Beauty and the Bees – A different way of looking at garden design
One of my favorite lecture topics:
Beauty and the Bees – A different way of looking at garden design
Time was when we wanted to design gardens that were beautiful.
Planting trees, shrubs and perennials together to create a space that was aesthetically pleasing was the goal.
Now we know better.
Gardening just for our own pleasure is not only selfish, it’s dangerous.
Colony Collapse Disorder and the plight of pollinators have made us aware that we do not garden alone.
We need to be designing landscapes and gardens with a mindful eye to the environment around us.
Join garden designer and beekeeper Deborah Trickett, owner of The Captured Garden, as she shows you how with a few tweaks we can create spaces that are not only beautiful but beneficial to bees and other pollinators.
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Bee Resources:
“Bee the Change – Plant for Pollinators” – Plant Something, MA
Protecting the Life That Sustains Us – Xerces Society
Massachusetts Beekeepers Association
Bee School – Worcester County Beekeepers Association
Bee School – Norfolk County Beekeepers
Ten Interesting Facts About Bees – Massachusetts Master Gardeners
Hug a Tree
Many gardeners are all abuzz about saving our pollinators. As a beekeeper, I am thrilled; this is a good thing. Even the big box stores have labels on some perennials that trumpet the cause. Just make sure you check the tags to confirm the plants have not been treated with neonicotinoids, a pesticide that spells death to bees.
And while many of us now understand the importance of milkweed it’s only the beginning. Protecting pollinators, which include bees, moths, butterflies, and bats, means more than planting a few pretty perennials.
According to entomologist, professor, and author Doug Tallamy, the top-ranked woody genus for pollinators is Oaks (Quercus), which support 534 species. The top-ranked herbaceous plant is Goldenrod (Solidago) which, in comparison, supports 114 species.
In other words, trees are very important to pollinator health; they provide most of the earliest food available in the spring.
Numbers don’t tell the whole story, however. Many butterflies, moths, and native bees require a specific plant for survival. The monarch and its connection with milkweed has been well-publicized. All this makes for a compelling argument that gardens with an eye to the future should encompass a diversity of native plant material.
For a list of native pollinator plants and the number of species they support, check out Bringing Nature Home.
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