To honor our pollinating friends here is a tidbit of trivia about...

Honey Bees

There are three types of Honey Bees in the hive...

Worker, Queen and Drone

Worker bees are all female and make up about 85% of hive bees.  Workers gather flower nectar and pollen; the pollen they carry in special pollen "baskets" on their hind legs.  Pollen provides the colony with vital amino acids, vitamins, fats and the enzymes necessary for making honey.  Workers also decide which bees in the hive will become queens.

The males or drones have one purpose in life: to mate with the queen; but there are distinct disadvantages to being a male.  When food supplies are low or before Winter, workers may kick drones out of the nest.  Worse yet, if a drone is so lucky as to mate with a queen he dies immediately after.  What a life...

Honey Bee Fun Facts:

• Bees do not create honey; they are actually improving upon a plant product, nectar. The honey we eat is nectar that bees have repeatedly regurgitated and dehydrated
• The term "honey moon" originated with the ancient Norse practice of consuming large quantities of Mead during the first month of a marriage.  Mead is a fermented beverage made from honey.
• Honeybees are the only bees that die after they sting
• Bees can recognize individual human faces (We really believe this, our sons rescue 1000's of bees and never get stung -the bees know them!)
• Honeybees never sleep!

For more information on bees and their benefits to our gardens and our planet visit this excellent (external) website.

Pear Tree Guild

Included are types of plants chosen for their specific functions and interactions with the floral and fauna community as a whole.

FUNCTIONAL DIVERSITY

• Bartlett Pear -central guild species; provides edible fruit, pollen & nectar, shade, wood...
• Apple & Spearmint -bermuda grass control, edible, insectary (provides food or shelter)...
• Borage -dynamic accumulator, insectary, tea...
• Columbine -native, edible, medicinal, insectary...
• Dandelion -dynamic accumulator (deep tap root), insectary, edible (dandelion wine!)...
• Daylily -edible (flowers and roots -boiled like potatoes), insectary...
• Crimson clover -nitrogen fixation (legume), soil cover, insectary, edible flowers...
• Calendula -garden tonic, medicinal, edible...
• Scallions -aromatic pest confuser (strong smells confuse pests), edible, insectary...

 I CANNOT WAIT TO EAT THIS BEAUTY!

Yet Another Edible!!

Hollyhock Alcea rosea 

The young tender leaves and inner portions of the stem can be eaten raw or cooked.  The young leaves and flowers can be chopped finely in salads.  The roots can be eaten like potatoes and are quite nutritious.

Medicinally, the flowers and roots can be harvested and dried for use as a mild tea which is said to help with inflammatory issues.

Hollyhock's further uses:

• Dynamic accumulator –can be used to activate (bacterial) decomposition of compost
• Paper –fiber from the stems
• Litmus –anthocyanin pigment in flowers
• Dye –brown colored dye from flowers

Source: Plants for a Future

Golden Treasures of Spring

The golden, oval dots pictured above are ladybug eggs. This ladybug knew what she was doing! Laying her eggs right next to a food source (red aphids) is a choice place for the eggs to hatch. In 4-10 days these babies will find a real sweet meal!

The larval phase of the ladybug lifecycle is the most voracious feeding stage of all. Known to eat as many as 400 aphids before they pupate ladybug larvae (pictured below) do a fine job keeping aphids and other garden pests at bay.

2 Fun Facts about Ladybugs:

• In the lifetime of a single adult ladybug, over 5000 aphids will have been consumed.
• One ladybug can lay up to 1000 eggs in her lifetime.

 Thank you Gaia!