To Bee....

​Despite the terrible weather today and therefore only a cursory dash to feed the tomatoes in GH2, it has been all abuzz with wildlife in the garden recently.  Lots of butterflies - cabbage whites, red admirals, and the usual chaffinches, sparrows, collared doves, wood pigeons, squirrels and even the hedgehog on a couple of occasions. Also, an abundance of bees – which is heartening as recent news is emphasising the decline of this important contributor to global biodiversity, sustainability and the world’s general state of health.  Together with other insects, bees are responsible for plant pollination, which ensures the survival and diversity of food crops and medicinal plants.  I endeavour to do my small part and the majority of the plants in the garden are grown with this specifically in mind.

I enjoy watching the bees as they are very entertaining but also somewhat exhausting – after all, they are symbolically associated not only with purity and healing but predominantly connotations of industry and productivity.  Naturally watching them is much the easier option!

Here are some fun facts about bees:

• Almost 90% of wild plants and 75% of leading global crops depend on animal pollination.1 One out of every three mouthfuls of our food depends on pollinators. Crops that depend on pollination are five times more valuable than those that do not.
• Plant a range of flowers in your garden so bees have access to nectar from March to October. Bees love traditional cottage garden flowers and native wildflowers, like primrose, buddleia, and marigolds.
• A bee could visit 50 to 100 flowers on a single trip for nectar.
• Beekeeping dates back to 4,500 years ago.
• Bees do a "waggle dance" when they find the perfect nectar bees fly back to their hives and share the information with their fellow bees by dancing. This dance indicates the position of the flower from their hive and the sun.
• The insect family of Apoidaes contains 20,000 species of bees including honeybees, carpenter bees and bumblebees.
• The ancient Romans and Greeks viewed honey as a symbol of love. According to mythology, Cupid realized the value of passion without worrying about death or consequences after getting stung by a bee.
• The Greek god Apollo was raised by bee colonies and lived on honey alone. Because of this, he was considered the first-ever beekeeper in written history.
• Anglo-Saxons created the first beer which was a mixture of water, herbs, and honeycomb.
• Of all bees, the Milittosphex Burmensi is the oldest known species. With its fossil trapped in amber, archaeologists estimate that it dates back to 100 million years ago.
• Bees love bright colours and favour yellow, orange, blue, violet and purple flowers.  Bees can also see ultraviolet but cannot recognise the colour red!  The nectar veins on a flower can only be seen in ultraviolet, and therefore bees can easily identify them and are attracted to such flowers.

Plant the following:

• Marigolds (Tagetes)
• Tulips (Tulipa)
• Daylilies (Hemerocallis)
• Impatiens
• Chrysanthemums
• Pinks or carnations (Dianthus).

• Coneflower (Echinacea pallida)
  
• Common yarrow
  

Flowering herbs:

• Mint (Mentha)
• Thyme (Thymus)
• Rosemary (Rosmarinus)
• Feverfew (Tanacetum parthenium)