I came across a very interesting piece of solid research from the National Botanic Garden of Wales which is part of a worldwide scheme to make a DNA database of all living things. Having mapped all the indigenous Welsh plants they can use this information to identify what plants bees have foraged on by analysing the pollen in a honey sample without the laborious process of identifying it visually under a microscope. Practically all the samples examined showed that bees forage primarily on very few sources, namely Willow, Gorse, Oak (which surprised me) Sycamore, Dandelion, Holly and Bramble. Garden flowers were there but in minute amounts.
2 Likes
I miss having sycamores around. There is literally no wood that can touch sycamore for smoking meats. It is hands down the best and virtually no one has ever tried it or knows about it. This might be incentive to plant one or two.
ArrrghâŚnoâŚno sycamore around here please! They cause atypical myopathy in horsesâŚwhen they eat the seeds. We almost lost a horse a few years ago to it. It sweeps across the country in the spring and autumnâŚkilling many horses and ponies. For many years the problem was undiagnosedâŚhorses were just found dead in the field but now we know it is the sycamore. Great for smoking and bees though!
1 Like
One of our local Docs migrated to Oz from England and planted London Plane trees alongside his driveway. We bought his property twenty years ago and now a few of the trees need to come out. The trees are hybrids of American Sycamores and the Oriental Plane so I donât know if the wood would be good for smoking. My bees certainly love them.
I live a block away from the Oakland Aâs spring training facilities. They use it for like a month a year and then it is only occasionally used for other childrenâs sports like soccer etc. I am thinking about getting a few pounds of clover seeds and seeding all the circled areas, which are just basic grass fields that double as parking and sporting areas when it is being utilized but nothing is there 99% of the time. I think this could be a great opportunity for forage for my bees.
Anything I should consider before doing this?
Is it a good idea or bad since I donât control the land and what gets sprayed?
Anything I should consider before doing this?
You mean besides getting arrested? I guess Iâd go for white dutch as it takes mowing well. A little yellow sweet wouldnât hurt but white dutch is a perennial and yellow sweet is a biennial. So the yellow sweet wonât last unless it goes to seed, which it seldom does when getting mowedâŚ
1 Like
Check out the third strategy listed in Obamaâs Pollinator Initiative - maybe the landowners could work with whatever local official might be in charge of implementing it:
If not, now you have a good line to try to bail yourself out with when the cops come 
Itâs not like I am talking about planting something illegal or invasive or something like that. Back in California our schoolyards and parks were largely clover. I hadnât really thought of it being illegal, as I wouldnât be doing anything to damage the property or planting something on a restricted list. I suppose I could go the route of contacting the owners/managers of the facility and see if they would be willing to adopt a pollinator friendly field policy.
I am a coward, so that is what I would do - or even offer to spread the seeds out, if they would just approve it. 
I am more of an ask for forgiveness rather than permission type. I probably just didnât have the best role model growing up for that sort of thing lol (My dad would have us jump out of the car to move orange cones at Disneyland so we could get a better parking spot).
I say cut small holes in your pockets, fill your pockets full of clover seed, walk the fields and distribute seed.
Andy Dufrense style. Skip to the 1:23 mark.
4 Likes
Oxalis is VERY invasive. It grows from a corm, a small bulb, and once established is difficult to remove. And I guarantee that the grounds keepers for those ball fields will NOT be interested in having clover growing adjacent to their turfâŚ
Personally I think itâs a great idea ; -)
1 Like
I think you are less likely to get into trouble planting it in the ditches and right of waysâŚ
1 Like
On top of planting a bunch of plants for the bees in my yard my neighbors have started to select plants that are good for the bees too. The school yard that is very close by provides a nice foraging area because it is rarely mowed. But what might be the best foraging area is the Transmission Power Line right of way that is two blocks away. The blackberries along the boarders made a great foraging spot but now this specific right of way is being developed into a âPollinator Pathwayâ by Seattle City Light. My girls will have many choices on where they go to do their collecting soon. Maybe other bee keepers could suggest these pathways to their utilities or city counsels. There is a 7 minute âTEDxRainierâ talk by Sarah Bergman called "The Pollinator Pathway: Connecting Landscapes in the Age of Humankind.
1 Like
Good idea.
We have Himalayan Balsam pathways here 
our council is quite liaisee faire about it. Most places have self appointed balsam police who rip every stem up. Railway sidings are good fore Fireweed and Bramble
Korean Evodia (Bee Bee Tree) from seed to blossom in 4-5 years. In the eastern US they bloom in mid-late July when there is usually a dearth. My trees are in their 5th year and over 25â tall. I have a gazillion seeds if anyone needs them.
I start them in peat pots (these little disks that swell up when placed in water) and they grow fast! They are considered a major nectar source.
5 Likes
Yes, brilliant autumn source.
I have a few planted near the apiary
Gooday Gang ,
great to hear you are all busy planting . I popped in 8 x tea-trees this week and have plenty more to go .I would love some seed RHC , however I would need to do my research for bio-security and invasiveness first . Great offer and keep ep the good work .
The Captain .
@SowthEfrikan howâs about bumnuts! 
1 Like
I am interested in planting for my new bees that I am installing in April, I am new to this but would love plants. How do you sell them and prices? I live in Alabama Thanks