Bee Friendly Manitoba!

 How sweet it was to reconnect with old friends in Winnipeg at the McNally Robinson book launch of Victory Gardens for Bees!

In  the spirit  of true Manitoban hospitality, the bookstore was warm and welcoming.

Hopefully we can make friendly Manitoba known as bee friendly Manitoba!

And I'm so excited about this bee pasture I discovered 1 block South of Broadway and Sherbrooke!

 This trifecta of catnip, clary sage and flax is stunning!

I think there are three species of bumblebees foraging here and since it's early in the season, most of them are big velvety queens.

Can you spot the leafcutter bee?

Bottoms up, sister!

 Mining bee on raspberry.

Look at how the stamens touch the sweet spot on the bee's back so that some pollen gets on the female part of the next plant she visits.

I am in love! Citizens of Wolsely, please plant some catnip (Nepeta sp.) and flowers in the Aster family quick! Get thee to Sage Garden Greenhouses to pick up some plants to support your lovely neighborhood bees!

They're Back: Turquoise Sweat Bees Emerge in Vancouver on Mother's Day

 Happy Mother's Day! We celebrated with a picnic at the farmer's market and I spent some happy time gardening at home and at MACC. I noticed that the white Dutch clover and red clover are blooming today, which may be an indicator for the arrival of some late spring emerging bees such as this turquoise sweat bee and the common large Adrena mining bees we have here. These flowers are five spot, which reseeded themselves from last fall. There were all sorts of bees in the flowers from honeybees down to tiny black solitary bees.

The last of the blue orchard mason bees were also foraging in the five spot and the poached egg flowers, which also reseeded themselves generously.  I also witnessed a small female mason bee tripping the keels of the lupin flowers and drinking the nectar in my back yard.

I noticed that even though the two patches of flowers were side by side, the syrphid flies seemed more attracted to the yellow flowers, and the bees were more bonkers over the five spot. It would be worth doing a quick survey of these flowers every time I visit the garden.

The native roses we planted are also in bloom and they were full of little mining and sweat bees swimming in the stamens. Another phenological indicator that's about to happen is the mock orange trees are just starting to bloom.

On a completely different note, I am suddenly seeing a lot of click beetles this year. Keep an eye out for wire worms!

Under the Laburnums

We really should start a tradition of picnics under the laburnums when they are thrumming with bumble bees.

 The bumble bees and honey bees also love these alliums which look like fireworks.

And for the calming version of the alliums, head over to the white garden.

 I like this white version of the perennial cornflower, especially with a side order of honeybees.

 Masterwort is a good bee plant for dreary late spring days.

 This shows the inspired interplanting, integrating the shades of pale green and the burgundy, with a good use of texture.

 There were bumble bees in the red white and blue comfrey.

 The pollen from this false indigo is lighter in color than the lupin pollen. ˙Her suitcases are overflowing!

 This honeybee fits so nicely in the rosemary flowers. Her abdomen in distended with a nectar load.

 

It's bloomin' squid!

 There weren't any bees in this columbine patch, but there were some mining bees hanging around the green mulch nearby.

 You can really see why this is called milk thistle.

Another good choice for your white bee garden. The milk thistles I've grown have always been purple.

Here are my seedlings waited to be potted up.