Dear Nursery Owners and Nursery Managers, We Need To know....

If the plants you sell are safe for bees.

Native bees, monarch butterflies and a host of other pollinators are in peril from habitat fragmentation and loss, the use of neonicotinoids and other pesticides and herbicides (by the agriculture/horticulture industry and home owners) and the introduction of non-native species are known causes of both wide-scale losses in biological diversity and pollinator declines.(More about neonicotinoids Everywhere you turn people are talking about pollinators post.)

Gardeners are already working hard to help pollinators!

We're planting smarter.

We love beautiful blooms in our gardens, but, we don't stop there... We choose plants that are  attractive to the many pollinators that live in and visit our gardens.

We're planting lots of colorful flowers that are rich in nectar and pollen and are host plants for the offspring of butterflies, moths and other beneficial critters.

We're planting an array of flower shapes that appeal to hummingbirds, bees, moths, flies and butterflies.

We plan for bloom from late spring (native ephemerals) to early winter (witch hazels).

We plants native trees and shrubs because we know they are host plants for hundreds of important critters.

We provide nesting spaces for bees and other critters.

We accept that plants are beautiful even if chewed on by critters and we promise to never, ever, ever, ever use pesticides and herbicides in our gardens.

Dear nursery owners and managers, what are you doing to help gardeners help pollinators?

Are your plants pretreated with neonicotinoids?

If you don't know the answer to that question you should find out, because we cannot and will not buy plants that can harm bees and other beneficial critters!

If you do know the answer, then you need to let us know. Post signs near neonicotinoid free bee friendly plants. Inform your sales people, because smart gardeners ask questions and we expect honest answers.

It's the professional and responsible thing to do.

Thanks,
Gail

In case you want to read earlier pollinator posts~

Now Is The Time To Bee-gin Thinking About Bees ( here)
This Is The Place To Bee ( here)
If You Could Plant Only One Plant In Your Garden~Don't (here)
Must Bee The Season of The Witch (here)
Go Bare In Your Garden (here)
We can't All Be Pretty Pollinators (here)
Eye, Eye Skipper, Big Eyed Pollinators (here)
What's In Your Garden (here)
Royalty In The Garden~Monarch Butterfly (here)
Carpenter Bees (here)
Got Wildflowers?(here)
It's Spring and A Gardener's Thoughts Are On Pollinators (here)
The Wildflower and The Bee (here)
A Few Good Reasons To Plant Milkweed (here)
Got Shade? You Can Have Pollinators ( (here)
A Pollinator friendly Shrub (here)
Big Goings On at C and L (here) 
Where Have All My Pollinators Gone (here)

Other bee posts you might want to read~

Count Yourself Lucky To Have Hover flies ( here)
Bumblebee Hotel (here)
Still Taking Care Of Bzzness (here)
My Sweet Embraceable You (here)
 






Gail Eichelberger is a gardener and therapist in Middle Tennessee. She loves wildflowers and native plants and thoroughly enjoys writing about the ones she grows at Clay and Limestone. She reminds all that the words and images are the property of the author and cannot be used without written permission.

The Pollinator Condo How-To

Pollinator Tower is designed to be attractive housing for a variety of small native bees, beetles and other arthropods...

From the first time I saw a pollinator hotel/insect condo I began planning to build one for my garden. Although, I can't be sure which pollinators will move in, my inner budding entomologist will have a lot of fun observing and documenting what moves in and which accommodations they prefer. 

I am thrilled that you're here to see how it was constructed and I hope you build one for your garden, community center or school. Please share your designs and what you've observed with all of us in the gardening community, so that we can continue to understand and help our native bees and other pollinators.

It really is always the right time to think about pollinators!

small bees like this carpenter bee might move in

Disclaimer: I am not a carpenter. No way, no how, so any of you with real skills can laugh your head off at my right brain construction techniques. What I figured out from doing this was that I really would love a workshop were tools are at the ready, plugs were nearby and I didn't have to spend a lot of time setting up and putting stuff away in a shed in the wayback of my garden. Having said that, let me tell you, that building my pollinator habitat was the most fun I've had in a long time.

I hope the instructions and photos are clear and that you will soon be creating your own habitat.

Construction Narrative:

After looking at dozens of marvelous and creative pollinator habitat designs I decided the simplest design was one that used stacked pallets. They were easy to come by and required absolutely no skills except stacking them so they would not topple over in the wind or snow. I got mine free from a local garden center.  But don't take just any, make sure you find ones stamped HT, that means they were heat treated not shot full of preservatives that could poison pollinators or you!

I wanted this project to be simple to make, easy to reproduce and with easily located materials,. All the materials used were purchased at a home center or recycled from found materials.

Originally, I planned on using full sized pallet, but, decided that  24"x 48" was big enough. I measured, marked the cutting lines, removed the nails that were in the way of the saw blade and then Mr I cut them. (Remember, pallets are not square, level, uniform or plumb, nor are they exactly 4'x4')

I situated the habitat in a semi-sunny spot away from the main garden, but, close enough for pollinators

I placed the first pallet section on concrete blocks that were securely set in the ground. Then, I used three bricks on each corner to hold the next pallet making sure they were steady and secure and continued this process until it looked tall enough...I only needed three.

I liked it, but it lacked a certain pizazz.  Even when I began filing the spaces with pollinator habitat materials it still looked dull. 

It really needed a roof!

roof center board is secured with shims and braces

 Rather than building a heavy frame to hold the roof, I decided to make the roof a sandwich board! A quick trip to the local home center netted 2 pieces of 1/4 inch exterior plywood (24"x40" cut to size), a bundle of cedar roof shingles and several tubes of construction adhesive. (cost under $50)

sample sandwich board roof and center board

 I hinged the roof pieces together with small door hinges and held it upright on the tower with a 20"x 24" center board of 1/2" exterior plywood. The center board is braced between two pieces of oak and then shimmed. The center board, hinges, shims and oak braces are from old projects. 

Not bad looking...

 Now, here comes the fun part~hanging the shingles!

Shingling is not difficult when you're standing on the ground and don't care if it's not perfect.  Just do an internet search and get the basics from one of the excellent videos that's available.  I especially liked this one from Fine Gardening.  

I glued the shingles to the roof and held them in place with staples while they dried.

Here's what I learned from the shingling project!

Shingling is a bottom up project!
The fat edge of the shingles are the bottoms!
When laying the shingles make sure the seams don't line up, this protects the roof from leaking.
I tried many combinations of shingles to avoid having to cut them to size. 
Construction adhesive is marvelous and easier to use than trying to nail into an attached sandwich board roof!
A few staples will hold the shingles in place so the glue can dry.

Every roof needs a ridge cap to cover the joint at the top

You will have to use a power saw again! The last layers of shingles will need to be cut off at the ridge line (see photo above to see why) or individually cut before you attach them to the roof and,
You will need to make a ridge cap to cover the gap between the two sides of the roof.
You can make a fancy over sized ridge cap that does double duty as a ridge cap and the last course of shingles.

You can do what I did, shingle all the way and ask someone comfortable with a power saw to cut off the overhang and then...

secured with clear silicon sealant

Use a small straight tree limb to make a ridge cap. It looks especially festive with a Bur Oak acorn cup to cap it off.

All that's left to do is finish filling the habitat with pollinator friendly materials.

Now go forth and have fun building your own Pollinator Condo!
xoxogail 

PS It bears repeating, if you want pollinators in your garden, you must never, ever, ever, ever use pesticides and think about adding a bee block or condo!

MATERIALS:
2 or 3 pallets~Make sure they are stamped with HT (heat treatment not formaldehyde) each cut into two equal pieces 23"x 48" (approximately, pallets are not square, straight or uniform)  
concrete blocks, paver stones and/or brick(I had all on hand)
1 sheet 4'x4' exterior plywood cut into 2 20"x40" pieces for the roof ($13)
4 small door/cabinet hinges and wood screws    
1- 24"x20" piece of exterior plywood for the center board
2-2"x2" boards 24" long to brace the center board.
1 bundle of cedar shingles (not top grade)  ($25)
2 tubes of construction adhesive ($5)
1 tube of silicon (on hand)
caulking gun  (on hand)
one relatively straight limb for roof ridge and Bur Oak acorn cup 

TOOLS: 
Power circular saw
Screw Driver
Pruning saw
pry bar to remove nails on the pallets
Helpful husband, wife, bf, gf or partner to do the heavy cutting

POLLINATOR ATTRACTIVE MATERIALS:
Wood with different sized holes for cavity nesters
bundles of hollow or pithy stems, paper straws
stacked tree limbs with bark
leaves and straw
left over cedar shingles for critters that like to hide


*Bobbie Peachey lady bug clip art

Gail Eichelberger is a gardener and therapist in Middle Tennessee. She loves wildflowers and native plants and thoroughly enjoys writing about the ones she grows at Clay and Limestone. She reminds all that the words and images are the property of the author and cannot be used without written permission.

Pollinator Condo Open to Invertebrate Residences

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Gardener provides homes for native bees, beetles and beneficial insects in new condo.

Nashville, TN~December 7, 2012 Local wildlife gardener Gail Eichelberger has built a pollinator condo, named Pollinator Tower, for native Carpenter Bees, small bees, beetles and even a few beneficial insects.

When asked if this kind of artificial habitat will be attractive, she said, "Pollinators are rather picky when it comes to where they nest and rear their young, rooms have been constructed to appeal to a wide range of residents." 

Apartments/rooms will have small and large pre-drilled holes, pithy stems preferred by small carpenter bees and straws and hollow bamboo for mason bees. In addition, there's unpainted wood for Carpenter Bees, logs with loose bark for beetles, twigs, bark, leaves, lichen and even stacked roof shingles for critters like Lady Bugs seeking shelter. 

Pollinator Tower is open, but, construction is continuing on the rooms through the winter. She expects the majority of residents to begin moving in next Spring. "When solitary bees emerge from their winter homes in the spring they'll be looking for accommodations to rear their young. I'm hoping that the Tower's sunny location and close proximity to a wildflower garden will appeal to them and the many varieties of native pollinators." 

Historically, insect condominiums have been popular in Europe where deforestation has led to a decline in natural habitats. Here in the states it's not unusual to find them at botanical gardens or zoos where they are important educational tools. Gail believes that providing a habitat for native bees and other pollinators is necessary for urban and suburban gardeners who want to have success with growing vegetables, fruit or flowers. "When you consider that many of these gardens are set in a landscape devoid of a natural habitat it has become essential to provide artificial ones. I hope Pollinator Tower is an inspiration to others. They are easy to build, require minimal expense, use recycled materials and are fun to design and decorate."

The grand opening is Monday, December 10, 2012. Stop by Clay and Limestone.com when Gail will share the Tower's story, photos and details on materials and the building process.

*Bobbie Peachey clip art

Gail Eichelberger is a gardener and therapist in Middle Tennessee. She loves wildflowers and native plants and thoroughly enjoys writing about the ones she grows at Clay and Limestone. She reminds all that the words and images are the property of the author and cannot be used without written permission.

Muse Day: The Bee and Lovely Mosquito

Carpenter Bee on Smooth Phlox

 The Bee

  by: Emily Dickinson  (1830-1886)      
   
 
Like trains of cars on tracks of plush
    I hear the level bee
    A jar across the flowers   goes,
      Their velvet masonry
 

 
Withstands until the sweet assault
    Their chivalry consumes,
    While he, victorious, tilts away
    To vanquish other blooms.
 

 
His feet are shod with gauze,
    His helmet is of gold
    His breast, a single onyx
    With chrysoprase, inlaid.
 

 
His labor is a chant,
    His idleness a tune;
    Oh, for a bee's experience
    Of clovers and of noon!

Ahh, July!  It's hot/humid and the garden is filled with critters.  Some are  not as wonderful as the bees and butterflies we all love.  I have to wear a mosquito net suit to be outside for very long.  I thought you might also like Doug McCloud's poem Lovely Mosquito. It made me smile!




Lovely mosquito, attacking my arm

As quiet and still as a statue,

Stay right where you are! I'll do you no harm-

I simply desire to pat you.
Just puncture my veins and swallow your fill

For nobody's going to swot you.

Now, lovely mosquito, stay perfectly still-

A SWIPE! and a SPLAT! and I GOT YOU!


xxoogail


Garden Bloggers' Muse Day is brought to you by Carolyn Choi, stop by her blog for links to other bloggers celebrating Muse Day.

This post was written by Gail Eichelberger for my blog Clay and Limestone Copyright 2011.This work protected under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. Please contact me for permission to copy, reproduce, scrape, etc.

Lip Smacking Deliciousness: Pollen and Nectar

Allium sphaerocephalum an attractive nectar source for bees and some butterflies

It's summer and the  flowers are  open for business.  Pollen is ready and the nectar is flowing. It's the perfect time to watch the bees (and other pollinators)  that live in your garden. 

This morning~Bee on Agastache 'Golden Jubilee'

Bees are fascinating looking creatures. They  are beautifully and perfectly adapted for feeding on nectar and pollen.  They  have a  proboscis for reaching deeply into a flower for nectar  and  hairy bodies that catch the pollen as they move from flower to flower.

last fall

Bees aren't in the business of pollinating, that's incidental to their primary task~finding food and raising the next generations!

They are as busy as...well, as bees can be.   They need nectar for energy and pollen for  their offspring/larvae.

Pollen is the  fine dust-like grains or powder formed within the anther of a flowering plant,  that must be transported from the stamen to the pistil for reproduction to occur. 

Nectar is a sweet and rich carbohydrate liquid made of amino acids, vitamins, metal ions and even protein.  (source)  It's the perfect energy booster and food for bees and other pollinators.

 Flowers produce nectar to  attract bees, beetles, butterflies, moths, bats and hummingbirds.  While collecting the nectar, pollinators transfer pollen from male flowers to female flowers.  Nature cleverly designed it to happen that way!   The floral nectaries, where nectar is produced,  are positioned at the base  of the perianth insuring that the bee's hairy body will  brush the flower's  anthers and pistil (reproductive system) and pick up those pollen grains.

Bees need regular sources of pollen and nectar.  They need energy to fuel their busy bee-ness and pollen and nectar for their young. Honeybees collect nectar and make honey for the hive residents, but, native bees make a concoction of bee saliva, nectar and pollen to feed their offspring.

Agastache is a bee magnet in my garden

I know, I've written this before~ If you want to attract bees and other pollinators to your garden:

• plant large swathes of pollinator friendly,  nectar and pollen producers
• plant host plants~don't stop at nectar and pollen plants
• plan for bloom from late spring to early winter.
• bee sure to include water
• provide nesting sites for a variety of visitors, some bare ground (ix-nay on the plastic landscape cloth) and decaying logs and even special bee houses
• Be aware that some new cultivars are not pollinator friendly.  When plants are bred to bloom for a very long time,  to be disease resistant or to have especially big, colorful flowers they might not make pollen or nectar.

Cleome 'Senorita Rosalita' is stunningly beautiful, but, completely sterile with NO visitors since she was planted!

Those plants go into containers to look pretty~Not in the  limited space in my Susan's  bed.


xxoogail

PS Now, please  raise your camera and solemnly swear that your will never, ever, ever, ever, ever use pesticides in your garden.  Now don't you feel better for having made that commitment!

In case you want to read earlier pollinator posts~

Now Is The Time To Bee-gin Thinking About Bees ( here)
This Is The Place To Bee ( here)
If You Could Plant Only One Plant In Your Garden~Don't (here)
Must Bee The Season of The Witch (here)
Go Bare In Your Garden (here)
We can't All Be Pretty Pollinators (here)
Eye, Eye Skipper, Big Eyed Pollinators (here)
What's In Your Garden (here)
Carpenter Bees (here)
Got Wildflowers?(here)
It's Spring and A Gardener's Thoughts Are On Pollinators (here)
The Wildflower and The Bee (here)
A Few Good Reasons To Plant Milkweek (here)
Got Shade? You Can Have Pollinators (here)
Royalty In The Garden (here)
A Pollinator friendly Shrub (here)
Big Goings On at C and L (here)

Other bee posts you might want to read~
Count Yourself Lucky To Have Hoverflies (here)
Bumblebee Hotel (here)
Still Taking Care Of Bzzness (here)
My Sweet Embraceable You (here)

Bee clip art (here)


This post was written by Gail Eichelberger for my blog Clay and Limestone Copyright 2011.This work protected under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. Please contact me for permission to copy, reproduce, scrape, etc.

Bottoms Up!

Penstemon X

Bee bottoms that is!

But, let's make a toast to the bees that visit and pollinate our flowers.

They work hard~from sunrise to sunset.

Carpenter Bee visiting kale flowers

No vacations. No time off. Take these ginormous, pesty Carpenter Bees~ They are busy, busy, busy pollinating garden crops and garden plants while feeding and carrying for their young. They pollinate eggplant tomato, cucurbits, cassias, Carolina Jessamine, bee balm, aromatic sumac and wild lupine.

I had to use this one again~It's a favorite photo!

All the pollinators that visit or live in our gardens need a variety of nectar and pollen producing plants from early spring to late into the fall.

Ox-Eye Daisy

Here at Clay and Limestone we celebrate all pollinators and welcome them with as many plants as I can cram squeeze into the garden.

I don't mind that Evening Primrose could be called a thug. It's such a cheerful late spring flower, smells lovely and rips out easily.

Look at how nicely it weaves among the perennials in the Sunny Susans Bed.

Or, that Ox-Eye Daisy is a naturalized non-native. It grows well here and always attracts an interesting assortment of pollinators!

I plant bright colored plants

because pollinators love bright colors.

I do, too. Aren't I lucky that so many of my favorite natives are brilliantly colored.

You can't beat the brilliant pink and lilacs hues of Phlox pilosa. Practically Perfect Pink Phlox is a favorite of many small butterflies, bees and gardeners all over the country. Let it seed about your garden to create lovely drifts of fragrant flowers in April and May.

Just as the Phlox pilosa is beginning to fade, the humming bird and bees favorite, Penstemon X begins to bloom. P calycosus is a Central Basin Native that I can't say enough good things about! Not only does it tolerate wet feet, shade, dry soil and sun; it reseeds delightfully, creating drifts that make it easy for pollinators to visit.

Astranthium integrifolium~Entireleaf Western Daisy

~and speaking of drifts. Western Daisy is drifting about the garden. In the last month, small gnats, little bees, Hover Flies and a strange little pollen eating beetle (adult carpet beetle) have been seen on the flowers.

Scorpion Weed has faded but, not the memory of the Bumbles

So, raise your hori-hori knife, your hoe, your favorite digging tool or fork to honor the pollinators that frequent our garden! Join with me in thanking them. May these marvelous and important creatures continue to grace our gardens. Here's to planting for them and here's to creating a garden that brings us pleasure all season long~

xxoogail

PS ~ You know what's coming next! If you want pollinators~Big ones, small ones, odd ones, beautiful ones! Never, ever, ever, ever use pesticides in your garden.

This post is also part of a series on native pollinators in the garden~ Earlier posts and their links are listed below for your convenience.
Part I~Now Is The Time To Bee-gin Thinking About Bees ( here)
This Is The Place To Bee ( here)
If You Could Plant Only One Plant In Your Garden~Don't (here)
Must Bee The Season of The Witch (here)
Go Bare In Your Garden (here)
We can't All be pretty Pollinators (here)
Eye, Eye Skipper, Big Eyed Pollinators (here)
What's In Your Garden (here)
Carpenter Bees (here)
Got Wildflowers?(here)
It's Spring and A Gardener's Thoughts Are On Pollinators (here)
The Wildflower and The Bee (here)
A Few Good Reasons To Plant Milkweed (here)

Other bee posts you might want to read~
Count Yourself Lucky To Have Hoverflies (here)
Bumblebee Hotel (here)
Still Taking Care Of Bzzness (here)
My Sweet Embraceable You (here)


Bee clip art (here)

This post was written by Gail Eichelberger for my blog Clay and Limestone Copyright 2011.This work protected under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. Please contact me for permission to copy, reproduce, scrape, etc.

Wildflower Wednesday~Phacelia bipinnatifida

Sometimes you meet a wildflower and know instantly that it's a keeper. That's how I felt about Purple Phacelia when I made its acquaintance many years ago. I was standing at the top of a hill and there they were, completely covering the slope with a blanket of purple flowers and buzzing bees. It was dazzling.

I couldn't duplicate the moist sunny hillside, but, I moved my gift plant to a little wildflower garden I had started a few years before. Lucky for me the container had blooming plants along with a few seedlings. A perfect start for a biennial like Phacelia.

Purple Phacelia, Scorpionweed, Fernleaf Phacelia and Forest Phacelia are all names for Phacelia bipinnatifida.

When it comes to biennials, some years are better then others. When you are trying to get a biennial established it's important to remember: One year from seed, second year to flower, then it dies. To have flowers every year you have to get a colony started. I really was lucky to be given several plants in bloom and many first year seedlings. Those first flowers were fertilized, set seed and then died. A year later their seeds germinated and grew; meanwhile, the original first year seedlings bloomed; their flowers were fertilized, set seed, then died. Starting an absolutely brilliant cycle that I make sure doesn't get interrupted.

tightly coiled inflorescence in bud

This was a lean year. Not many blooms, but, there are first year plants ready and I am pretty sure the flowers were fertilized so the cycle will continue. To insure my little colony will make it through the deluge/drought pattern Middle Tennessee has settled into, I'll hand water them during the severely dry times. There's also a few first year seedlings growing in the path (seedlings love paths) that will go back into the bed. I sure hope the bees did their job and fertilized those flowers!

Aside from their adorable cuteness or their interesting musky odor when you brush the leaves and flowers; I grow phacelia for it's wildlife value! Bees love Phacelia! They want the nectar and pollen. Occasionally skippers and small butterflies will visit. But, really, Phacelia is all about the bees! I've read that the honey from honey bees visiting Phacelia colonies is quite tasty~I would love to try it. Now, does anyone know where can we find it?

Phacelia bipinnatifida is a gem of a plant. I hope you can locate it for your garden.

Where in the US Purple Phacelia is native

If you can't grow P bipinnatifida, don't worry. There's a Phacelia species in every state, except for Florida, Vermont and New Hampshire. They love Canada, too. For a complete A (Phacelia adenophora) to W (Phacelia welshii) listing go here. Sorry, there's no Phacelia X, Y or Z! Check with native plant nurseries in your state or online to buy plants. Remember, only collect plants if you have permission to and never, never, ever in the local, state or US Parks.

xxoogail

Welcome to Clay and Limestone's Wildflower Wednesday celebration. WW is about sharing and celebrating wildflowers from all over this great big, beautiful world. Join us on the fourth Wednesday of each month. Remember, it doesn't matter if they are in bloom or not; and, it doesn't matter if we all share the same plants. It's all about celebrating wildflowers. Please add your url to Mr Linky, he's on the sidebar today, as we continue to celebrate wildflowers today and all week. Please leave a comment.

This post was written by Gail Eichelberger for my blog Clay and Limestone Copyright 2011.This work protected under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. Please contact me for permission to copy, reproduce, scrape, etc.