When we bought our home, the yard was in need of some tender loving care. We've been here for a few months now, and I decided, finally, on what to do with the front yard. Grass is hard to maintain without using weed killer constantly, and we currently cannot afford landscaping. When I was still pregnant, we went to a BBQ with some family, and I saw this metallic black bumble bee. I was amazed to learn later that California has over 1,500 species of bees, and around 81 in the bay area alone! The honey bee is an imported bee! Crazy eh? Anyway, I have decided to make a bee garden, this will be a place where bees are welcome and invited! It isn't too pretty yet, as there really is only lavender for them to buzz about, but there will be more soon.
Today I planted fever-few, forget-me-nots, Jupiter's beard, lambs ear and tossed a ton of wild flower seeds in the yard. Tomorrow I am going to put down lavender seeds and California Poppy seeds. When I was planting some seeds in starter pots this afternoon, I felt something tickling the back of my arm. I turn to look, and there was a honey bee. It sat there and cleaned itself while I examined it. They really are beautiful and fascinating little creatures! It was just the thing to make me feel that this is the right choice for our front yard!
I encourage you to check out http://nature.berkeley.edu/urbanbeegardens to read more on bee gardens. It is certainly a better choice than a plain plot of grass!
