Blooms, Berries and Bees!

When the thermometer reads 26 degrees Fahrenheit and snow blankets your hive tops it's time to look back on the summer season with fondness and appreciate the bounty we enjoyed. If you took time to can or freeze some of summer's bounty then you are still savoring summer! Thank you bees!!! This is a time to think of what you will plant in your garden next year, what plants will be attractive to honey bees and native bees alike? Both give us so much. Return the kindness and  plant a little something for them next year.  There are a plethora of plants to choose from. Here are just a few to inspire you.

Ever bearing Raspberries! This was such a fun day in August. We went raspberry picking in Fennville, MI and the raspberries were in so many stages of growth, from bloom to full, ripe ready to pick fruit. There was an incredible amount of honey bees hovering over the plants, darting here and there.  A definite BUZZ was in the air!  I was elated but most people that started picking stopped because they were afraid of the bees.  Their loss. More berries for me! I inquired to the owner about the honey bees and found out a commercial beekeeper kept over 200 colonies on this orchard property.

Honey bee on raspberry bloom. August 2018 Fennville, MI

Fresh blueberry pie made from berries that my honey bee colonies assisted in pollinating!

It was special for me to pick blueberries at my favorite little patch in Dorr, MI this year because I overwintered colonies on this property last winter and they were alive in the spring to pollinate!  Here are the results!

Blueberries that my honey bee colonies assisted in pollinating :-) this past spring. May 2018

Honey bee gathering pollen and I believe nectar also from my overgrown radish plants in the garden. August, 2018

Honeybee gathering nectar from one of my herbs, this is either oregano or thyme. August 2018

Even a simple gathering of herbs, mints, etc.. can be a blessing to bees in a dearth.

My Sunflower and Zinnias are visited by a wide variety of pollinators, from bees, to butterflies and moths, to hummingbirds and more! August 2018, Dorr, MI

My dad picking cherries, again, pollinated by bees. Caledonia, MI

Cherry pie coming right up! Thanks pollinators for the sweet treats!!