Queen and Comfrey: Visit VanDusen Gardens this Victoria Day Weekend

 If you want to visit VanDusen gardens, this is the long weekend to do it because there are so many cool plants in bloom and the bees are very busy. The laburnum walk is humming with bumblebees. This comfrey is also a popular spot for the queens and workers. It's a good place to observe different species of bumblebees working alongside each other.

We don't have many redbud trees in Vancouver, but this is a beautiful example of a Judas tree with pea-shaped blossoms that is a bumblebee favorite.

Here's a close-up of the stamens and the nectar guides. The blossoms are a striking hue of hot pink.

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!

EYA is Looking for Citizen Scientists to Study Bees in Vancouver

Chafer Beetle Shadenfreude

As the European chafer beetles and their predators ravage lawns in East Vancouver, I am silently cheering them on. Skunks, raccoons flickers and crows are the Vancouver foodies who love the new culinary trend in raw exotic larvae. The scruffier the lawn, the more it appeals to little ground nesting bees. On a sunny day you can look at lawns like this and see masses of them digging holes and laying eggs, with cuckoo bees lurking and nipping in to lay their eggs and then shirking their maternal duties. Carnivorous wasps are foodies too, hovering above the living buffet to snatch their favorite delicacies.

Trafalgar's Spring Menu: Beet Risotto

Early spring is an exciting season when the first locally grown produce from the new season starts to hit the Vancouver menus. Trafalgar's has added a new beet risotto to the menu garnished with translucent slices of spring radishes and freshly shaved horse radish. It's borscht-meets-risotto, but even better than the sum of its parts. Creamy brie is the magic ingredient that ties it all together. Isn't it pretty?

The lilacs are in bloom, pumping out their spring cologne and the male flickers are making a racket. Today my neighbor Jean and I saw two crows chasing a bald eagle away from their nest. My forget-me-nots are full of bees of all sizes and I am seeing the first runty bumblebees emerging from the nest. The cherries are dropping their petals, but any trees still in bloom are full of a frenzy of honeybees, bumblebees and mining bees. I'm not seeing many mason bees. They may be finishing up early this year.

Madame Beespeaker's Pinterest Boards

 

Hey, are you on Pinterest? I love browsing the boards in my downtime and find some really inspiring ideas. My three favorite boards are Victory Gardens, Bee Homes and Garden Design. Check them out here: Bee Speaker Pinterest.

A Mother's Day Gift Idea: Grab-and-Go Seeding Kit

As I headed out to the garden to plant seeds yesterday, I threw all the necessary bits and pieces into an old lunch bag. It dawned on me that a grab-and-go seeding kit would be a great gift for Mother’s Day or for a friend’s birthday. This kit keeps you from hunting all through the house like an idiot for one or other of the bits and pieces needed to get on with putting in the garden.

Here’s what you’ll need:

One small waterproof container for keeping dry seed packs dry.

One small waterproof container for any wet seeds you are carrying.

String for marking lines.

Measuring tape or a small ruler for double-checking spacing between seeds and between rows.

Scissors for cutting open seed packs and cutting string.

A packet of inoculant for legume seeds.

Small package of garden markers for plant names.

A grease pencil for marking plant names.

Sandpaper and nail clippers for last minute seed scarification.

A good pair of garden gloves--the ones with rubber on one side.

Two sticks just long enough to fit in the lunch kit for holding the string to mark the rows.

 A couple of zip-lock baggies for the opened seed packets.

 One large zip-lock bag for holding seed germination notes and garden plans.

Add in a few packages of some beautiful seeds for bees and you’re good to go!