It's bee a few days since I got back to a trip to Oregon to do a couple of bee gardening talks, and I'm still on a high for meeting such warm, generous people and seeing some gorgeous scenery and of course, beeyoootiful Oregon bees! Not realizing how remote the community I was going to was, I probably could have simplified my travel plans, but anyway, let's say it involved planes, trains and automobiles! Anyway, I was happy to have a lovely Master Gardener with insider knowledge take me to the Bandon Fish Market where I saw my first Oregon bumblebee of the season noshing on the nectar of a pink flowering rosemary bush right outside the door of the fish and chip shop!
Bandon is a quaint fishing village that reminded me of Steveston, south of Vancouver, BC. There are lots of cute shops and I spent some time shopping in the local bookstore/gift shop Winter River Books and Gallery stocking up on souvenirs and guides to Oregon flora and fauna. I also bought a "bee themed" tea towel.
Of course, the inside joke is not one of those insects is a bee. They are all bee-mimicking flies! Well the illustrator has done such a great job depicting the flies I had to buy it!
I love the idea of having a picnic shelter for inclement days. You can look out at the water and scarf down your ling cod when the chip shop is packed to the gills with hungry locals and tourists.
One of my favorite parts of traveling is getting a secret peek into people's gardens, so I was thrilled to see these lovely starts in the gardener's porch. Isn't this a sweet spot?!
I was also introduced to an invasive species of allium. These are three-cornered leeks (Allium triquetrum) from Europe. Apparently some local foragers had discovered them and were harvesting them from this vacant lot.
Which is a good thing, because look at how they've taken over this site. We were wondering if they feed any bees. There is also a terrible problem with scotch broom and gorse here, much like Vancouver Island. (So don't plant three-cornered leeks on the Island!)
The gardeners had brought some of their beloved succulents up from their yard in California.
I also got a peek at the Bandon Good Earth Community Garden.
It seems cinder blocks are popular for making raised beds here because of how much rain they get.
The willows were blooming their hearts out here. And we are talking a HUGE volume of bee forage in this area.
This is a variety of Ceanothus that was growing by the community garden. I love these tiny leaves!
After my tour, I went to my motel and had a lovely meal in Coos Bay looking over at the water. Two rainbows appeared as an end brackets to my lovely day in southern coastal Oregon.
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