Mason bees or “Blue Orchard Bees” are a solitary bee native to North America and are experts at cross pollination. They are about the size of a honey bee, but are black or metallic blue. Unlike honey bees, Mason bees do not produce honey but are more efficient when it comes to pollination. Another perk is that they are very…
Category: Bees
The Buzz on Bees
MY PARTNERS IN GARDENING CRIME have joined me for a round up on marvelous, amazing bees. We call ourselves the GARDEN CHARMERS and I would like to introduce you to some of my fellow members and their blogs: As summer ends the bees are busier than ever searching for winter stores. If you have planted flowers that attract bees you…
Plants NOT to Plant for Bees
I’ve previously posted about which plants attract bees into your garden and there is no shortage of information out there. Bee plant lists will vary depending on the location of the plantings as well as the type of bees being attracted. Since we have an apiary on our farm and my husband breeds honey bees, we have over the years discovered…
Winterizing Bee Hives
It seems like every time you see an article on bees everything looks picture perfect. Clean white bee boxes, sitting in perfect rows amongst a field of wild flowers in bloom. The reality of a working bee yard however is quite different. I thought you might find it interesting to see what your average bee yard looks like. BEE SHED /…
Painted Bee Hives
Getting a little arty with your bee hives won’t matter much to the bees, but it can be fun for the bee keeper. Our provincial Honey Producers Association convention was hosted by our local Bee Club in our home city last week. To add a little flair to the event I was asked to decorate a bee hive to be…
