OK, it's crunch time, folks. I asked for 52 Bee Gardens in 2010.
Thanks to Shannon in Haltom City (just outside Ft. Worth in 76117) we now have officially certified 8 Texas Bee Gardens.
Shannon moved into her home in January 2009 and started landscaping pretty much right off the bat. She decided to go as native as possible and got some things planted.
Then the winter of 2009 came.
But Shannon did not let that stop her. No way.
Take a look at her yard today in 2010!
Salvia and Mexican Hat
Pavonia (Rock Rose) and Turk's Cap
Pineapple Sage, Guara, and Cosmos
Lantana
Cosmos (still blooming a bit)
Redbud
And my favorite (below), some wild asters in the lawn area.
I don't talk about the value of letting some bee-flowers come up in your yard often enough. When I was a kid (pre-most herbicides), our lawn was ALWAYS full of clovers-which attracted tons of bees. As a kid, I learned to either wear shoes or get stung. Unfortunately, letting the "weeds" come up in a lawn has gone out of fashion.
That's why I'm so happy to see Shannon counting her wild asters as bee plants.
Shannon sent me an email with a list of more plants in her garden.
The property also has 3 live oak trees, a mulberry, a pecan and some sort of cypress or cedar. I don’t use pesticides because the borders were designed for butterfly hosting. Unfortunately I can’t even use insecticidal soap on the milkweed aphids just now because if there are monarch eggs they’ll hatch any day now, if they follow last year’s model.
There’s bare ground in places in the flower beds because I’ve seeded thoroughly with wildflower mix, so I can’t mulch or weed any more this year. There’s also bare ground and niches at the back of a low stone paver wall in the backyard where little grass grows under the oaks. I’m allergic to stinging insects, so I’m reluctant to install hive boxes. Outside of that, since they’re pretty peaceful, bees are welcome. I got one fruit off my blue passionflower this year so who knows, it might have been thanks to a bee!
Other plants in the yard that might appeal but are not in quantity include: pink skullcap, balloon flower, hardy hibiscus, firecracker bush, cannas, daylilies, mealy blue sage, Chihuahuan blue sage, eyelash sage, bicolor salvia, hybrid tea roses, oxalis, Brazilian rock rose, chrysanthemum, daisies, oregano, sweet basil, Greek basil, trailing rosemary, sweet violets, labrador violets, rain lilies, flowering quince, hydrangea, wild petunia, Mexican petunia, prairie verbena, gaillardia, straggler’s daisy, lenten rose, coreopsis, Mexican bush sage, pitcher sage, forsythia, French & Spanish lavenders, speedwell, blue passionflower, snakeherb, coral bells.
Shannon, you rock and so does your garden! Welcome to Bee Watching! Thanks for all the effort you've put into your garden. It's beautiful and is going to become even more of a bee-attractive garden next year. Your garden is the Official Certified Texas Bee Garden #8! Whooppee!
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