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“Bee I’m expecting you!
Was saying Yesterday
To Somebody you know
That you were due-

The Frogs got Home last Week-
Are settled, and at work-
Birds, mostly back-
The Clover warm and thick-

You’ll get my Letter by
The seventeenth; Reply
Or better, be with me-
Yours, Fly.”

 - Emily Dickinson

Bees in the garden often make me laugh. Which came first, the flower or the bee? I’ve often wondered that as I watch a bumblebee “back-into” a penstemons with perfect measurements for his body. Busy honeybees seeming to buzz perfectly in tune to Rimsky’s “Flight of the Bumble Bee” invite me to sing along. Of course there’s the sneaky “leaf cutter bee” sawing perfect circles in rose leaves when nobody’s looking.

As most garden enthusiasts are aware, the honeybee has sadly been in decline. A condition called Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD) began in 2006. Record numbers of honeybee workers began abandoning their hives causing the colony to die. The US has lost 30% of its bee population since. Besides the obvious “bummerness” of this, one third of US agriculture crops depend on honeybees for pollination. You know, we just can’t live without pollination. Why is this happening? Scientists have attributed this to fungus, virus, pesticides, and environmental stress.

Help the Bee. Use pesticides and herbicides only if really necessary and follow directions. I cringe when I see someone spraying Round Up during the day when it’s windy and bees are active. When making the decision to use pesticides or herbicides, it is very important to completely read, comprehend, and apply all of that small writing labeled “instructions/warning” or hire a reputable professional. Better yet, check out alternatives to pesticides and herbicides such as “cinnamon” spray for powdery mildew and good old fashioned weed pulling instead of spraying. Our clients’ gardens are kept in shape by hand weeding and treating the garden from a holistic perspective.

Plant for the bee. Perennial gardens are naturally attractors for many types of bees. Allergic to bees? Plant the perennial garden away from your seating area. But really these guys are very docile and it takes a lot to get them mad. The good news is that this disease hasn’t affected a lot of native bees. Some of these natives include wasps (yikes but thanks) another the mason bee which have little basket-like containers on their abdomens allowing them to carry much more pollen than a honeybee. These bees all like flowers, some live under debris and shrubs and some like to live in wood.

Know the bee. I remember trying to deadhead a patch of salvia, and this bee just kept buzzing really loudly and in a definite pattern - I knew he was saying, “come back later Workers in Progress.” Understand and identify the difference between the docile bee and aggressive wasps. It is important to educate children about this and helps to reduce their anxiety around bees. Take a family trip to the Bear Creek Nature Center and visit its “bee-display.”

Be the Bee. Build or purchase your own backyard bee-house. Steve Lechner of Busy Bee Farms in Larkspur, CO not only sells “bee-packages” for the backyard beekeeper but also offers classes on learning about apiculture. Also check out Black Forest Honey Farms www.blackforesthoney.com.

Respect the Bee. Finally, sometimes bees make hives in spots that aren’t necessarily convenient to us humans- like in our home’s walls or smack next to our outdoor seating area. Please, please take gentle and humane measure with regard to these delicate situations by calling a beekeeper to come remove the hive. Visit http://www.pikespeakbeekeepers.org/ to have a referral.

Fun with Bees: If you haven’t seen Jerry Seinfeld’s The Bee movie- it is funny (of course) and will change your perspective on bees even more (and maybe men- giggle). Reading the Oprah’s best-read book, “The Secret Life of Bees” was wonderful and the movie was even more wondrous. Local garden shops are carrying many locally produced honeys. One of my favorites is honey sticks which come in many different flavors- they are a great “upper” when mid-day fatigue arrives. Have you visited the cute and tiny Honey Cottage in Old Colorado City? Not only is it adorable, but also amazes one on how much can be made from bees- check out the bees wax candles- natural and give off no harmful chemicals when burned.

Native Bees That Are Good for Your Garden:

1. Squash bee (Peponapis pruinosa) Particularly adept at pollinating squash and gourds. Starts at dawn and tolerates cold weather. Lives in solitary ground burrows; promote by leaving beds untilled and pesticide-free. Range: North America.
2. Orchard mason bee (Osmia lignaria) Makes solitary nests in any available hollow. Has a short flight range but is fantastic at pollinating fruit trees. Drill holes in wood (or buy a kit) to attract. Range: North America.
3. Mariola bee (Tetragonisca angustula) One of few native American bees that produces honey; venerated by Mayans. Stingless, lives in communal nests in hollow logs; used in reforestation efforts in Central America. Range: Central America.
4. Bumblebee (Bombus impatiens) Lives in communal nests and practices übereffective buzz pollination (enters a flower and vibrates its body—a lot—to loosen pollen). Tolerates cold weather and rain. Brood nests can be purchased online. Range: North America.

Please contact us as soon as possible if you would like to renew with us so that we can begin properly planning to care for your gardens this season.  Enjoy the season!