The Wasp Removal Guy

Folks at this time of the year may need to get rid of big wasp nests if they are near the entrance to a house or in a high traffic area. There is a humane wasp removal dude in the Lower Mainland named Joe Wasp. His web site is clear and informative. He also deals with swarms and bees that have set up home in your home. If you know a beekeeper in your neighborhood, ask if you can have their phone number to put on your fridge in case you see a swarm in your hood. You can also look up a local beekeeper/swarm catcher here.

I am going to put on my bee suit and check out what's buzzing in a neighbor's attic. Chances are, they are wasps and will die in the winter, but there's a slim chance it's a colony of feral honey bees. Better to check it out now before the ceiling caves in, dripping with wax and honey. Well, a girl can dream . . . .

Unter Der Linden

If you've been noticing a heavy perfumed scent coming from some of the grand trees that line Vancouver streets, chances are you have wandered under a stand of linden trees. There are linden varieties native to Europe and America, and the tree is venerated in European countries, known as the tree of love and the tree of truth. Some trees have been known to grow for two thousand years. The wood can be used for sculpture and the blossoms are medicinal. Linden blossom tea is used to treat colds and flu and to lower blood pressure. It should be used with caution, especially for those with heart conditions. Linden is also soporific, so adding an infusion to your bath water will help you sleep. Perhaps this is where it gets the reputation for making bees "drunk" on its nectar. Most varieties of linden are treasured nectar plants, however one variety, the silver linden, Tilia Tomentosa, is toxic to bees.

It is not surprising essential oils of linden are used in the perfume industry. On hot muggy days I find the scent overwhelming. It is so strong that it actually masks traffic odors, which is a good thing! I am surprised we don't celebrate our linden trees in Vancouver. In fact, many people hate the trees because they attract aphids which produce honey dew. This sweet substance drips down on cars, making them sticky. I offer my deepest sympathies for this minor inconvenience. I noticed that in Coquitlam, there is an annual linden tea party held by the Riverview Horticultural Society. Maybe we need to start up a similar tradition here! If you want to experience the linden tree rapture, find the corner on the west side of Main and 21st in front of Liberty Bakery and across from Shaktea. Inhale and enjoy.

New Bee Habitat Workshop

One of my favorite gigs is working with the Creative Remix Summer Camp at The Moberly Arts and Cultural Centre. This year we created bee habitat scuptures for the kids to take home and put on their balcony or garden. This is a brand new workshop!

It's such a great time of the year to work with the herb garden, which has been filling in nicely.

Rules to live by: No negative language!

It was pajama day--thus the pjs and slippers.

The bee experts say you can help native bees by leaving out bundles of hollow stems and twigs. I thought we'd experiment using bamboo at various angles to see which orientation the bees prefer. After all, stems naturally grow vertically.

We also explored the structure of flowers, looking closely at how the bees reach the pollen and nectar in different herbs.

I like to get the students to explore the herbs with all their senses and draw the details in the leaves, stems, and flowers.

 

 

Turns out honey bees love butterfly bushes too! The nectaries must be full enough that this girl can reach it the liquid using her tongue's capillary action.

UBC Farm Bee Plants

 There is a new series of herb beds at UBC farm which are bee magnets. Check out this sleepy native bee in the leaf of an anise hyssop plant.

 Oops, I accidently woke the bee up. See how the antennae perked upwards?

 I love the different types of monarda blooming at the farm. The butterflies will enjoy these pink varieties.

 These red monarda are hummingbird magnets.

 Here's the anise hyssop plant. I recently read that these plants are not as invasive as other mints. I think planting them in these little raised beds is still a great idea. I noticed they were selling herb starts at the market as well, which is a great way of spreading bee plants around the city.

 This is a little installation in the Landed Learning Garden. I love how the colors in the yarm pick out the colors in the poppies and nasturtiums.

 We noticed that the trellis is protecting an asparagus bed. Sweet!

 Here's what the lucky CSA folks are getting this week.

 I bought some of these blueberries and had them tonight with (GMO free!) cheesecake from Mobius coffee shop--awesome!

 I had to buy some garlic, of course.

 UBC Farm has the best salad greens in the west.

I love how the colors pop in these radishes.

Now after seeing this plant at UBC Farm for many years I think I have identified it as true hyssop. Unfortunately is has been crowded out by this new bush, but I hope we can save seeds and replant some of it, because it's a plant I don't see very often.

Be sure to come out next Saturday for a bee-themed market with lots of family activities and a chance to meet the Queen Bee!

As High as a Bumble Bee's Eye

Is it my imagination, or are the bumble bees in my back garden singing their "happy times" tunes? There are so many great options for pollen and nectar for the bumble bees right now as their families grow. As I was taking the bus along Nanaimo to Main Street I noticed many hollyhock plants standing upright near fences in glorious full bloom. My own hollyhocks have just begun to open: dark chocolatey single blooms with stamens loaded with straw-colored pollen. The mallow flowers in my yard (real hardy perennials) are all in bloom. I noticed the Spirea plants are flowering all over town. They have a lovely soft, fluffy texture and are one of my favorite bee-watching plants. One of my sunflowers has just opened and its lower petals have a dusting of excess pollen. The cornflowers are in bloom, along with Centaurea, Campanula, California poppies, and some Oriental poppies. My nasturtiums are producing their peppery flowers faster than we can eat them. I am starting to freeze the bounty of the raspberry bushes. Oh, and I almost forgot to mention: the cherries are ripe!!!!!! Yahoo! I bought some lovely Montmorency sour cherries at the Burnaby Farmer's Market from Upper Bench Organics and I'm heading to UBC Farm on Saturday, July 28 for some more sour cherries from Jobst-Hof Orchard. That also happens to be the date of a bee-themed UBC Farm Market and yours truly will be appearing as HRH Queen Bee.

On a curious note, I am currently nursing a fledgling pigeon under our back porch. He still has some residual baby bird fluff and might have bunged up his leg falling out of the nest. So far, the neighborhood cat has decided not to mess with him. For the record, I am not a fan of pigeons per se, but this little guy has such an engaging personality I had to intervene and try to help him survive. Peter says we should make soup out of him. Ech.

Photo Shoot Glam

 Just so you know my life is not all bees and butterflies. . . . My colleague Carol Sawyer is creating new photos for her fabulous Natalie Brettschneider persona and I was privileged to participate in two photo shoots. I got to have my hair done by a fabulous stylist from East Vanity Hair Salon and wear this incredible ensemble! It was so fun to get all glammed up--something I have not done for a few years.

My son took this photo of me after a day of shooting. I was amazed at how well the hair do stood up after all the hats and hilarity. One funny thing about the experience was how I realized my hands are so far removed from the manicured nails of the fifties femme. My hands are scratched, suntanned, stained, garden soiled, and I have really short gardener's nails. Next time I think my character needs to wear gloves!

More Butterflies and Bees

As I was searching the web for images to identify one of the butterflies I posted about below, I found information about Heather Kharouba, a PHD Candidate at UBC. She is studying the "Phenological synchronization between insect herbivores and their host plants". Sounds fascinating! The Young Naturalists Club of B. C. have a call for kids in the province to submit photographs of butterflies and their host plants to Heather for her research. Click here for more info. There are prizes!

Also, I wanted to share a fantastic blog post from The Home Bug Garden written by a scientist/gardener in Edmonton. This particular post features the photos of the varieties of insects that feed on the roses in his garden. Enjoy!