Beemaster's International Beekeeping Forum

ALMOST BEEKEEPING - RELATED TOPICS => GARDENING AROUND THE HOUSE => Topic started by: jaseemtp on April 27, 2011, 12:15:25 pm

Title: bee flower garden
Post by: jaseemtp on April 27, 2011, 12:15:25 pm
Ok, so I have the wifes approval to redo the flower bed in the front of the house.  I am in Texas zone 7 / 8.  It does get pretty hot here and the garden area gets at least 6 hours of sun daily, mostly in the morning.  I am looking for bee friendly plants to plant.  The spot is 4feet wide and 25 feet long.  Any input would be greatly appreciated.
Jason
Title: Re: bee flower garden
Post by: SerenaSYH on May 03, 2011, 02:14:58 am
ooo, Russian sage is the perfect plant! and they can take blasting heat and pretty bad soil. My front lawn has a huge maple that is destroying my lawn because of its huge thick long tree roots that keep pushing way past the actual tree itself yet the Russian sage seems to be very happy and can tolerate the tree zapping away all the soil nutrients. They are in full sun, however which makes them able to bloom profusely. Honeybees are crazy about Russian sage. They also make very beautiful winter foliage.
Title: Re: bee flower garden
Post by: AllenF on May 03, 2011, 10:25:40 pm
Kudzu honey is great and just one plant should cover the 25 foot of ground in about 2 weeks.  And you do not have to worry about weeding the front yard ever again.   Really just about anything that blooms will work.   You are just looking for a place to look at your bees.   Plant several plants that bloom at different times through the summer.
Title: Re: bee flower garden
Post by: SerenaSYH on May 04, 2011, 02:39:48 am
YIKES, Allen, kudzu honey may be delicious, but it is an extremely, dangerously invasive plant. The U.S. government has issued warnings about it. And all architects realize what a bad plant this is. I used to work for several architectural firms. And it was actually the architects who regretted this terrible error because at first they were one of the first to introduce it to the U.S. Allen you will need to get rid of this plant as soon as possible I'm thinking. Once it grabs a hold of your property it will choke out all other vegetation.

Type in the words "Kudzu in the United States" in Wikipedia, and it will show you a pretty terrifying image of how invasive this plant is.. I've been prevented (being too new to the forum to post links) but if you type in that phrase into Wikipedia you'll find all the information on it...
Title: Re: bee flower garden
Post by: Shawn on May 04, 2011, 10:15:55 am
You might want to go through the old post because I know Cindi and others have put out a list of good plants. I used a lot of the flowers off the list and always see bees around them. Some that I have planted and are doing good are the Cat Mint, Salvia, Liatris, and another one that looks like a blue ball of thistle, forgot the name. The soil here is Southeast Colorado is sandy, weather gets hot just like Texas, 100s, and very very DRY! Some day I;; take a photograph of my water bill and post it  :roll:
Title: Re: bee flower garden
Post by: VolunteerK9 on May 04, 2011, 10:45:40 am
YIKES, Allen, kudzu honey may be delicious, but it is an extremely, dangerously invasive plant.

Quick....batten down the hatches!  :-D

It's all over the South-along every roadside, but Ive yet to see a Pine tree choked into submission by it

After all, the Japanese beetles we imported will eventually wipe it out, just as soon as they get filled up from stuff in my garden  :lau:
Title: Re: bee flower garden
Post by: Shawn on May 04, 2011, 12:20:14 pm
I believe Colorado got a warning about the beetle last year, not sure if they have been seen or not. I think the article said all trees imported must be Quarantine for so many days. My parents have the beetles in Indiana pretty bad when the fruit comes on.
Title: Re: bee flower garden
Post by: Brian D. Bray on May 04, 2011, 04:13:23 pm
Yes Kudzu is an extremely invasive plant.  Around my youngest brother's place any area not taken up by a building, body of water, cultivated lawn or garden, or roadway, is overgrown with both Kudzu and blackberries.  Kudzu blooms immediately after the blackberries in my area so he gets a very heavy honey flow from mid to late summer. 
Just because it's invasive doesn't mean you can't let your bees take advantage of the available nectar source.
Title: Re: bee flower garden
Post by: jaseemtp on May 04, 2011, 05:22:19 pm
I guess kudzu does not grow well in north Texas or it has not been introduced to our area.  If that is the case I do not want to be the person who brings it hear.  If it is growing here then I have no problem growing some of my own.
Jason
Title: Re: bee flower garden
Post by: AllenF on May 04, 2011, 10:18:46 pm
The highway department spreads that stuff around every time they mow the sides of the roads.    That is how come it grows on the shoulder of every road here in Georgia.  That and the fact it can grow 12 inches a day.
 
Title: Re: bee flower garden
Post by: SerenaSYH on May 04, 2011, 10:36:49 pm
oh, no, kudzu is very terrible stuff and extremely expensive to remove. You will regret it terribly once it gets a hold of your land. People try to burn it, it comes up stronger than ever, it's that brutal of a plant. As Brian says too it is extremely invasive, but soon there will be no blackberries either. That kudzu will eat up your entire area. If you Google just for kudzu images you can see what I'm saying. Lol, about Batten down the hatches, hehe, but uh, Pine trees DON'T STAND A CHANCE against Kudzu. Kudzu has swallowed up entire forests. Give it a couple of years. Nothing will be left.

Here is the Wikipedia link...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kudzu_in_the_United_States (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kudzu_in_the_United_States)

"Kudzu kills or damages other plants by smothering them under a blanket of leaves, encompassing tree trunks, breaking branches, or even uprooting entire trees."

It damages waterways as well:
"Kudzu has increased the concentration of atmospheric NOx in the eastern United States, which causes a 2 ppb increase in tropospheric ozone during high temperature events in addition to soil acidification, aluminum mobilization, and leaching of NO3- into aquatic ecosystems.[2]"

"Kudzu is also a ‘structural parasite,’ meaning that, rather than supporting itself, it grows on top of other plants and buildings to reach light. Its ability to reproduce and spread quickly allows it to quickly cover shrubs, trees, and forests, where it blocks the sun’s rays from the plants below it, decreasing or completely eliminating their photosynthetic productivity"

"Much is known about the economic impact of kudzu in the United States. $100–500 million is lost per year in forest productivity.[3] In addition, it takes about $5,000 per ha per year to control kudzu.[3] For power companies, it costs about $1.5 million per year to repair damage to power lines.[3]"

I am just rushing to write this out of concern for Allen. He actually has this stuff on his property and I dread what will happen within a few years...

but o.k. enough off topic, poor Jason! We need more Shawn and others to help Jason with a benign bee garden, lol! O.K. what I should mention to Jason is if his wife enjoys herbs, the absolute best herbs for the honeybee is Italian oregano. They like it far better than the catmint. Everyone has great luck with catmint except for me :( but it's great to have something a human can eat instead of just the cats, lol! Also Jason, my friend Boxofrox, a rose gardener, swears by sedum as being an absolute bee magnet, and the flowers have lots of charm to them. I just planted one this spring to test try in my garden. I found a YouTube video for you, Jason, which shows tons of bees swarming the sedum....

All Bees Love Sedum (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PD4EpCfHSpM#noexternalembed)
Title: Re: bee flower garden
Post by: Shanevrr on May 04, 2011, 10:44:52 pm
SerenaSYH you must type fast lol, my eyes hurt from reading your posts. you certainly know your stuff
Title: Re: bee flower garden
Post by: jaseemtp on May 04, 2011, 10:49:25 pm
Thank you Serenasyh for the info. I have planted some oregano, but it has not been growing long enough to bloom.  I enjoyed the vidoe of the sedum and will be looking for seeds for it tomorrow.  I also planted mint, but not the cat mint, I am not a big fan of cats and dont want any of them around. Thanks again
Jason
Title: Re: bee flower garden
Post by: SerenaSYH on May 06, 2011, 11:05:37 pm
Hi, Jason! I don't think bees particularly like mint, and rose gardeners always regret planting it in their garden. However, agastache is a member of the mint family that honeybees do like and it doesn't have the weedy problems that mint does. A few select Agastache Hyssop plants are sterile and stay in one manageable clump and bring tons of lovely color to the garden. All agastache versions are butterfly magnets. However, not all agastache hyssop honeybees like. The ones on the good nectar plants thread I don't have, unfortunately. Honeybees love the tightly clustering hyssop of the pale purple version-- the anise hyssop. The link below shows the one that Honeybees like.

http://www.heronswood.com/resources/Heronswood/images/products/processed/06565.zoom.a.jpg (http://www.heronswood.com/resources/Heronswood/images/products/processed/06565.zoom.a.jpg)

This link below shows an example of the wrong kind of agastache, which I have. Do not get these trumpetlike ones. They are beloved by the carpenter bee, and unless you like holes drilled all over your patio do not get it. My honeybees did not like this agastache. I dug up every single one of mine, but could not bear to ditch the last one. The colors were so beautiful and it made me pretty sad to get rid of all of mine.

http://www.botanicgardensblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/tmpphpqLmaqV.jpg (http://www.botanicgardensblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/tmpphpqLmaqV.jpg)

But I still say that the best garden plant you'll ever get for the honeybees is Russian sage. It is so beautiful both in the summer and the wintertime and has one of the longest bloom seasons for a plant. It can bloom from July until November, and it takes the first snow to make mine stop blooming. Bees are as crazy about Russian sage as they are with clover and swarm the entire plant. It makes for gorgeous hedging and is disease and pest free! If you have a neighbor who has a shoot, get it from them. RS grows very well. It is very difficult to grow RS from seed I have read online. But it divides very, very easily.

Here is a photo of the Russian sage growing with the roses!

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4030/4696324008_59a942b934.jpg (http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4030/4696324008_59a942b934.jpg)

http://i243.photobucket.com/albums/ff108/kristinwebber/beaut0002.png (http://i243.photobucket.com/albums/ff108/kristinwebber/beaut0002.png)

Pictures often paint a thousand words, and helps show how beautiful Russian sage can be and BEE!
Title: Re: bee flower garden
Post by: joebrown on May 07, 2011, 04:46:01 am
Well typically anything that butterflies and hummingbirds like a bee will like as well. After all, they are looking for the same thing, nectar and pollen. I went to Lowes Hardware last week and bought a butterfly and hummingbird wild flower mix. They claim there are over 100,000 seeds in each pack. A pack will cover 1200 square feet and it was only $9.95. You cannot beat that! I also bought some seed starter pellets, but that is not required! Good Luck, I planted mine on 5/2/2011.
Title: Re: bee flower garden
Post by: jaseemtp on May 07, 2011, 11:59:41 am
Thanks for the help y'all.  I did go Lowes and found Russina sageand per SerenaSYHs advise I got them.  I bought 4 and plan on going back and getting 4 more of them.  I have some Vitex planted, they came in 30 gallon containers so I hope that those will start blooming soon.  I know I can not provide for all the bees needs, but why not try to help them out.  I figure I have the space why not.
Jason
Title: Re: bee flower garden
Post by: BlueBee on May 08, 2011, 12:03:15 am
I have a few Vitex planted here in Michigan.  The tops die down to the ground here, but the roots never die and the new growth shoots up 6’ here making them a nice purple flowering summer bush.  My Vitex is covered with bees in the summer, but usually NOT honey bees!  They are covered with great big carpenter bees.  The bumbles also like the Vitex. 

I do see an occasional honey bee on the Vitex, but mostly carpenter bees.  We usually have nectar flowing all summer long here on various plants and my guess is the honey bees are foraging on clover and milkweeds here as opposed to the Vitex.  In a drier climate without the other nectar options, the honey bees may pay more attention to the Vitex.
Title: Re: bee flower garden
Post by: North Bee on May 14, 2011, 08:10:29 am
Kudzu blooms immediately after the blackberries in my area so he gets a very heavy honey flow from mid to late summer. 
Since like me you are in Washington state, I hope when you say kudzu you actually mean japanese knot weed?
Title: Re: bee flower garden
Post by: AllenF on May 14, 2011, 09:34:35 am
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kudzu (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kudzu)     
Title: Re: bee flower garden
Post by: Brian D. Bray on May 16, 2011, 04:33:34 pm
Kudzu blooms immediately after the blackberries in my area so he gets a very heavy honey flow from mid to late summer. 
Since like me you are in Washington state, I hope when you say kudzu you actually mean japanese knot weed?

Kudzu, Japanese know weed, and Elephant ear, same plant.  There are other plants called Elephant ear in other areas so the nickname that was popular for it in the 50's and 60's isn't used as much these days.
Title: Re: bee flower garden
Post by: AllenF on May 16, 2011, 10:23:59 pm
Kudzu is not japanese knot weed.   2 total different plants.
Title: Re: bee flower garden
Post by: Brian D. Bray on May 21, 2011, 06:32:41 pm
Kudzu is not japanese knot weed.   2 total different plants.

I stand corrected, I need to learn to do more internet searches on things I've been told long ago that turn out to be untrue.
I have a tendency to believe in what I was taught as a youth unless I've discovered it in error along the way, Kudzu now fits in that catagory.
Title: Re: bee flower garden
Post by: SerenaSYH on May 26, 2011, 08:10:27 pm
Jason, I got re-confirmation from my lawn guy that indeed sedum attracts tons of honeybees and the FANTASTIC THING about them is he showed me how to cut the stem and plant it into the ground and it will root all by itself once it's watered. Now how cool is that! As soon as my sedum matures I'm gonna try this technique!!!!

However, Russian sage has a few more advantages in that it is extremely pest resistant and it has gorgeous winter foliage. I hope you will be as thrilled about your new RS as me. Mine is also very upright and so shapely (it's got a great form to it). Plus once you have it in your garden you can easily dig up any spring seedlings and plant it elsewhere. My honeybees have been doing such an amazing job pollinating my Russian sage that I've got plenty of babies to help fill out my entire area. The seedlings to take awhile to grow up though whereas the store-bought completely fills out to a lush bush within a very fast time. But right now I'm just drooling. When things peak, I am hoping for a honeybee paradise.
Title: Re: bee flower garden
Post by: jaseemtp on May 27, 2011, 07:32:55 pm
that sounds awesome!  I just need to find out who has sedum for sale around here.
Title: Re: bee flower garden
Post by: SerenaSYH on July 13, 2011, 09:22:49 pm
Everyone who lives in warm balmy areas like Florida (moist climate) I accidentally found really cool information about lime bushes. They are the best in high-quality nectar for BEEEES!!!!

I am going to repeat this post elsewhere because I know we have a lot of "orchard folks" who do beekeeping as well...

Link #1: http://thehealingpath.com/OrganicBeekeeping/honey_bee_forage_bee_gardens.shtml (http://thehealingpath.com/OrganicBeekeeping/honey_bee_forage_bee_gardens.shtml)
"Rodale reported one lime bush could keep one hive in nectar all season and one acre of anise hyssop has been said to be enough nectar for 100 hives."

Link #2: http://thisbluemarble.com/showthread.php?t=16244 (http://thisbluemarble.com/showthread.php?t=16244)
A potted dwarf lime bush will sweeten your garden and your house
July 6, 8:14 AM

Lime blossoms--elegant, fragrant, and abundant--on my dwarf
Bearss lime. Photo by Quincy Benton

After hurricanes wiped out lime orchards in Florida, the United States no longer commercially grows limes. Most limes consumed in the U.S. now are imported from Mexico, but you can grow your own at home. If you have sunny spots—both outdoors and in—you have what you need to grow a potted lime tree.

Citrus x latifolia, also known as Tahiti lime, Persian lime, or Bearss lime produces juicy, seedless limes that are less acidic and less bitter than many varieties—perfect for cooking and for beverages. The plant’s blossoms are almost as wonderful as the fruit. Abundant and fragrant, the flowers bring to mind gardenia. The blooms attract bees and butterflies. They are less acidic than key limes and don't have the bitterness that lends to the key lime's unique flavor.
Title: Re: bee flower garden
Post by: divemaster1963 on July 13, 2011, 10:56:19 pm
ah. kudzu is not that bad. my wife's cousin bought a lot that was covered in it. all it took was a t-7 dozier with a rake on back to pull the many 1+ ton root eyes then. till the ground and sprayed a combo of diesel and weed/root killer over a thirty day interval.  :shock: after that he never had the kudzu on his lot again. to bad for the neighbor tho. he lost a 4 car shop that had a classic Corvette in it when it collapsed under the load from kudzu on the roof. :devilbanana:

john
Title: Re: bee flower garden
Post by: annette on July 14, 2011, 04:12:17 pm
I just planted lavender all over the place, any kind will do. The English, French, or Spanish variety. I prefer the English though as the bushes get really big and beautiful. They love the heat and I read when the bees forage on lavender they get all nectar. The bees go crazy on this plant. They are perennial so will be around a while.
Title: Re: bee flower garden
Post by: jaseemtp on July 17, 2011, 03:09:50 am
I did not have much luck getting the lavander to grow.  On the other hand I planted alot of Basil, just because I heard it was good for the girls.  Well they love it, I can always find bees on the plants working.  Also I planted some of the Borage and it is a hit with the girls too.
Title: Re: bee flower garden
Post by: SerenaSYH on July 30, 2011, 08:23:44 pm
Jason did you try the oregano? :-D It is one huge honeybee magnet too. You are much more dedicated than me. I can't stand to replant any annuals (borage/basil). Too much work! lol! I need things to come up every year like Russian sage and Italian oregano. And lavender is somewhat fine, but nowhere as good as the RS and Italian Oregano which come up every single year gangbusters and has the biggest number of bees on them. But what I also appreciate about lavender is that it effectively is a fantastic weed blocker without interfering with the roses, lol! That makes them winners in my book! So yes, I will grow them as a deeper purple backdrop.

But Russian sage is indeed the King, such a beautiful hedging plant and sooo tough against drought as well with the longest blooming season. :-D
Title: Re: bee flower garden
Post by: jaseemtp on July 30, 2011, 08:46:03 pm
I tried the greek organo and it did not do well.  I never did see flowers on it, but this is a horrible year to grow much of anything in Texas because of the drought.  Next year I will do a better job at planting and adding a soaker hose with mulch over it.  I have sold my house and am moving further out so I will invest more time and energy on planting more plants for the girls.  Sehena thanks for the information I do appreciate it.  Again the borage was a HIT but jeeze its an ugly plant and requires frequent watering.  The basil did wonderful too with the girls, I just needed to prune the seed heads off to keep them flowering. 
I have a hedge row of Russian olive planted and was told that when it blooms in October it has a good flow.  This is not the tree that I hear bad things about.  It is a shrub and grows 8ft high and 6 ft wide.
Title: Re: bee flower garden
Post by: SerenaSYH on July 31, 2011, 06:27:55 pm
Oh, soooo sorry Jason! I need to be butt-kicked! :buttkick:

I realize I have to be very careful about the details from now on!!! Jason, I only grow Italian oregano and have never grown the Greek version. Again many apologies!!!!!!!!!!! The oregano I have gets partial sun and is going gangbusters in the 95 degree weather. But it is mulched and seems to benefit from the shade of the house. but in the winter it dies to the ground in zone 5 and then shoots back up every single year. Italian oregano has to be ground planted in zone 5 or else it will not survive even if the pot is 4' long and 2'6" deep. Our zone is used to be very cold in the winter, but our temps shoot up in the Spring and then the summer temps are in the 90s and max out at 102 degrees. This year with global warming we may soar up to 105 degrees. Jason I too have lost many, many plants from the heat. The heat has roasted my 2 tree roses and one is nearly dead. Also all the heather is dying from the heat. The only ones left are the ones planted in the partial shade of the house in the first photo where that Italian oregano is at. Italian oregano grows to a good height. The baby band roses are also suffering severely....thank Goodness for Russian sage enduring the blasting heat! otherwise I'd go nuts!

I am purposefully letting my lawn die, hoping the scorching heat will kill the Japanese beetle grubs. Japanese beetles are notorious for devastating rose gardens but so far the hot wax pepper spray seems to be keeping them at bay. They love hollyhocks so they are gravitating toward those more than the roses so far, thank goodness! And as soon as it cools down I will be putting organic Milky spore to kill off the rest of the grubs.

Here is a photo of where the Italian Oregano is growing...

(http://i884.photobucket.com/albums/ac49/Serena-Friends/Other%20Favorite%20Garden%20Photos/2011-05-29_Garden-Lot.jpg)

and here is one area where the Russian sage is growing...
(http://i884.photobucket.com/albums/ac49/Serena-Friends/Favorite%20Rose%20Photos%202011/2011-06-13_Heather02.jpg)

For photos of the honeybees and oregano flowers you can view this link, I just updated it before visiting your thread, and discovered my whopper boo-boos!
The photos of the oregano and Russian sage are at the very bottom of the thread...

http://forum.beemaster.com/index.php/topic,32695.0.html (http://forum.beemaster.com/index.php/topic,32695.0.html)
Title: Re: bee flower garden
Post by: VolunteerK9 on July 31, 2011, 07:43:10 pm
Havent ever saw that black and white version of oregano before :)
Title: Re: bee flower garden
Post by: jaseemtp on August 01, 2011, 01:22:29 am
Its ok about the mix up Serena.  I enjoyed walking in the garden and it smelled like some one was cooking Italian food. Lol.  I have all winter to work on my new garden since I have sold my house and will be building a new one.  So 16 fruit trees and 3k square feet to garden with, not to mention the 3 acres I get to tinker with such as clover / buckwheat and what not.
Title: Re: bee flower garden
Post by: SerenaSYH on August 09, 2011, 06:02:48 pm
hehe, Jason, well my clover experiment under the trees proved to be a complete Failure! Our 110 degree weather scorched everything beyond redemption. All the clover is as dead as a doornails. 2 Months ago, I had live clover, and it was fun cussin' at the rabbits and imagining Rabbit dinner at our forum because rabbits do love eating clover. I also managed to get a few lovely Crimson clover blooms as a surprise (Crimson clover normally blooms only in early Spring). But yeah, any remnant of clover is long withered and sitting atop the soil like some compost bin :( Now why does that the darn Wood Sorrel weed/clover imposter not die in this heat! Only the poor clover dies instead! Grrrrrrrrrr!

Russian sage is going gangbusters at least! Speaking about Russian sage do not get the small/dwarf hybrid versions. Do not get Blue Spire or Little Spire, which flops like crazy and has no shape to it. I cannot deal with messy, sprawly and extremely awkward plants. As soon as the LIttle Spire blooms I'm going to shovel prune it. The Version you need to get is the normal full-sized. Perovskia atriplicifolia Filigran version which is very upright and neatly formed.

Hehe, VolunteerK9.   :-D Yup my Girlie is sugar and spice and everything nice! Eluane sends her puppy greetings!



Title: Re: bee flower garden
Post by: jaseemtp on August 10, 2011, 01:19:32 am
well I did try clover, but we have had a horrible year with heat and lack of rain.  So none of it came up.  The Russian sage I have is probally the wrong one since it is all sprawled out and the girls do not seem interested in it.  I did plant 6 of them together and Im not sure that is enough to draw them over.  I guess I will have a few months of home work to do before next spring.
Title: Re: bee flower garden
Post by: SerenaSYH on August 17, 2011, 02:51:34 am
oh, ugh, ugh, ugh, I am screwing you up big time  :oops: :buttkick:

Ok, on the videos of good nectar plants you will see the real Russian sage Perovskia atriplicifolia Filigran there. Also in my garden photo, this is the true Russian sage, very upright and tidy... The leaves need to be very narrow and feathery. Jason I only had two Perovskia atriplicifolia Filigran last year and all the honeybees mobbed those 2 plants. Because the two plants were so successful, I bought tons more the next year to add to my garden.

The bad Russian sage hybrid has rounded leaves and is completely floppy. Maybe you also got regular Meadow Sage mixed up? They are also pretty floppy but do send up spires. My honeybees do not! like Meadow sage.

Here are closeups of the good Russian sage Perovskia atriplicifolia Filigran. When I have time to re-edit, I will send you photos of the bad Russian Blue Spire / Mini Spire. The bad I only bought 2 plants because I was afraid that the original Russian sage may be too large and may push over the roses so it was a private experiment. I never mentioned the mini-hybrid to you because I didn't know how it would perform in my garden. But I never thought you'd pick up such a plant, yikes!

Bad Blue Spire or Mini Spire hybrid also does not bloom as long or as early as the original Russian sage. This proves my theory that garden folks need to stop hybridizing because hybridizing can negatively affect the bee-attractiveness of the flowers! Grrrrrr. Well, mine haven't bloomed yet so I will reconfirm the performance when they do.

Jason, Russian sage has an extremely long bloom season from June 1st all the way to the first snows...so if it doesn't snow until December, then that is how long Perovskia atriplicifolia Filigran will keep on blooming. The pale blue flowers will shed and the deeper new purple flowers will come up... Here are more links on how yours if it had been the right one, should have looked like. That is the advantage of going to a nursery to buy the plant because you can observe the growth pattern and leaves right away...

See how neat and upright...

http://www.gardeninggonewild.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/03/perovskia-echinops-achillea2.jpg (http://www.gardeninggonewild.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/03/perovskia-echinops-achillea2.jpg)

http://www.webanswers.com/post-images/6/6E/6A1C1FBD-14B3-FA99-6DBFAA5C4FBFD94B.jpg (http://www.webanswers.com/post-images/6/6E/6A1C1FBD-14B3-FA99-6DBFAA5C4FBFD94B.jpg)

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_XpZ_btgT-Sg/TT8RZEF4ONI/AAAAAAAAAAk/yb_YsxbuyrI/s1600/russiansage+1.jpg (http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_XpZ_btgT-Sg/TT8RZEF4ONI/AAAAAAAAAAk/yb_YsxbuyrI/s1600/russiansage+1.jpg)

http://i243.photobucket.com/albums/ff108/kristinwebber/beaut0002.png (http://i243.photobucket.com/albums/ff108/kristinwebber/beaut0002.png)

http://www.thetreefarm.com/media/catalog/product/cache/1/thumbnail/9df78eab33525d08d6e5fb8d27136e95/r/u/russian-sage-plant-wilway.jpg (http://www.thetreefarm.com/media/catalog/product/cache/1/thumbnail/9df78eab33525d08d6e5fb8d27136e95/r/u/russian-sage-plant-wilway.jpg)

Here is the closeup of the real Perovskia atriplicifolia Filigran:

(http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g205/Serena-Eluane/Gardening-1st-timer/Russian-Sage-Closeup.jpg)

I'm back! here to add a closeup photo of the bad Russian Mini-Spire and no, I didn't find any honeybees on it either. The honeybees are still obsessing over the real Russian sage and the Italian Oregano. As you can tell the plants look very different although the flower shares a similar color. Even the "spires" are a bit different in the formation.

(http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g205/Serena-Eluane/Gardening-1st-timer/Russian-Mini-Spire-Closeup.jpg)

:imsorry:


OK other details. Italian Oregano requires a bit of partial shade to protect it from roasting. You will also need mulch to keep the plant rehydrated....Italian Oregano if it is grown in good soil and mulched soil gets to be one huge moppy plant. It looks like the Simpsons' Sideshow Bob, but boy do the honeybees like it!....Oregano prefers rich soils. Italian oregano normally grows from 12"-24" but when planted next to my roses which are fed with sea tea, they become mutant giants - over 3' tall. The flowers are very massive and heavy and will spill over everywhere!

Russian sage can tolerate drought and poor soil really well. Just make sure when you first transplant it that it gets good waterings. Lots of plants in will have transplant shock so initially water and make sure the roots are adjusted.

Finally do not attempt to transplant or plant new plants in the midst of the drought season. Their ability to survive can be cut as much as 2/3rds or more and will likely end up as dead as doornails. Do not succumb to "summer sales" lol! cool spring is always the best! Once Russian sage and GROUND-PLANTED Oregano establish themselves, you never have to worry about these plants ever! again. They'll come up year after year after year.




Title: Re: bee flower garden
Post by: jaseemtp on August 17, 2011, 08:26:26 am
Wow, that is outstanding.  Thank you sooo much for all that information.  I do appreciate it.  I have alot of soil prep work to do once the house is built, darn red clay, but I have a buddy who owns a dairy so plenty of cow manure and the county has been clearing for a new loop around the city so I already have two semi loads of shredded wood.  I know that it needs to rest for awhile before using it.  Im thinking I wont be gardening with it for 6 months.  I may have to order the seeds for the oregano because I do not remember ever finding it here for sale.
Title: Re: bee flower garden
Post by: SerenaSYH on August 17, 2011, 07:43:27 pm
Hi, Jason! sure thing! I just wish I had realized how tricky it can be for someone doing a starter garden!

 :imsorry:

Hybrids can really impact a bee-attractiveness of a plant. I am positive you will indeed be able to find Italian oregano in any store! It is such a popular herb. People and typical gardeners are crazy about Italian oregano. You just have to make sure you don't mix it up with the other varieties of oregano there are. Italian oregano is the typical seasonings used for cooking more than any other oregano out there....Hence it's popularity at the stores. Seeds also take longer to grow, so I'm not sure a seed-grown Italian oregano will ever reach the 3' tall height that mine do. However I bought mine as a 3" plant, still pretty small, lol! It's only $1.99 as a single stem plant, but boy does it grow gangbusters so long as it has mulch, has partial shade, and water.

It's the adult Russian sage that you can abuse, haha! It would do fantastic in any soil! In fact, don't fertilize the soil near the Russian sage. Russian sage does fantastic in poor quality soils. Unlike Italian oregano, it also would do fantastic with blazing full Texan sun....It needs no shade, in other words.
Title: Re: bee flower garden
Post by: anglina on November 28, 2011, 09:47:19 am
I truly can see this fantastic............
What types of bees do you see in your garden? At first glance you may observe some honeybees ducking in and out of flowers, perhaps a bumblebee or two.