The bees are arriving soon!
I opened my email yesterday afternoon to this:
The bees are coming! The bees are coming!
To say I’m excited would be an understatement! As my co-workers can confirm, I’ve been talking about bees, bees, and more bees. It’s interesting how I’m now noticing very detailed things about this spring season’s arrival. Knowing that I’m soon going to have bees who need to have trees and flowers to forage from has made me even more attuned to what tree buds have recently popped and even the sight of the dutch white clover in our backyard is welcome 😉
On the weekend, I worked my butt off to finalize the fenced-in “bee yard” and surrounding landscaping. The hives will be facing out (south-east) above a slight drop-off in the back part of the yard. I fenced it in a semi-circle (about 10 feet diameter) with some wire fencing to keep the dog out, and laid down some mulch to keep the area weed free. The second day I dug out curved beds surrounding the bee yard, laid down landscape fabric and mulched. My reward? I allowed myself to head on down to Southern States and buy some plants!
The fenced bee yard with surrounding landscaping.
Facing the other direction, Aspen supervising.
I bought 2 bee-friendly shrubs, “Summersweet” (Clethra alnifolia), and Fothergilla “Mount Airy”, and a double petal knockout rose. We also had 2 small azaleas that we bought in the fall and then never planted that went in, and I transplanted some bee balm (duh!) from the front yard. Finally, I got to plant the peonies that my friend Jill sent us last spring. Thanks Jill!
Mew looking regal as ever
They are special because they are “in memory” of our old cat, Mew, who we had to put to sleep last spring 🙁 So we will also have a little “Mewey Garden” to enjoy…
Next post will be on the eve of bee homecoming! Until then…
Love the blog. I am excited for the arrival of the bees. Are you planting anything special to influence the flavor of the honey?
Oh….I should have read the whole thing before asking my question 😉