Some of the bulbs being planted for the bees. I was able to purchase these locally from my favorite nursery, 101 Plants and Gifts.
It’s possible that everyone already knows certain bulbs provide an early nectar source for bees. I might be new to the game because, well, I’ve never really been overly appreciative of growing flowers. “They take up space and use precious water.” Being on a shallow well makes you a water miser. But these grow during the rainy season. Some can even be planted in the front lawn, not taking up space or using extra water as in the Siberian Squill. Being a beekeeper has changed my attitude towards flowers. Now my motto is, ” You can never have too many (bee-loving) flowers.”
Since I recently broke up a new patch of ground for the Towers of Jewel ‘trees’, I have some extra space I can dedicate to bulbs. Che Guebuddha, a blogger from Sweden, mentioned even more bulbs like the white Snow Drops and the yellow Eranthis. A quick call to find out I can’t get them locally, but I CAN get them from John Scheepers on the east coast. I order another 150 more. Looks like I’ll have to break more ground. As an after thought I wonder if I have to worry about poisons on the bulbs. Alicia at the customer service desk of John Scheepers, Inc. assures me “there are no sprays, poisons, or toxins associated with these bulbs.” Good! They are going in next weekend.
Newly planted “Tower of Jewel ‘trees. I’m counting on these plants to grow about 10 feet (3 meters) this spring. With the addition of bulbs, we’ll be able to provide an early nectar source as well as mid summer nourishment for the honeybees and bumblebees.
12-26-13…Drumstick Alliums are up already. I don’t know if that’s a good thing or not! I’m protecting this patch because the sub freezing temps are bad for the echium (Tower of Jewels)…something I didn’t think about when I planted the bulbs. 😦
February 5, 2014…Grape Hyacinth and 15 Drumstick Allium are up. Giant Snowdrops just breaking.
February 5, 2014…close up of Grape Hyacinth. My wife says I planted them too close together. She might be right.
Adventures in Natural Beekeeping 
I would love to get some Tower of Jewels Seed, if you get extra. I have Bees down here in Curry.
If you come up here, I’ll give you some more transplants. That will get you a head start.
I looked in the garden today to find six or seven new plants that I hadn’t seen before. They just keep coming up in weird places. If you happen through Bandon on your way to Coos Bay, give me a call and I’ll pop those into pots for you. Bear in mind, they will have to be protected against freezing.
I have never heard of Tower of Jewel, what interesting looking specimens. Your bulb-planting puts ours to shame, but we make some additions each year. Allium is such a great choice. We’ve been finding that the bees feel plentiful around where we are, but we need to keep it an attractive destination!
I may have overlooked a very important detail. I’ve got to keep the Tower of Jewel (echium) plants from getting frosted. Yet, where am I planting bulbs but in the echium bed? (seemed logical at the time to put the bulbs in the bare ground so I wouldn’t have to chop up more ground)…but I’ve got to protect the echium with a tarp during cold snaps. Does that mean the ground won’t get cold enough for the bulbs to grow? I guess I’ll find out in the spring.
I also planted some more fall bulbs this year in hopes of attracting more bees to our gardening area in the early spring. I do not keep bees but are there any flower varieties that are better than others to help the native bees throughout the year?
I’m so happy you are interested in growing flowers for the bees. I started a list of flowers last year in my area of Zone 5, but it is far from complete. Your area is much colder and would need a different list I just came across this pollinator guide app. I haven’t used it yet, but apparently, you can just type in your zip code and it will give you a list of bee-loving flowers that do not need poisons.
In their words…”This is an excellent plant reference to attract bees, butterflies, hummingbirds, beetles, bats, and other pollinators to the garden,farm, school and every landscape.”
http://pollinator.org/beesmartapp.htm
This site has many suggestions of bee-loving flowers as well as a link to the risks of neonicotinoids.
http://www.beverlybees.com/planting-bee-garden/
I love the Tower of Jewels plant! The bees love them too, I hope you update this post with a pic of what they look like in full bloom (here’s hoping they made it through the cold spell) and covered in busy hungry bees.
I’ve been faithfully covering them up every night. I started out with about 19 or 20 scattered in different places…I’m down to 9 now because of the unseasonably dry cold weather. If I just get one to grow I’ll be happy because the bees will love it and I’ll get bunches of seeds.