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!
