Let’s Feed Some Bees: Year Two

Last year on the first day of Spring Flights of Fancy launched the Let’s Feed Some Pollinators campaign, between March 20th and May 31st, 2021 every online and in-person order included a free packet of pollinator seeds, there were two types of seeds to choose from, sunflower seeds and purple tansy seeds.

Over the course of the proogram last year, enough seeds to create 90 pollinator gardens were distributed. 

This year I am expanding the Flights of Fancy ‘Let’s Feed Some Bees’ program, beginning  March 20, 2022, and lasting until May 31, 2022 (while supplies last), every purchase made either, in-person, or online will receive a packet of pollinator seeds, and now there are five different varieties to choose from!

The hope behind this program is that you will plant these packets of pollinator seeds in your garden, hedge, or wherever you have some space, and you will be rewarded with a summer full of wonder as your local bees, butterflies and even hummingbirds visit the plants that you have grown!

Together we will be working to create much-needed food and habitat resources for species that, let’s face it, could really use a helping hand right now.

NEW This Year: Share For Your Chance to Win

Let’s see those pollinator plants! Each month during the summer (June, July & August), I will be giving away a pollinator-themed giftset to one lucky winner who shares photos of their Flights of Fancy pollinator plants in action! For your chance to win, make sure you tag @flightsoffancy.hbc & @meetthe.bees in your post on Instagram and/or Facebook, and use the hashtag #FOF_FeedTheBees. Each month the giftset that’s up for grabs along with the selected winners will be announced on Instagram, Facebook, and the email list – make sure you follow @Flightsoffancy.hbc on Instagram & Facebook and join the mailing list to stay up to date!

NEW: Five Seed Varieties To Choose From

There are five seed varieties available to choose from and each has special benefits for both native pollinators and your local honey bees.

Free Gift Option One: Purple Tansy Seeds

Purple Tansy (Phacelia tanacetifolia), is also known as ‘Bee’s Friend’ and that is for good reason, it is considered a top honey plant, and bee hives placed in acres planted with Purple Tansy can produce 180-1500 lbs of honey per acre and 300-1000 lbs of light-blue pollen per acre. Because of the abundance of nectar and pollen that Purple Tansy produces, it has a special value to native bees who rely on these resources.

Purple Tansy attracts common species, mostly bumble bees, honey bees, mason bees, and syrphid flies. In my gardens, though I have also seen leafcutter bees, moths, and butterflies visit my Purple Tansy blooms.

But one thing is for certain, the bee activity, especially on lacy phacelia, tends to amaze observers seeing it for the first time. Learn more about growing Purple Tansy here.

Free Gift Option Two: Sunflower Seeds
Nothing says summer more than a Sunflower. Did you know that the Sunflower is native to North America? It has been grown and cultivated for thousands of years. It may not be as good of a nectar and pollen source as the Purple Tansy, but it does create a home for many native bee species and last summer, I even had hummingbirds visiting my patch

Learn more about growing Sunflowers here.

NEW Free Gift Option Three: Borage Seeds

Borage is a pretty important plant to both honey bees and bumblebees alike. It has attractive star-shaped flowers that turn from blue to pink as they age, paired with the fuzzy leaves and purple portions near the blooms, borage adds texture and a unique interest in the garden, its a wonderful companion plant, makes excellent green manure, the leaves and flowers make a calming tea, and the pretty blossoms are actually edible flowers and can even be frozen in ice cubes for cocktails. But its prolific nectar and pollen production is what makes borage an invaluable plant in the pollinator garden.

As a food source for bumblebees and honey bees, borage refills with nectar every two-five minutes throughout the day, unlike most plants, and it continues to yield nectar even in cold weather making it a significant bumblebee plant. Learn more about growing Borage here. 

NEW Free Gift Option Four: Sainfoin Seeds

More Than Just A Cover Crop
This will be my first season growing sainfoin in the garden. From my own reading, it is an old-world perennial that was forgotten in the post-war, industrial agriculture surge of monoculture farming but is making a comeback as a cover crop for its soil regenerative abilities, as a fodder for grazing livestock, and the nectar and pollen production of this plant for honey bees and native pollinators alike.

I’m planning to use Sainfoin as a nitrogen fixer and to provide my bees, along with the native bees, a high-quality nectar, and pollen-producing plant. The Rhizobia in the root nodules of sainfoin fix nitrogen and boost soil nitrogen. The roots penetrate to great depths and pull nutrients up from the subsoil. Sainfoin has been found to increase the sequestration of nutrients such as phosphate. Learn more about growing Sainfoin here.

NEW Free Gift Option Five: Buckwheat Seeds

Buckwheat has a few superpowers when it comes to the garden, first off it is a very fast-growing plant, so when planted as a cover crop, buckwheat can outgrow weeds and by doing so, suppresses them from growing, by taking up the space, nutrients, water, and by blocking out the light.

Since buckwheat is fast-growing it reaches bloom and is ready to be cut faster than other cover crop options, meaning your growing space will be out of action for a shorter period of time.

In addition to being quick to grow and quick to mature, buckwheat once cut, is quick to break down into the nutrients that soil requires and is quick to be absorbed back into the soil – sounds pretty great, right? And that’s not even taking into account its benefits to the pollinators. Learn more about growing Buckwheat here.

Who will you be helping?

Local Honey Bees: to attract and help local honey bees, make sure you plant the seeds (these seeds or any nectar and pollen-producing seeds) in groupings of 6-8 plants. The reason for this is, like the rest of the designated jobs throughout their hives, honey bee foragers have designated pollen and nectar sources and will only collect resources from one type of source per forage trip. A single plant or plants in groups less than 6, in close proximity will be passed over by the honey bees who are looking for the most efficient areas to collect resources.

Native Bees: Unlike honey bees, native bee species will visit multiple pollen and nectar sources per trip and will happily visit individual or small groupings of plants. Some solitary native bee species will also use the plants as a home or place to rest and as shelter from rainy or cold weather, like the long-horn bee in the photo to the right who took up residence in my sunflower patch last summer. This little one would tuck itself in between the petals at sunset and begin its day with a grooming session as the sun rose and the temperatures warmed up. It would move from bloom to bloom as the sunflowers faded and lost their petals – make sure you seed in succession for continued blooms from August through to late September.

Hummingbirds: It’s not just honey bees and natives that will visit your garden, you’ll see hummingbirds as well! Most people associate hummingbirds with bright red liquid feeders but hummingbirds are pollinators too, and they love to visit flower and vegetable gardens sampling the different natural nectar sources. Hummingbirds are highly territorial and feeders can be a competitive place, by growing nectar-producing plants throughout your yard, you will be increasing the food resources over a larger and more spread-out area. Want to feed hummingbirds but not sure if they will visit sunflowers? The ones by my house sure do! I have three feeders up but the most hummingbird squabbles happen over my patch of sunflowers. Did you know that they will puff themselves up to the size and look of a golf ball, make a high-pitched war cry and charge their competitors? Neither did I until I saw it with my own eyes and then spent a few hours Googling it.

Butterflies & Moths: Butterflies and moths are pollinators as well and they eat nectar and pollen just like bees do, they also transfer the pollen from bloom to bloom the same way as bees, and some species even have pollen patches on their legs. Personally, I have always been fascinated by butterflies, I relate more to honey bees in their task orientation and butterflies always seem to be flitting about on a whim, wandering to and fro, but they make migration journeys that far outreaches any bee, and must require drive and direction.

Moths as well, seem to be overlooked and underrated, just take the hummingbird, bumblebee, and luna moths for example. The first two resemble hummingbirds and mimic hummingbird movements, they even feed during the day, collecting nectar from the same plants as hummingbirds. The luna moth is a brilliant bright green with creamy white markings that look like that of a butterfly, the wing shape even resembles a butterfly’s wings. They come out at night but can also be seen resting during the day.

Go The Extra Mile: Add a Watering Station

Although nectar is a fluid, pollinators still need a reliable source of clean, fresh, accessible water. Creating and maintaining one or several watering stations is quick and easy and will not only add interesting features but will bring life into your garden. You’ll love watching all of the different insect species collect water but also how they interact with each other and the effects of their presence on your nearby plants.

A watering station can be as simple as filling a birdbath with river pebbles or clean gravel. You can also use water trays meant to fit under flowerpots, doing the same, filling them with pebbles or gravel. You can use natural mosses along the edges or use pebbles to make a gradual slope, with a rise in the center. The important thing to keep in mind is that the water levels need to be kept shallow – the gravel or pebbles should break above the surface, this provides pollinators somewhere to land and if they fall in, they can get themselves out without drowning.
To avoid mosquito larvae, freshen the water every other day or so, also you will find that it will need to be refilled just as often since the water level is being kept low.

By adding some food sources, shelter, and water, you will be helping native pollinators and honey bees alike, and by doing so will make your garden a fascinating and magical place to spend time.

Let’s feed some bees!