Document text
3 of 3 Premium Clicks used this month SUBSCRIBE Print + Online Subscriber Activation | Register x Forgot Password | Need an Account? e-edition | subscribe | newsletter | deals Home News Latest Stories Crime, Courts and Emergency Services Politics and Elections Education Environment State News Nation - World Obituaries Weather Photo Galleries Since You Asked Videos Web Cams Mail Tribune 100 Shareable Sports Latest Stories Varsity 541 College Sports Pro Sports Community Sports Business Latest Stories Real Estate News People In Business Transportation Agriculture Opinion Latest Editorials Letters to the Editor Columns Guest Opinions Lifestyle Latest stories Food Home and Garden Health Hiking Biking Faith Milestones and Achievements Columnist for a Day Rogue Healthy Aging Tempo Latest stories Theater Music Community Events Dining Tempo Videos Classifieds Jobs Autos Real Estate FEATURED » Obits Blogs TV Listings Movie Listings Oregon Outdoors Oregon Healthy Living Magazines/Special Sections Business Services NEWS NOW 'We tried to de-escalate it' ... Our View: Textbook authors' reasoning hard to fathom ... Emergency Services ... 'We tried to de-escalate it' ... Our View: Textbook authors' reasoning hard to fathom ... Emergency Services ... HOME & GARDEN Hello, honey: Invite bees for a lush garden Invite bees for a lush garden By Melissa Erickson More Content Now MailTribune.com By Melissa Erickson More Content Now Posted Mar. 19, 2015 @ 11:33 am By Melissa Erickson More Content Now Posted Mar. 19, 2015 @ 11:33 am » Social News p bs:newslist StartDate="20121121" EndDate="p bs:datecalc Months="3"" DateSort="1" UseObjects="1" ObjectClass="81" Taxonomywords="2325,665" ExactTaxonomyMatch="1" Image="1" Count="4" --> If you’re looking forward to an early summer tomato or a bumper crop of sugar snap peas, you’ll need to attract pollinators to your garden. Bees are one of your best bets. “Bees are as important to a garden as they are to any other habitat,” said Matthew Shepherd, spokesman for the Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation. “Yes, I do refer to gardens as habitat. They provide food and shelter to all sorts of wildlife, and how they are maintained can profoundly influence the diversity and abundance of wildlife. Bees will provide pollination of flowers, which can lead to seed for birds, a good harvest of orchard fruit and berries, lots of tomatoes or squash. The benefit varies with the type of garden and style of gardening.” “Although there are many different pollinators on Earth, bees do the vast majority of pollination,” said Rusty Burlew, a beekeeper living in western Washington and founder of HoneyBeeSuite.com, which is dedicated to honey bees, beekeeping, wild bees, other pollinators and pollination ecology. How to start In the garden, bees are looking for nectar and pollen to take home to feed their young. “In the act of collecting these materials, they inadvertently transfer pollen from flower to flower, which results in pollination. … It is a mutualism: the plants benefit from the bees and the bees benefit from the plants.” Bees need three basic things: food (flowers), water and shelter. “Having a steady supply of flowers is the first thing. Something has to be in bloom at all times during spring and summer. Think of it this way: when you’re feeding your kids, you can’t skip a week now and then. The same goes for bees,” Burlew said. Choosing the best flowers for pollinators is a great first step in attracting bees. “Native plants are often better for native bees, though there are some non-native plants that provide a rich source of nectar,” Shepherd said. Heirloom varieties that have not undergone intensive breeding are ideal for attracting bees, Burlew said. “Also, bees see a different portion of the spectrum than humans. Their vision favors shorter wavelengths, so they can see ultraviolet light and the blue/purple colors very well. Things that we see as red, they see as black, so when in doubt plant flowers that are blue and purple. Yellow and white work, too,” Burlew said. Here are some plants that will help bring pollinators to your garden: n Phacelia (Phacelia) n Lupine (Lupinus) n Penstemon, beardtongue (Penstemon) n Milkweed (Asclepias) n Bergamot, dotted mint (Monarda) n Giant hyssop (Agastache) n Blazing star (Liatris) n Rattlesnake master (Eryngium) n Ironweed (Vernonia) n Prairie clover (Dalea) n Wingstem (Verbesina) n Sunflower (Helianthus) n Aster (Symphotrichum) n Goldenrod (Solidago) n Redbud (Cercis) n California lilac, New Jersey tea (Ceanothus) By Melissa Erickson More Content Now MailTribune.com By Melissa Erickson More Content Now Posted Mar. 19, 2015 @ 11:33 am » Comment or view comments /* $( document ).ready(function() { // Jquery mobile is trying to style the button and leaving a blank gry button on top of a white button $("#viafouracoms .vf-comment-controls li.vf-right").html(' Submit '); });*/ » STAY INFORMED Email NewsLetter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. calendar Connect with MailTribune.com Facebook Twitter RSS Back to top Reader Services Reader Services Home Subscriptions Subscriber controls Contact us Submissions Photos Events Letters to the editor Corrections Announcements Obituaries Story ideas Since you asked Alerts Email Alerts RSS Feeds Text Alerts Advertise Media Kit Home Products and services Ad rates Advertising contacts Mail Tribune Daily Tidings The Nickel Shop Our Valley Blogs Stay Informed Email newsletter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. Your privacy is important, read our privacy policy. © Copyright 2015 Local Media Group, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms of Service | Local Media Group Publications Original content available for non-commercial use under a Creative Commons license, except where noted. MailTribune.com | P.O. Box 1108, Medford, OR 97501