It's no surprise, really, that I'm starting a bee garden. I've been very concerned about the demise of the bees since I first heard of it on (probably) The Discovery Channel (when we had TDC, and before it got all smutty).
The Bees, people. It's a scary thing.
So after musing for a few years about where to put such a garden, starting out in the front perennial bed and not so much liking the way the Russian Sage completely took over (but, those happy little bees were so HAPPY!) I decided to let the bee garden overrun the side of the fence facing the busyish road. Not only was this an annoying spot to mow (so I hear, I'm not sure I ever did actually mow this swatch) but then other people could enjoy it, too.
Plus Lola has yet to be stung by a bee, so I am not 100% comfortable with said bee garden too close to our running-jumping-playing areas. I should be clear, however, that a happy be is a non-stingy bee, as we discovered with our Russian Sage. All those cute little bees completely ignored us.
So now that we are finally into May, the May after the 2nd wettest April in Minnesota History, I'm finally on day 2 of The Bee Garden. Because it has rained every other stinking day.
It's the funniest thing. Nugget, the Barred Rock hen, is a smart one; she has figured out that when I'm gardening there are good things to eat. She follows me around the yard/garden/through-the-fence whenever I'm out there working the earth. I'm half-tempted to let her out of the yard when I'm working on the Bee Garden just because I know she would stay so close to me (and it would be funny - there are a lot of cars zooming by).
As you can see, this is a pretty long stretch of yard. I pulled up all the grass, about a foot's width or so. So far, all I have in there are two lonely Anise Hyssop plants and a bunch of Mammoth Sunflower seeds because I might as well attract the birds, too. And, Mammoth Sunflower stalks are very good for chicken herding. I threw down a random mix of "butterfly" wild flowers, too, because I know I won't have the budget to really stock this garden with all the perennials I want this year. Some of my Russian Sage will be transplanted, and the Dear Husband said that we have baby Milkweed growing in the big garden that I'll transplant. Which is good because the Milkweed I tried growing from seed did NOT grow. Neither did the Verbena. I did get two weeny little Bee Balm plants though, that might just survive.
I'm very excited for this project, yes I am!
