alders
Basswood
Black Gum
Black Locust
Buckeyes
Catalpa
Eastern Redbud
Fruit Trees (especially Crabapples)
Golden Rain Tree (poisonous flowers to people)
Hawthorns
Hazels
Linden
Magnolia
Maples
Mountain Ash
Sycamore
Tulip
Poplar
Willows
gallberry
citrus
tupelo
saw palmetto
melaleuca
Brazilian pepper
cabbage palm
black mangrove tree
Spanish needles plant
Seagrape
Pepper vine
Fetterbush
Gopher Apple
Buckwheat Tree/Spring Ti Ti
Buttonbush
Coral Vine
Summer Farewell
Trailing Chinquapin
Cowpeas
Curcubits (cucumbers, squashes, watermelons, cantaloupes, etc)
Lespedeza
Mango
Avocado
Snap beans
Birdsfoot Trefoil
Vetches
American and Chinese Hollies
Caroline Laurelcherry
Chinese Tallow Tree
Tulip Tree
Southern Magnolia
Cassava
Sweetbay Magnolia
Glossy Abelia Shrub
Privets and Ligustrums
Scarlet Dombeya
Yaupon
Sweet Acacia/ Mesquite
Common Mesquite
Forget-me-Not
Baby Blue Eyes
Siberina Wallflower
Cosmos
Annual Gaillardia
Corn Poppy
California Poppy
Common Mignonette
Globe Gilia
Plains Coreopsis
Lance-leaved Coreopsis
Black-eyed Susan
Bergamot/ Bee Balm
Fleabane Daisy

For a more complete list by Latin name, you can link here.

(forgive the repetition of some of the things on the list...I compiled it from various sources and have to fine-tune it yet)

Here's the Bad Boy list...plants you DON'T want bees near

Summer Ti Ti...(produces "purple brood")
Yellow Jessamine/ Gelsemium Sempervirens/ Carolina Jasmine/ Evening Trumpetflower/ Woodbine (toxic to honeybees, causes brood death)
Star Lily/Deathcamus Zigadenus genus of plants (pollen is poisonous to bees)
Heliconia genus -- false bird of paradise (toxic to bees)
Spathodea Tree/ Fountain Tree/ Africa Tulip Tree/ Flame-of-the-Forest/ Nandi Flame
Balsa Tree (toxic to bees)
Aesculus Californica/ California Buckeye/ California Horse-chestnut (toxic pollen and nectar)
Neottica Orchid (toxic to bees)
Rhododendrum Ponticum/ Azalea Pontica/ Common Rhododendron (produces honey toxic to humans)
Andromeda Polifolia/ Bog Rosemary (honey that paralyses limbs)
Mountain Laurel/ Kalmia Latifolia/ Spoonwood/Calico Bush/ (honey toxic to humans)

Sheep Laurel (honey toxic to humans)

Azaleas (honey toxic to humans)
Wharangi Bush/ Melicope/ Corkwood/ Doughwood/ Alani (honey fatally toxic to humans)
Datura (honey toxic to humans)
Belladonna/ Deadly Nightshade/ Amaryllis (toxic honey)
Henbane/Stinking Nightshade (toxic honey)
Serjania Lethalis (from Brazil; (toxic honey)

Tutu bushes/ Coriaria Arborea --found in New Zealand --(toxic honey)

Vine Hopper Insect (feeds on Tutu bushes) -- in New Zealand --(toxic honey)

Oleander (toxic honey)

A note about this list:

I am unaware if these toxicities are in honey made exclusively from these plants, or if they result when the above plants are a primary nectar/pollen/forage source rather than being a safer part of a more diverse whole. I'm also not a bee-keeper, yet. I'm aware there are mountain laurels and rhododendrons in the wild in areas where there has never been any negative report of compromised honey or ill effects on bees. I also consider the internet sources a jumping-off place to do further specific research, and don't recommend banning OR embracing a recommendation based solely on something found on a webpage. It's simply a starting place. Do NOT rely on my toxic list above as your guide in what to avoid for bees...it's here as a jumping-off place to raise a possible concern. Each individual is responsible to do more complete research for their own health concerns and that of their bees. I list here only in order for us to compare notes and highlight possible concerns in network-fashion.

If you know of any plants missing from either list, I'd love to know them and add them to our resource book. We're compiling a looseleaf book for different homestead categories as a ready note-taking and comparison tool, and it'll be a work in progress.

It will be fun when we can actually get started keeping honeybees, hopefully in the not-too-distant future.

As we choose flowers for our garden, and incorporating many of them potage-style side by side with the veggies and berries, the very first ones we'll bear in mind will be the ones bees love.

Future lists to come...

Beneficial insect plants

Edible Flowers

Fragrance Plants

Medicinals

Companion Plants

Trap crops

Green manures

Forages/feed supplements for livestock and poultry

Pest Repellant Plants

Holistic Animal Care Plants

Companionable Companion Plants

I'm a born book-a-holic, yet I'm tryingggg to control my urge to spend money right now, and this primarily applies to the purchase of garden-related books.

Some of the books I've most enjoyed from the library include lists of plants that are beneficial when planted near each other, otherwise known as companion plants. I need a list I can mark with notations in ink and highlight with markers, so back to the computer I came, to find some resources from which to glean...and print.

I found, of course, myriad links! Thankfully, the concept of companion planting is not new and is being implemented by many gardeners. In encouraging diversity in a garden environment, flowers, herbs, and vegetables can populate a shared space with many benefits to each, not to mention the boost they provide in attracting beneficial insects and pollinators.

A related concept is the potager, or French Kitchen garden concept, which also features the advantageous and beautiful combining of edible plants and flowers. The subject of potager garden is what first led me to the discovery of one of the blogs on my blogroll...a favorite, of course...La Ferme de Sourrou. It's a treasure trove of potager discovery! If you love potagers, or if you're curious about them, you'll also not want to miss a site I just discovered today, called Everything French Gardening. What a beautiful article about companion planting and the role it's played in European gardens for such a long time now. You'll have SUCH a hard time leaving that page.... :)

The more we grow things, the more I anticipate the garden as an living community, humming with every sort of insect and pollinator, birds, butterflies, toads, turtles, lizards. I love to while away time working or observing growing things and the worlds that are around, beneath, and within them. It seems like each plant is the backbone of a robust parade of living creatures seen and unseen, and I love being a private audience as ants build civilizations, lizards court, and flying insects explore. (I'll pass on romanticizing about the poisionous snakes, though :))

I've had my fill of sterile landscaping and uneaten lawns tightly clipped and preserved with applications of chemicals and weeded with Roundup. We don't do that ourselves, but it's prevalent in our community. I suppose the older I've become, the more child-like my preferences have become...sort of a coming full circle to the wonder of childhood and its penchant for messy woodlands and riotous gardens rather than perfectly spherical boxwoods in wood mulch with nary a creature found hiding.

There are many things I look so forward to when we can plant next year, and one of those is exploring the lists of companion plants, especially since we hope to have bees by then, both mason bees and honeybees. I want pollinators to see our plants, and hum with glee at the banquet before them! Perusing these lists fills in my wish list of the necessities with unexpected possibilities of additional herbs and flowers and bee-loving plants. It gives me ideas for new pairings of ingredients in recipes, seasonings to play with, bouquets to fill Mason jars on the window ledge, flavorings for vinegars and pickles, bold and playful salad amendments.

Anyway, without further ado, here's only one of many, many lists to be found on a most basic of internet searches: Alphabetical List of Companion Plants

In our experiments creating our own backyard grocery store (for that's what a garden should be, right?), it's made all the more fun by learning to "play with our food." The addition of companion plants are not only beneficial to plant health, but can include so many combinations that any simple plot can become a diverse Wonderland...

:)

Stop the Press!

...Toby and Maria have built their first top bar bee hive! Check out the great pictures and post here. Plus you'll love looking at their cordwood house that just got its C.O....

too good not to share...go there, if you haven't been already...you're sure to enjoy!

Bee Friendly Seeds!

While knocking around the Seedman site, I ran across this seed mix, which will warm the cockles of every bee-lovers heart!

In the article, he writes the following (emboldend print mine):

"After a year of testing this mix, we are not making it available to everyone."

Ah, the wayward typo!! heehee I'm fairly sure he is NOW making it available to everyone, since there doesn't seem to be a screening process on the order form ;-)

I frequently see seed mixes for butterfly gardens and wild birds or hummingbirds. It's refreshing to see more coming along for bees!



If you LOVE bees, want to encourage your pollinators, and love beauty, this might be a terrific seed mix to accompany your other organic garden regulars. (Remember, pesticides kill bees...organic is the way to go for all concerned) We hope to one day keep bees, and will be reading up on others' efforts to keep bees organically. (Here's one such site) There are organic beekeeping clubs out there, and publications (one shown below). If you keep bees organically, we'd love to hear from you or be sent your link!



I LOVE the idea of bee-friendly plants intermixed with vegetables in the garden. An idea I've had for some time involves alternating rows of vegetables with rows of plants such as anise hyssop (below), lemon balm, and other bee-friendly crops for just such a purpose.

We currently are gardening in pots rather than raised beds or rows, but the time will come (we hope!) We still have a few individual bee-friendly plants among the herbs we keep in pots; hopefully it'll be done on a much larger scale.

Here is a wonderful list of plants to include to keep your bees happy...and here's another :)

I look forward to future years filled with the happy hum of these wonderful pollinators, who are such a benefit to our plants and trees. The sight of happy bees buzzing amidst growing things fills me with real hope and optimism.

Bee photo from http://www.groovygreen.com/groove/?p=1388

Bee Bliss

Still practicing with the new camera. I feel like a Peeping Tom...


Close ...

Closer...

Bee in pollen paradise...

:)

(Reminder to love your pollinators...please don't spray your plants. Your plants love the bees as much the bees love them. If you're not sure, just watch for a couple of seconds. The flower literally dances on the breeze, giving nectar and pollen, as the bee nestles into its glory of color, scent, and food...assuring the prosperity and continuation of each. Harmony. We humans should do so well :))

OK, I'll get back to some content rather than superficial posting...just having fun seeing the world through a whole new lens!

Later note: After looking for some pictures to identify the type of bee this might bee, er be, I'm thinking it might be a digger bee. The stand of wildflowers was covered with these bees, and they did not seem aggressive, and were too small to be a bumblebee. They seemed fuzzier than what I think of as a honeybee. Does anyone know from looking at the pictures? The identification information I found was on this page. Sadly, some links took me to exterminator sites, which termed the Digger Bee as "pest" even though admittedly they burrow into the ground, are harmless, and don't sting. And they are especially GREAT pollinators, loving flowers. It's frustrating that they're targeted as pests, simply because they happen to be bees. Why do we have to destroy these creatures that go about minding their own business and HELPING us by pollinating our plants, just because we're conditioned to say "ewwww" to flying things? Not me...I "dig" the Digger!

Official Pollinator Report, Postage Stamps, Ntl. Pollinator Week

These, from The National Academy of Sciences
http://www.nappc.org/index.html, and the links to partner sites

Pollinator.Org
http://www.pollinator.org/

and Coevolution.Org
http://www.coevolution.org/



I. Status of Pollinators in North America (Report/Brief): From the National Academy of Sciences Study

http://dels.nas.edu/dels/rpt_briefs/pollinators_brief_final.pdf


II. New "Pollination" stamp series for release in June 2007: From the U.S. Postal Service

http://www.pollinator.org/Resources/USPSsr06_048.pdf


III. U. S. Senate Resolution to protect pollinators, designates June 24-30, 2007 as National Pollinator Week

http://www.pollinator.org/Resources/NationalPollinatorWeek-PROC.pdf

Pollination Project: What is Pollination? The A-Bee-Cs

Here's the simplest of intros to the Pollination project...

I've known it's about the birds and the bees, but when it comes to the topic of pollination, I've been woefully in the dark beyond the basic understanding that Something Pollen-ish meets up with Something Plant-ish to make More Plants, and that the "birds and the bees" are somewhat critical to the pollen transfer thereof.

After some reading, I'm going to boil it down to the simple facts, for myself, of what happens during pollenation.

Here's the Big P as I now understand it:

1. Hold onto your hats. Remember pollen? That stuff that drifts through the air in record counts during certain times of the year, much to the irritation of noses everywhere, and to the prosperity of allergists? It appears that pollen is the equivalent of plant sperm. Apparently, the male part of a plant releases pollen, and when joined with the female part of the plant which contains the egg, you have both sex cells joined in fertilization. So, when we're sneezing during hayfever season, we can rest assured those pollen drifts are a whole lot of plant macho going on.

2. Pollination = Plant fertilization via the above-mentioned process. Cha-cha-cha!

3. Pollination/Fertilization of plants is what accounts for the making of new Seeds and Fruits. Which is good...reproduction and FOOD for man and beast. According to Encarta

"Virtually all grains, fruits, vegetables, wildflowers, and trees must be pollinated and fertilized to produce seed or fruit, and pollination is vital for the production of critically important agricultural crops, including corn, wheat, rice, apples, oranges, tomatoes, and squash."

4. Pollination must be accomplished by plants of the same species...a rose is a rose is a rose...you can't cross a rose with a spruce...or oughtn't.

5. There are two types of pollination: Cross-pollination and self-pollination. Some species can accomplish both. Borrowing again quite heavily from Encarta

"Most plants are designed for cross-pollination, in which pollen is transferred between different plants of the same species. Cross-pollination ensures that beneficial genes are transmitted relatively rapidly to succeeding generations... Cross-pollination introduces genetic diversity into the population at a rate that enables the species to cope with a changing environment. New genes ensure that at least some individuals can endure new diseases, climate changes, or new predators, enabling the species as a whole to survive and reproduce."

Cross-pollination has become compromised in our "modern" world by the wide usage of genetically-altered "improved" plants. As these plants' pollen is carried by pollinators to non-altered crops, the non-altered crops are compromised and a "pure" source is harder to ensure. This is a HUGE issue, and I won't treat it here...yet. But DO read up on it. Just Google GM or GE foods and Monsanto. 'Nuff said for now.

Also in the news is a sort of horrid irony related to cross pollination. As some crops are "engineered" by man to not need pollination, we have such news flashes as the recent lawsuit AGAINST honeybeekeepers by the growers of hybrid Clementine oranges, whose crops, it is claimed, are "compromised" by these pollinators. It seems the bees do their job, but the Clementine variety orange growers can't keep their crops "sterile" because of cross-pollination. And so they're suing...the beekeepers! Oh give me an ever-lovin' break...

OK, back on topic

"In self-pollination, pollen is transferred from the stamens to the pistil within one flower. The resulting seeds and the plants they produce inherit the genetic information of only one parent, and the new plants are genetically identical to the parent. The advantage of self-pollination is the assurance of seed production when no pollinators, such as bees or birds, are present. It also sets the stage for rapid propagation—weeds typically self-pollinate, and they can produce an entire population from a single plant. The primary disadvantage of self-pollination is that it results in genetic uniformity of the population, which makes the population vulnerable to extinction by, for example, a single devastating disease to which all the genetically identical plants are equally susceptible. Another disadvantage is that beneficial genes do not spread as rapidly as in cross-pollination, because one plant with a beneficial gene can transmit it only to its own offspring and not to other plants. Self-pollination evolved later than cross-pollination, and may have developed as a survival mechanism in harsh environments where pollinators were scarce."

Which of these two types of pollination occurs is what determines, in the plant world, the answer to "who's your daddy?"

In general, cross-pollination insures vigor, adaptability, and biodiversity...instead of a plant species reproducing for just one set of qualities, a broad scope of qualities of any given species that's cross-pollinated can insure its continued adaptation and survival AND its broader scope of usefulness to the creatures whose survival is hinged to it. Less susceptibility to eradication via a strong diversity keeps that link in the chain strong not only for the plant species itself, but for the other animal and insect species whose populations are also vulnerable to eradication, and are having to constantly adapt.

6. Since plants are stationary, in order for most pollination to occur, it requires outside intervention. Pollen transfer can be achieved by different methods...in some species, by the wind, and in others, by the movements of bees, birds, butterflies, insects, bats, and mice. Without these carriers, it cannot "travel."

Or in other words, plants "get frisky" best via pollinators.

The topic is far more detailed and interesting than the brief description I've bulleted here, in case anyone wants to engage in some pretty fascinating reading about just how beautifully this process unfolds, and how intricate is the pollination interaction of different species. Conifers have a different specialized way of reproducing than do most flowers, and so on.

But for now, I just wanted to enter a brief description of the basics, so that we know what we're talking about when we begin venturing into the areas related to those who help the process...the pollinators.

Pollination may seem a subject fit more for a botanist than the man on the street, but pollination affects nearly all the plant life we see around us, the continuation of plant reproduction, and the food we eat. Breaking this chain would be akin to our society suddenly believing it can rely upon test tubes for most human reproduction. Certainly, on some small scale, it can be "managed." But it can never be the same world if man eliminates the existing order by believing it's an adequate substitute to "play God."

All of the above statements are written AS I UNDERSTAND THEM. I am not a scientist, but I am an observer and participant in the natural world. Please feel free to correct me if I am in error on any specific point. I'm trying to grasp the big picture while at the same time having a clue about how the pieces fit together...so I can be informed and better understand how to cooperate WITH the order already designed to keep this created world thriving DESPITE humankind's steps backwards in its stewardship...and make steps FORWARD in returning it to that condition.

Next up...a little info about the pollinators themselves. And then onwards to the list of plants that insure the continuing existence of these creatures whose job helps our continued existence.

Pollinator Prep

In preparing for what I thought would be a list of great bee and pollintor-friendly plants, I'm finding I'm needing to lay a basic groundwork in my own education about the pollinators themselves and the actual process of pollination.

There are many thorough treatments of these topics out there, some of them funded by our own tax dollars. I'm finding so much material that I'm sorting through it as time allows.

The INTRO part of The Pollinator Happy-Plant list is going to consist of:

INTRO:

1. What is Pollination and How Does it Work?
2. Who's Doing the Pollinating

I found surprises in my reading so far regarding the list of pollinators. It's sobering, but also invigorating! Where there's information, there's a way to redirect efforts to restore.

Just making these notes right now so that you'll know where I'm beginning. The information shall be coming here soon :)

The Pollinator Dilemma

Much has been written recently about the pollinator crisis...the diminishing numbers of those "friendly" bees, wasps, and other pollinators whose job ensures the continuation and multiplication of the botanical world. "The birds and the bees" ARE truly about reproduction at the most basic level...and if threatened at that very level, it impacts the core of how creation has been designed to replenish itself.

Here are some factoids that can be easily backed up with data ever-so prolific:

1. Honeybees are dying.
2. Honeybees are directly linked to the numbers and health of other bees and pollinators. If the others are fewer in number, the less healthy honeybees are.
3. The disappearance of honeybees has reached a crisis proportion. This is not a hyped overstatement claimed by just one or two special interest groups.
4. It's not just a honeybee crisis, it's a human one.
5. The disappearance of the variety and numbers of pollinators in general is directly linked to the disappearance of available native plants.
6. Habitat for bees and pollinators IS habitat for humanity. If we think otherwise, we need to read up on the interdependence factor that works to balance creation. Synthetic foods will never substitute real foods and still maintain the existence of humankind. Engineered foods are not sustenance at the most basic level. We are "inventing" our way into a corner. Are we considering an eventual extinction of some of our basic food groups? (OK yeah maybe that's my going off the deep end in a rant...but where does it end??) :)

Back to the pollinators and their "happy plants."

I'm not sure why this issue has really taken heart inside me as something I MUST do...maybe I'm getting an urge to set up a corner of this place, my corner, to slowly attain to a picture I have in my mind of "how things ought to be." And somehow, that will make things closer to being alright? I can't explain it. It's not a quest for peacefulness, nor of escaping a world gone wild, but rather of seeing if it can be realized, even if just somewhat.

And somehow that world is abuzz with bees and lively pollen and nectar-thirsty insect life.


The Companionability Factor

When looking at the "bee lists" and research that is prolific and available from many sources, if only we'll access it, I'm scanning it with an eye for companionability. Just as I'm trying to mix companion plants among my small and growing "test veggies" (my term for the really small scale ...pots...we're using to try out the elemental basics of beginning gardening before one day moving to larger property and scale), I would like to keep that concept in mind when thinking of incorporating "pollinator-attracting" plants into a larger garden scheme, or naturalizing.

Which "pollinator plants" are equally friendly to both people and livestock?

That concern didn't really arise until I saw a couple of warnings in my perusing of the lists. Here are the concerns:

1. Some plants you'd think would be great for pollinators are fatal...at least to bees. They'll kill them off.

2. Some plants, after being harvested by honeybees in particular, make the honey undesirable (as in unsafe, or questionable). Fortunately, these are few and far between. However, I need to be aware of what they are before introducing any non-native species (or even MORE native species) in larger numbers. If honey is ever made, it has to be safe for consumption for humans.

3. Some plants are pollinator-friendly, but if foraged by livestock, can cause irritation, injury, or death. Or an obnoxious taste to milk.

4. Some plants are not people-friendly, or have cautions in how certain parts of the plants are used by humans. I don't want plants around that kids could pop into their mouths and die from. Those, too, are few and far between, but worth noting. That would be a non-issue for some folks because of location or situation. For me, it's just my comfort zone reality.

5. Some plants are way too gregarious and will socialize without stopping...meaning they are invasive and dangerous to native plants. Some are not. Some can be contained in various ways. These are just responsible considerations. We don't want a well-intentioned introduction of a plant that will bully out the diversity of existing native good guys.


There are probably other concerns, but these are the ones that come to mind.

I'm shorter on time just now, but I'm compiling a list for myself of plants that pass the above tests...and will grown in my planting zone and soil.

I'm also interested in those plants that additionally can be utilized to add diversity to pasture so that selective browsing can take place, and which might add yet-undiscovered benefits to the food sources of responsibly pastured livestock of different kinds.

Thankfully, there are a lot of plants out there that fill the bill. I'm on a quest to make the list (isnt that part of the fun of the planning stage...lists?) :)


More on the unfolding of The List...but I have hammered out a process and will be focusing in an organized fashion (somewhat!) on groupings of these, notable details beyond the pollinator friendliness factor, and hopefully even listing sources of the plants/seeds for purchase.

This will be a continuing project, and since it can be bitten off a tad at a time, I can be productive while still having a packed schedule for the moment.


So...there's the announcement....info and lists to commence very soon!


Yay! I'm "buzzing" with excitement....ha! ;-)