Poppy Pollen Addict

Yesterday I noticed a honeybee foraging in one of Catherine's  poppies, so I moved in for a photo. She was so loaded with the black pollen she could barely fly. She landed on a lemon balm leaf to groom--it seemed as though she had pollen grains in her eyes and couldn't see very well. Interesting that you can see tiny hairs on this leaf--I've noticed bees like to land on hairy leaves. Look at how much pollen is on her head and thorax! It looks blue-grey in the sunlight, but in the shade it is dark sooty black.

Here is a good shot of her grooming and look at that pollen load! I have never seen such a large pollen load on a honeybee. Amazing!

Now this is a plant that put in last year and it didn't bloom until now. IIRC it is dyer's alkanet. I'm interested to see if the bees like it.

The sweet cicely looks ethereal when it is backlit.

Wednesday Work Party at the Moberly Community Herb Garden

The hummingbird intervention at Moberly Community Herb Garden Continues! Yesterday Thomas and Ali helped me tidy up the garden and prepare the soil for runner beans and nasturtiums. We moved some things around and took out a few plants that were just not doing well at all, or seemed out of place. I was very grateful for their help with the jobs that required knowledge AND muscle.

 An exhuberant class from Moberly elementary planted the seeds and searched for weeds in the lawn so we could have a discussion about medicinal plants. They were very excited about the worms and bees in the gardens and they really loved the lemon balm.

After they went back to the classroom I worked some red flax seeds into the soil and gave the garden a good watering. I also gave myself a good watering when I tried to adjust the sprinkler. Note to self: turn the water off first. Doh! Also, bring a change of pants.

If you are interested in helping out at the herb garden, please drop me a line: madamebeespeaker(at)gmail(dot)com.

Bathtub Teas at Aberthau

On the way to Aberthau I saw this bumble bee in comfrey at the edge of the forest.

 Here's the set up for the bathtub tea workshop.

This is one of the easiest way to use herbs.

 I collected and dried rose petals, rosemary, lavender, hops and sage.

 I actually like using fresh rosemary, but I bought some rosemary essential oil, which eases aching muscles.

I had an accident and spilled some on the carpet, so the room is now perfumed with lavender and rosemary, which is kind of nice.

Rusty Bumble Bees

I found a lovely population of rusty bumble bees at some curbside garden in West Point Grey. They love the lupins that the gardener has planted. I wonder if their bright colors means they are newly hatched. In one of the photos below you'll see that the pollen they are collecting matches that rusty hue on their butts. It also occurs to me that the pollen is collecting on those rusty hairs and enhancing that color.

Here's a good view of that orange pollen.

The poppies weren't interesting the bumble bees--they seem to have a innate system of preferred plants.

 This is a nice interplanting of Sweet Cicely and Dutchman's Breeches.

 This little one was really exhuberantly buzz-pollenating these roses.

She would get in there and then turn on the motor and  shake out that pollen, making a huge racket. You can see the lighter color of the pollen she's collecting here. A big thanks to all those curbside and traffic circle gardeners.

Scenes from a Community Garden

 What up? Look at the florets around the edge of the calendula centre. That's where the nectar is. Is that pollen on your forehead?

A mason bee stops to groom on a viola.

 The same bee hides from the paparazzi. You can faintly see the pollen on her scopa.

The holes are filling up fast. I'm thinking we may have to put a bird guard on this baby because it might be tempting to flickers.

There's a bee on the thyme. Small flowers, small bee.

 It's easier to take photos of bees when they are resting or grooming.

Tracing the Roots of Colony Collapse Disorder

There has been a lot of press lately about the possible link between neonicotinoids and Colony Collapse Disorder. Although I agree with the movement to ban neonictotinoids, what drives me crazy is that every other day someone is announcing a eureka moment of having discovered the cause of CCD, so we can all breathe a sigh of relief. Sorry folks, I don't believe it's that simple, and neither does scientist Dr. Doug Yanega in his guest post on Bug Girls' blog. Here is an organic farmer's perpective on neonics at The Fanning Mill and a relevant episode on CBC radio's The Current.

Snacking on Kale Blossoms

 I am happy to announce that Madame Beespeaker is diversifying her portfolio! This year I will be doing projects about hummingbird awareness and will be performing hummingbird interventions--growing plants that attract hummers to community gardens. The first planting day was this week with a class at Simon Fraser Elementary in their school plots at the Mount Pleasant Community Garden. While we planted scarlet runner beans and nasturtiums for the hummingbirds, we snacked on kale  and brussel sprout blossoms.

 

It was fun to see the look of surprise on the children's faces as they tasted a brassica flower for the first time. "It's really good! I didn't expect to like it, but it's better than broccoli! Can I have some more? What else can I eat? Can I eat this sunflower? I can't stop eating these kale flowers. I'm addicted!" The bees love them too, and we have been surrounded by bumble bees, honey bees and mason bees sipping nectar and collecting pollen as we garden. This project has been sponsored by a Vancouver Foundation Small Neighborhood Grant. Many Thanks!

 Today I tried to get some more folks hooked on kale blossoms at the community kitchen at the Moberly Community Arts Centre. Mohinder gave them a try for the first time. . . .

 The verdict? A very cheeky smile tells me she likes them too.

 We drank chai, ate kale blossoms and sweets and chatted about kale, scarlet runner beans and nasturtiums--a trifecta of healthy foods that are easy to grow in your garden. All three plants have beautiful edible flowers and the hummingbirds love the scarlet bean flowers and the nasturtiums as well. The ladies also wanted some perennials, so I bought them some Monarda didyma plants at the UBC Botanical Garden sale. I put some in the Moberly Herb Garden so we can make tea when the plants are established. Monarda is a trifecta pollinator plant. It is a food plant for some lepidoptera (including some that feed exclusively on Monarda species) as well as forage for bumble bees and hummingbirds. It is an atypical bee plant, in that it is red, which is a color bees see as black. Bumble bees also love scarlet runner beans, and they are also atypical bee plants. Scarlet runner beans, unlike common beans, need to be" tripped" by pollinators, even though they self pollinate.

 I gave tips on planting these hummingbird attractors and also taught them how to protect their garden from slugs, which was a big hit! This project is made possible by The Moberly Community Arts Centre. I look forward to more afternoons in the Moberly Community herb garden with these lovely ladies.