Join the Movement! Plant a Victory Gardens for Bees

 

Ladybird Johnson was fond of saying “Where flower bloom, so does hope.” I say “Where there are flowers, there is hope for bees. And where there is hope for bees, there is hope for humanity.” And that is why I wrote a book on which flowers feed bees and how you can make your back yard, balcony, farm, and garden hospitable for our most important and most pollinators, which happen to be the most endangered creatures on the earth.

I wrote Victory Gardens for Bees for the people who hold the fate our planet in their hands: the children and youth of today who are the gardeners, scientists, farmers, and policy-makers of the future. I also wrote the book for anyone who likes to eat, (because eaters should really become bee huggers if they want to keep eating). I wrote the book for people who love gardens and nature. Reading the book is meant to be like walking in a garden, immersing oneself in the bright colors and textures of flowers and bees. (You’ll have to supply the sound effects with your imagination.)

Bees are one of the most important creatures to ensuring the biodiversity and volume of our food supply and they are perhaps the most vulnerable creatures on the planet. We need to make the care and stewardship of bees a top priority right now. We need to pull together to create and implement a bee-centered vision of all our green spaces: gardens, farms wild sites rooftop gardens, brown sites, ditches, and more.  We need to protect, restore and expand green spaces and use them to grow food and create nesting habitat for bees.

I wrote this book for the bees. But since they can’t read, I wrote it for humans who can work to help the bees by growing food, creating nesting sites, and making bee-wise choices when they shop for food, clothes and more. This book is especially for elementary school age children who can develop an affinity for bees that will affect the choices they make for the rest of their lives. I wrote the book for nature clubs, garden clubs, scouts, guides, beavers, summer camp leaders, teachers, horticulturalists, farmers, homesteaders, and life-long learners. This book for nature lovers, naturalists, nature mentors, plant nerds, bee nerds, foodies, locavores, urban farmers, and beekeepers. It is meant to be accessible, but also challenges the reader with the real complexity of the issues that affect bees, raising issues that are often glossed over or over-simplified when they are brought to the public’s attention.

 I love to talk about bees and take people on bee safari walks, and I’m looking forward to traveling to promote the book and visiting bees and humans along the way. Let's get those gardens blooming for bees!