Brian Campbell on Attracting Bees to your Yard

It's time to start thinking about attracting bees to your garden and Brian Campbell gives Lindsay Coulter some good suggestions in this video from the David Suzuki Foundation.

Mason beekeepers have very strong opinions about which nesting system is the best. Paper or cardboard tubes are prone to attack by parasitical insects who can bore through the tubes to attack the mason bees. Boring holes into a piece of wood is basically creating a trap for mason bees as you can't get in to clean out mites. However, some beekeepers like to combine the two, lining the wood holes with paper tubes that can be removed so you can clean the cocoons. The risk with this method is that the paper can get wet and mouldy.

Some people swear by using the plastic stacking trays, but other beekeepers say the material doesn't allow the bees to breathe properly. One of the beekeepers that seems to make most sense to me is an entomologist on Vancouver Island. He and his father have many years of research under their belts. They use sliding wooden trays with plexiglass observational lids. They call this system the "Hutchings Peek a Boo System" and have decided to the design through creative commons. This means you can copy the deisgn, but please give credit to the source and do not make them to sell. However, you can buy them if you travel to the island and that info is on their website. His hives are longer than the convention ones because he says you can get the optimum number of female bees in trays that are about twelve inches long. The Hutchings have also developed a unique way of cleaning the bees using sand. He has evidence that bleach does not kill the mites and making the cocoons wet can end up causing them to develop mould. I must say, my gut feeling is that these guys have figured it out. They have videos on cleaning the cocoons with sand, which lack production values but they are charming and informative if you stay with them.

In terms of bee "baths" or drinking pools, Brian Campbell has recently suggested that you fill your bee bath with wet sand to keep mosquitoes from laying eggs in the water. Otherwise, just make sure you put in clean water every day after the temperatures start to warm up again. When will that be, I wonder?

Snowy Seedy Saturday

Happy Seedy Saturday! Did you go? What did you buy? I bought pussywillows and just a few seeds from Seeds of Victoria: A "Sooty Black" Dianthus, Vervain, Sweet Cicely, Malva Sylvestris "Magic Hollyhocks", and Caucasian Germander. The flower seeds were on for half price, so I was filled with double happiness.

I admired the fruit trees and bought a bunch of excellent second hand gardening books. Woot! It was bloody cold and the snowflakes were falling, but the garden chat was good. Too bad it's so crowded in there. I'm curious to see what it will be like next year in the new building.

Brian Campbell was saying that crap apple trees are excellent for bees because they contain more pollen than other trees and that pollen has more protein than other tree blossoms. Plant more crap apples, people! I love them. I bought some stewed crab apples at the winter market last week and I'll tell you what's good: drink the juice with a slug of vodka. Oh ya. I eat the crab apples sans spirits on my yogurt in the morning.

Brian will be out looking for bumble bee queens soon for a new EYA project with wild pollinators. Stay tuned for more details. Believe it or not, the queens will be emerging soon and before you know it the mason bees will be out there searching for crap apple blossoms.

February Violets

Patience, my dear, Spring is coming. Even though it snowed this week and temperatures are dropping, the earth is turning us towards the spring equinox. Someone I heard used the metaphor of weaving cloth as a metaphor for patience. Thread by thread, movement by movement, the tapestry begins to form. Seedy Saturday takes place this weekend, which is one of my benchmarks for spring. I'm looking forward to buying a big bouquet of pussy willows.

Make a Personal Garden Journal

This year I will be giving a series of garden journal workshops, and the first one is coming soon!

Madame Beespeaker's Garden Journal Workshop: 2 and 1/2 hours

Using collage techniques, participants will create a garden journal out of envelopes which will hold their garden plans, secrets, dreams, recipes, and memories. Each person will receive local flower seeds saved by Madame Beespeaker as well as herbal tea recipes and tips on gardening for bees, butterflies, and song birds. Create a garden journal as a lovely gift for yourself or your favourite gardener. To personalize your journal you may bring copies of family garden photos on regular weight matt paper (5 inches by 5 inches or smaller would work best).

Extra journal kits will be available for purchase from Ruby Dog's.

Cost: $35 per person

Note: I've been asked to postpone the date of the workshop, so it is TBA.

RubyDog's Art House
(Near Fraser and Kingsway)
623 Kingsway
Vancouver, B.C. V5T 3K5

Phone:
604-873-2825

eMail:
rubydogart(at)shaw(dot)ca

Lori Weidenhammer is a Vancouver performance-based artist originally from Saskatchewan. For four years she has been appearing as the persona Madame Beespeaker on a regular basis. Her Artist Run Bee Garden at the MOP (2009) has inspired other Vancouver gardeners to create their own bee gardens and hold bee-related community celebrations. As a food security volunteer and activist Weidenhammer works with colleagues and students of all ages on identifying native plants, eating locally, gardening for pollinators, and guerilla gardening. She is passionate about art that that transforms the relationship between the artist and the viewer and creates community bonds.

This journal was made using photographs of my family altered in Photoshop. Your journal will be unique. It will be a place to tuck little pieces of ephemera related to your garden.

I have a couple of notes that my grandmother wrote in her handwriting that I treasure. It would be a good idea to keep some hand-written notes in your journal to pass down as an heirloom. You could tuck in a couple of messages to the bees to pass on the tradition of telling the bees.

You could also tuck in a wee piece of cloth with a hint of your favorite scent. My grandma's was Yardley Lavender and 4711.

Making the book is a meditative act. I enjoy anchoring images on the page and I am going to give the participants a series of bee-related quotes that they may use if they wish. This quote by William Blake reads: "The busy bee has no time for sorrow."

Candlemas Blooms

Last week was Candlemas, the halfway point between the winter solstice and the spring equinox. Here in Vancouver we have been seeing our first spring blossoms, their shy pastel blooms asserting themselves from the dark winter mulch. Today I saw the first violet of spring and the first open yellow crocus. As I did my shopping for dinner the twilight lingered on much later than it has for a long time. These rosy hues are good for the soul. This year I have been celebrating the first blooms of heather, so ubiquitous here they become invisible after a while.

We've started to put in our seed orders and I've been doing more research on which herbs are good for attracting bees. I found a good document on the Richter's web site which is a fabulous resource for ordering herb seeds and plants. I'm looking forward to making some new herbal tisanes this year from our garden.

Garden Journal Workshop at Ruby Dog's

If you are feeling the winter blues, then I have a remedy for you. Get thee to Ruby Dog's Art House. It is a creative emporium of cheer. Just look at all these wonderful supplies she has for your creative projects.

It's a perfect place to putter and fill a basket with vintage items, scrapbooking supplies, collage bits and inspiring books and magazines.

These smiling "Figos" will charm your socks off.

Why not pick up some Valentine bling and make cards for your loved ones? Leanne has some great ideas on things to make and do.



I would love you to come to my garden journal making workshop at Ruby Dog's. Come and make a handmade envelope book to store your garden plans, dreams, and memories. Details tba.


Location:

RubyDog's Art House
(Near Fraser and Kingsway)
623 Kingsway
Vancouver, B.C. V5T 3K5

Phone:
604-873-2825

eMail:
rubydogart(at)shaw(dot)ca