{"id":12376,"date":"2015-03-18T15:25:30","date_gmt":"2015-03-18T15:25:30","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/greensideup.ie\/?p=12376"},"modified":"2015-06-10T22:09:41","modified_gmt":"2015-06-10T21:09:41","slug":"what-can-i-plant-in-my-garden-to-attract-honey-bees","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/greensideup.ie\/what-can-i-plant-in-my-garden-to-attract-honey-bees\/","title":{"rendered":"What can I plant in my garden to help honey bees?"},"content":{"rendered":"

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I wrote a post last year that looked at five ways we can help bees<\/a> but since then I’ve taken beginners lessons in beekeeping. One of the lectures was about foraging and as a gardener I was curious what I could plant in my garden that bees would like to feast upon.<\/p>\n

As it transpires, we don’t need to plant that much as long as we have hedgerows nearby, we don’t spray the “weeds” with herbicides and we leave the bugs that naturally share the earth with us to do their own thing. Whilst we can certainly make life easier for honey bees by planting some tasty delights, it seems that bees enjoy foraging among the prolific blooms in the hedgerows as much as they do the more formal, floral arrangements in our gardens.<\/p>\n

Ever since a colony of honey bees set up home in a hive in our garden (you can read about it here)<\/a>\u00a0I’ve been intrigued by what the bees were doing in there, have noticed how much brighter and more prolific the fruit and flowers in the garden have been and how the garden somehow feels more alive and vibrant with them buzzing around.<\/p>\n

\"Beehive\"We left the bees to do their own thing last year, allowing them to settle into their new home, with occasional visits from our neighbour to check on them. It wasn’t until I joined the South Kildare Beekeepers<\/a>\u00a0for their excellent Beginners Beekeeping course, that my obsession really began to kick in.<\/p>\n

Honey bees are simply fascinating.<\/p>\n

Natural Beekeeping<\/h2>\n

I’m learning the more traditional form of beekeeping in the beginners course, where bees are checked, manipulated and their honey harvested. However, I’m very attracted to the idea a more natural approach and have been advised to read the Barefoot Beekeeper as well as this PDF from Abb\u00e9 Warr\u00e9<\/a>. For now I’m learning all I can from the experienced beekeepers in Athy, with the intention of switching over once I understand more about bees.<\/p>\n

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Honeybees love Echinops<\/p><\/div>\n

Five facts about honey bees you might not know<\/span><\/h2>\n
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  • A colony of bees<\/strong> is known as a super organism and there are three “castes” of bees in it. The queen<\/strong> really does rule the hive as apart from laying all the eggs,\u00a0she sends out happy pheromones to help keep the colony chilled out and busy.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
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    • The worker bees<\/strong> that we’re used to seeing outside foraging for all the nectar and pollen, are all infertile females. They contain a barbed sting but if they use it, they will usually die (so it’s not in their interest to do so<\/em>).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
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        Honey Bee on an Aster<\/p><\/div>\n

        The drones are all male<\/strong> and it’s their job to mate with the queen. They don’t contain a sting. The maiden queen flies out once for mating, will do so with around 20 or so drones who will subsequently die after successfully mating with her. The queen will return to the hive with enough sperm to fertilise her eggs for the rest of her lifetime (could be up to 3 or 4 years<\/em>).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

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        • There are around 2,000 worker bees in a beehive during the winter, up to 50,000 in summer<\/strong> (so steer clear if you’re allergic or phobic<\/em>).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
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          • \u00a0Honey bees<\/strong> have 4 eyes, 5 eyes and 6 legs (a handy one to know\u00a0for pub quiz questions<\/em>).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

            Before scrolling down to see what plants bees like to forage on, take a look at this fascinating short video clip. You’ll be able to watch the honey bees close up in flight and pick up a few more facts about them\u00a0that might be of interest.<\/p>\n