Had to come to Vancouver to have my first bee sighting of the year--a long-faced Bombus flavifrons in the heather. It shows that even one small pot can help queens get busy finding and furnishing their nest. You can see the pollen grains deposited on the hairs on her face as she sticks her face and tongue into the blossoms to access the sweet spring nectar.
I LOVE Seedy Saturdays!!! This one was really special.
Looking forward to presenting at Similkameen Seedy Saturday on March 15th! I'll be giving a sneak preview of what's in the revised edition of Victory Gardens for Bees. Hope to see you there!
My passion for gardening started in Cactus Lake,
Saskatchewan where my mother grew a bounty of flowers, fruits and vegetables,
most of them from seed. I also spent many hours in solitude in the nearby wild
prairie grasslands, studying the bees in the meadows. Now as an adult, I find
myself with a mission: to get people growing more food for bees as they garden
to feed themselves and their communities. I also want to shine a light onto
some of the lesser-known bees that pollinate our cultivated and wild plants. These
are the bees we need to save. When I see people growing pollinator gardens that
feed bees and humans, I am filled with a sense of hope and delight. There is a
rainbow of bees of all shapes and sizes that hold the fate of our future on
their wings. I wrote this book to get you working for these beautiful bees.
Has the recent egg recall left you in the lurch? Try flax eggs in your pancakes or waffles. I don’t mean eggs from chickens that have been fed flax seeds, I mean an egg substitute using two ingredients: ground flax seeds and warm water. Simply grind one tablespoon of flax seeds, add them to three tablespoons of warm water and let soak for three minutes, stirring a couple of times to help it gel. And there you go! You can use this as an egg substitute in your favorite waffle or flapjack recipe. I suggest adding a couple more tablespoons of the ground flax seed into the batter to get that extra Omega 3 boost.
I suggest you only grind as much seed as you need or store any extra in the fridge or freezer because ground seed can go rancid at room temperature. It can be tricky to grind. A coffee grinder repurposed as a spice/seed grinder works, or small amounts at a time in a blender.
I grew up on the prairies when there were fields of flax flowers that made the meadows look like lakes against a flax flower blue sky. Bees love flax flowers and if you’re lucky you’ll see turquoise Agapostemon sweat bees gathering nectar and pollen in wild flax flowers. Try a few seeds in your garden this year for some added beauty. The bees will thank you by pollinating your fruits and veggies!
