Time to think about some seed swapping

[Cindi]

So, we are getting close to that time of year for seed setting.  If anyone is interested, I have these seeds available that I would be more than happy to send.  Their weight is neglible, so the cost of sending to the U.S. would be very small, and something that I would be willing to absorb, no problem there.

My list is fairly short, but I can bet your bottom dollar that every one of the seeds I list below (except for the Chilean Glory Vine, which the Bombus love) will be beloved by your bees, and all other beneficials.

I spend eons of my relaxing time in the summer saving seed, cleaning it reasonably well and storing it.  This is a passion and it brings me great pleasure to do this, picturing all along the beauty that this little piece of Mother Nature will bring to the world the following season.

If you are interested, please PM me and I will be sending the seeds along.

MrILoveTheAnts  Your Cerinthe Major seeds are ready to send in the mail.  I have your address, so I will send them soon. But, maybe you may want to add a few more that that send, once you have seen the list below:

Borage
Phacelia
Leek seeds
Parsley (Italian)
Garlic chive
Anise anistata (Agastache)
Lion's Ear
Chilean Glory Vine
Canary Vine
Cerinthe Major
Sea Holly

I am dying to try to get that Moonflower to grow this year.  It was a flop last year and only grew about 6 inches long.  I must figure out the cultural directions for this night scented glory.  Have a beautiful and wonderful day, Cindi

[Kimbrell]

Hi Cindi,
I grew a Moonflower vine one year.  I was told to keep the roots cool and shady and give the vine part to full sun.  It worked for me. I had some awesome flowers and spotted some beautiful Luna Moths that came to visit it.

[Cindi]

Kimbrell, thanks for that information, it is good to know, I would still love to grow this vine, I hear the night flowers are beautifully scented and I am into the night blooming flowers that are always so deeply scented, and yes they attract those beautiful night creatures that fly to visit them.  Have a wonderful day, Cindi

[Kev]

Cindy

what variety are the leeks? We might trade you some blueberry tomato seeds for them.

[Cindi]

Kev, now that is a good question.  It has been years since I initially purchased seed to propagate, I buy a good many of my seeds from Stokes.  I have saved this seed and use it for my leek production.  I am reading my catalogue right now, and the cultivar that I purchased was called Tadorna, it is not in the hybrid leek section, so it would not be a hybrid, the seed would be true to the parent.  It produces very nice great and tall leeks, I use the greens and the stalks.  I have many that have grown over the winter and will be great for harvesting and eating anytime.  I will type what the seed catalogue says about them here.

108 days.  Nice long 7-8 inch blue/green shaft is very easy to clean, frost tolerant fall or N.J. over winter type.  Leaf Spot/Yellow Spot tolerant.

If you want seed, PM me with your address and I will give you mine as well.  It would be cool to have a blueberry tomato, you will have to describe it to me as well, interesting sounding stuff.  Have a wonderful and beautiful day, love our life we're livin'.  Cindi

[reinbeau]

Those leeks are supposed to be particularly interesting for the bees, Cindi, I guess they go wild for the flowers!

[Cindi]

Ann, yes, the bees love the flowers of the leeks.  I always let several of the plants go to flower in the second year for seed gathering and the bees, they love it, so do other beneficials!!!  They also love and I mean LOVE the Sea Holly (Eryngium Planum).  I have several mother plants that have produced many babies.  It is a perennial -- the first year only grew the rosette type foliage, as nothing at all to look at and no flowers.  Last summer it bloomed for an extensive period of time, covered an area of about 10 feet (there was 6 plants), set a whole wack of baby plants that will bloom this year, which will cover an enormous area.  It set millions of seeds, I transplanted quite a few of the young seedlings last year to different spots around the apiary, when they were quite young, because they have an extremely long tap root, which makes them very drought resistant. They are also used for soil erosion purposes because of the root system. The bees and all manner of beneficials that covered these plants all day long was astounding.  It was like a little world of bugs all living on top of one plant.  The soldier bugs particularly liked it, I think I would have called it their breeding ground, man do they like to breed, prolific little things!!!!

I took the seed heads when I cut the sea holly back last summer and spread them all over the back perimeter of my property, they can grow wild back there for all I care, so I expect to see a blue border all along my neighbours pasture fences the year after next.  These won't bloom this year.  With the bee gardens all over my acreage, it is a big picture, looking to the years ahead.  I have pounds of seed of this if you want a handful, hee, hee.  Have a beautiful and wonderful day, we be lovin' this life we live.  Cindi

Bees on the leek flowers, unopened



Sea Holly (Eryngium planum)





The bombus also love Sea Holly


The bees also love Garlic Chives' flowers (yes, and so do I, yummmmmeeeee, the flowers have the most beautiful fragrance you can imagine, no wonder the bees are attracted to it)

[KONASDAD]

WOW! Look at all those girls on the sea holly. They also need very little water , correct? I am trying to be more xeric in my planting. Plants that need less of everything, particularly water, and are hardy and need no add'l care beyond enjoying them in my out gardens is the goal.

[Kev]

I was surprised at how much the bees liked broccoli flowers.

kev

[Cindi]

Konasdad, the sea holly is incredibly drought tolerant, has an amazing deep tap root, goes deep deep into the earth, locating water.  It is difficult to transplant as an older plant because of this root.  Xeriscape landscaping, beautiful!!!!!  Gaillardia is also drought tolerant.  Good luck, you got some good stuff going on there.

Kev, the bees LOVE broccoli flowers.  We always let many of them go to seed, just for the bees, they are crazy on the flowers!!!!!  This year was such a drastically horrible year, the broccoli (which usually sets so much food for all summer) all bolted and went to seed before I could hardly get any, so I let it go, kept deadheading it to promote the flowers for the bees.  The picture shows part of the broccoli patch.  Have a wonderful, beautiful day, loving our lives we live.  Cindi



Look at the pollen they have gathered:

[Ross]

I'll have seed for pickerel weed in purple, pink, and white soon.  I'll also have blue vitex seed.  Pickerel grows in water or bog conditions. 

[Cindi]

Ross, I would love some pickerel seed, I have bog areas that it could naturalize in.  Please keep me in mind when you are gathering seed.  I would appreciate it.  Don't know too much about the vitex.  Have that most beautiful and wonderful day, Cindi

[Jessaboo]

Hi Cindi -

I will PM you about some of that sea holly! I have salvia seeds and scabiosa (pincushion flower) I would be happy to share. I have tons of others but these two are my best bee plants. I specifically bought the scabiosa because whenever I go to the local plant nursery they are always COVERED in blooms and bees!

I have some broccoli raab that has gone to flower (aka Rapini) - do you think the bees will like this as much as broccoli? It is a nearly identical looking flower except not so deep as a broccoli flower. I am shocked about the leeks! I had no idea. Is this true of all alliums or just the leeks - I have garlic, onion and leek this year and will let some of each go if the bees like onions across the board? I do have some decorative alliums in the garden but I have not noticed the girls paying any attention to it.

Also - a kind of related question - I have a very small piece of land compared to what it sounds like most folks are working with but I garden heavily (is there such a thing as gardening heavily?). I don't mow my back lawn to allow a few huge patches of clover to bloom,  have a dozen scabiosa plants, salvia, lots of herbs, berries, etc etc all because I love to garden and I want to attract pollinators and, now, give my hive something close by so if they can fly a bit in bad weather there is something close. However, I have yet to see ANY activity from honeybees in my own garden! Is there a bee behavior that keeps them from foraging close to the hive or do you think there is just a better nectar/pollen draw out there right now and they don't need the stuff close to home?

[KONASDAD]

they will go to food w/ the greatest value. They also find it difficult to find plants w/in 50 ft or so has been my experience. Dont worry, they will find your plants. Also, they go to certain flowers at certain times of day. Clover is usually later in day.

[Cindi]

Hi Cindi -
salvia seeds and scabiosa (pincushion flower) I would be happy to share.

I have some broccoli raab that has gone to flower (aka Rapini) - do you think the bees will like this as much as broccoli? It is a nearly identical looking flower except not so deep as a broccoli flower. I am shocked about the leeks! I had no idea. Is this true of all alliums or just the leeks - I have garlic, onion and leek this year and will let some of each go if the bees like onions across the board? I do have some decorative alliums in the garden but I have not noticed the girls paying any attention to it.

Also - a kind of related question - I have a very small piece of land compared to what it sounds like most folks are working with but I garden heavily (is there such a thing as gardening heavily?). I don't mow my back lawn to allow a few huge patches of clover to bloom,  have a dozen scabiosa plants, salvia, lots of herbs, berries, etc etc all because I love to garden and I want to attract pollinators and, now, give my hive something close by so if they can fly a bit in bad weather there is something close. However, I have yet to see ANY activity from honeybees in my own garden! Is there a bee behavior that keeps them from foraging close to the hive or do you think there is just a better nectar/pollen draw out there right now and they don't need the stuff close to home?

Jess, what I have noticed is that the bees LOVE alliums.  For example, the garlic chives, bees go nuts on the flowers, leeks, nuts on the flowers, garlic, never noticed any bees on their flowers, probably something else blooming when I have let some garlic go to flower.  I would love some scabiosa, I grew that years ago, beautiful.

Like Konasdad said, it depends on what else is more attractive to them at time of blooming.  Bees love to forage within 250 feet of their hive, and will definitely only forage 10 feet infront of their hives, at least mine do.  The masses of blue flowers I have grow on a hill that is directly infront of the apiary and the bees are nuts on these from the moment they awaken and leave the hive til the end of the day.

I have masses of clover that grows around my place.  The grass grows long too.  I mow the grass short (around the apiary too).  This allows the clover to grow shorter, not struggling too grow above the grass.  I mow the clover down once the initial flowering has slowed down and it comes back and blooms even longer.  It is rather strange.  The clover blooms right up intil the middle of the fall by mowing it down.  I believe this is something similar to annual flowers that I deadhead.  The more the dead flowers are removed the harder they  bloom.  I know clover is a perennial, but it reacts wonderfully to mowing.  I do not know the species of clover this is.  It is white, hee, hee, just plain ol' white.

I like the short grass around the apiary, it keeps my feet drier, we are in such a damp climate, if I left it long, I would have to wear gumboots all summer long, and that would not be a good thing, hee, hee.  Have the most wonderful and beautiful day, Cindi