wrote in message
...
On 15 Mar 2011 03:02:26 GMT, General Schvantzkoph
wrote:

On Mon, 14 Mar 2011 23:43:59 +0000, Nad R wrote:

General Schvantzkoph wrote:
On Mon, 14 Mar 2011 16:30:06 -0400, Steve Peek wrote:

"General Schvantzkoph" wrote in message
...
This is a follow on to the thread I started earlier about planting
birdseed. Cheap birdseed is a mixture of desirable (like sunflower)
and undesirable (like thistle) seeds so perhaps it makes more sense
to plant specific seeds that produce bee friendly flowers.

Besides sunflowers, what other cheap seeds will produce flowering
plants that bees will find attractive. The goal would be to have
flowers throughout from spring and summer, and into the fall if
possible, that will attract and support the local bee population. If
you were a bee checking the Bee OpenTable for restaurants, what would
you like to see on the menu?


Have a look at Monarda (bee balm). Budlea(butterfly bush) is a woody
shrub, but it self sows freely. Don't turn the henbit under until the
bees get a chance at it. Bees love mint flowers but it taints the
honey. The plant that covers more of the season is clover. Add some
white Dutch seeds to your lawn, toss some tall clover seed into those
edge areas along with the buckwheat. Having bees visit your property
means larger crops.

I've ordered a couple of pounds each of white dutch clover and red
clover from Amazon, I'll spread it on my lawn when the snow melts.

it will no longer be a lawn. It will be called a meadow.

Fine by me.

I've grown zinnia's along with sunflowers and the bees really like
them. I've found a bee asleep on a zinnia bloom more than once in the
early morning hours. Grew cosmos last year and that was popular too.
And okra - many creatures love okra.

I've found that my bees highly prize the blossoms from the mustard & turnips
that overwintered. Also, who could forget the squash family? I commonly see
3-5 bees per blossom in the morning.