We all talk a lot about flowers for bees in the garden. Which makes me think of plants and bushes. But there are many lovely trees for bees. There are a few just showing their stuff in my gardens now. Especially in the dawn before the bees are even awake. Bees are late risers. Lets look at a few trees for bees in The Kitchen’s Garden.
I have planted two young weeping cherries. 
The peach tree is blossoming well this year. 
Why is it that blossoms are all pink or white?
This is an old peach tree, I will plant another one this year, to help with its pollination.
The Flowering Pear is not quite out yet which is good as we need a succession of blossoms
and there are three of these, flowering pears grow fast. The sun is up Daisy is yelling we must hurry. We also have five pear trees that are budding but not quite ready for pollination. The bees have a feast ahead of them.
The old cherry had a terrible year last year, no pies for us. No jam. But this year it is looking promising. And the two young cherry trees are coming along fast. These are Bings. 
A ways to go yet.
The old apple trees are even further behind. The young apple trees are doing very well but you all know what they look like. Apple blossom is a huge favourite. 
And if we look carefully below, somewhere in there will be…
Waldo. 
The Hackberry trees are only two years old. They need bees for pollination. There is such a thing as hackberry honey you know. They grow tall and strong. As well as being ideal for bees, the butterflies like the nectar and in the winter the berries hang there being eaten by the birds. So a good tree for all. Plus it is a North American native. 
Just because Mama in nearing her confinement (how is that for delicate) she still has time for a wee chat with Queenie, who she still thinks of as one of her girls. She is not above giving him a good box around the ears every now and then either.
The Maple and Pussy Willow is almost finished with, the Forsythia is in full swing, the Lilacs are budding and the Dogwood will be out in a while, so the bees will have a reasonable spring run with trees this year. And that is only in my garden I am sure you have seen bees about a few of your trees too.
So of you have a corner somewhere in the world plant a tree for the bees.
I have a theory that wild and domestic bees are starving and vanishing from lack of fertile organic flowers more than anything else. I know that there are many studies to find a scientific explanation for their decline, the new mites, moths and diseases. But if a hive is healthy and strong it can repel most things. As is true of a human body. Remember growing organically means getting ahead of the problem. So we strive for health first. To be healthy we need to eat good clean food, it is so obvious. And it is the same for the bees. Too many roadsides are mown, too much land is in industrial horticulture, so much wild flower land has gone under. Not enough vegetable gardens in back yards.
Also Genetically Modified crops have been reconfigured to be pest and round up resistant. So a farmer can spray less. This is good right? But they do not produce fertile nutritious pollen. The seed in a Genetically Modified crop is designed to terminate, so a farmer cannot collect and grow his seed, he has to reorder seed from the Big Lobby M company. So what of the pollen? The dramatic rise in these GM pollens on a graph, directly dogs the decline in bee numbers. As GM crops rise so do bee numbers decline. None of these crops need bees as a pollinator. Of course as usual no-one really wants to know this. Round-Up ready crops are big business and they don’t need bees anyway. But bees do need the good stuff. So if you have a spot to plant a tree that has flowers for bees then you are directly helping the bees gain back some ground lost to industrial farming, sprays and dandelion free lawns.
Also I might add that the GM corn is causing a dismaying decline in the fertility of cattle too. So it is in your beef, pork and corn syrup and soy milk, etc. Now what is that doing to OUR health? This is something that has never been researched. And this is why I do not eat or drink processed foods and I grow my own grass fed beef and milk.
Oops I wandered into a rant.
The GOOD NEWS is that the postcards have finally arrived. The printers did a great job even though they lost the order twice. The cards are gorgeous and I shall now stamp the postcard stamp on the back of each one, collate them and make up the bundles for our lucky winners, Anna, Spree and Chris.
And yes you can buy a set. They are US$14.50 for a set of 16. If you are interested email me and I shall send you your cards. Now that is exciting.
Another glorious morning is here and also my carpenter is arriving shortly. He is making a big Cave store room in my basement. A cool dark room to store all the preserves, vinegars, cheeses, honey, Wine. All that good stuff. Now that IS exciting. It is being made from recycled chemical free barn timber and I shall take some shots for you today. It is going to be wonderful.
How sad that my visitors will have to put up with hammering and bashing and building and the carpenter’s commercial radio all day.
Good morning.
celi
The Kitchen's Garden 
114 responses to “Trees for Bees, Thee and Me”
I can tell by the tone of your voice that you are terrribly upset that you visitors may be disturbed by the noise that is coming.
I went to a small farm with animals here near our village and was very distressed by the way some of the animals were kept. Yours are so lucky. We really do have to make more of an effort to make sure animals are properly taken care of, but how do you make some people understand?
We have lots of lovely bees here and the local honey is wonderful. There is plenty of forest around us, but the chestnut trees are being taken over by acacia, which is a pity.
acacia honey is good too!
just as well as they have a lot of pollen!! thanks viv.. c
chestnuts are glorious tree.. all we can do is look after our own families and our own plots, it is an old thought but it will work.. c
All the trees look like they are coming along nicely! Glad you are also getting some nice weather out there, and spring is the most beautiful time on a farm, I would imagine.
It is ksenia everything is so bright and welcome after the winter.. c
After working for a Naturopathic doctor for more than five years, I could go on and on and on about what our food is doing to us. Especially genetically modified food. But I will just simply say that I agree with you. I will say one thing on the subject though – the frightening part right now is that there is a fight going on within the government about it…they don’t think we need to know which foods are genetically modified and which animals have been cloned.
I ran across frozen, organic, corn at Trader Joe’s the other day. First time I’ve EVER seen organic corn sold. I’ve never even seen it being sold at the farmer’s markets. Interesting…but I didn’t buy it, unfortunately, I’ve become such a skeptic that I didn’t believe it!
I love that Ton Ton thinks he needs to be in all the pictures with Mama and your trees are beautiful. We noticed ours are budding despite our crazy weather. Yesterday it was snow, rain, hail, and 50 mile an hour winds. This morning seems calm but the sun isn’t all the way up as of yet. We’ll see what the day brings!
Have a wonderful day C. ~ April
Morning April, yes the fight against labelling is so Un Constitutional i cannot believe it is even happening. People cannot choose unless they have a choice. if it is OK why can’t it be labelled. Talk about not standing behind your product.
And i would be skeptical about organic corn, where was it packed? also did it say certified organic. As you know certified organic and organic are two different things..
I cannot believe how lucky I am being able to grow and package my own food, it must be so difficult to raise a family from a modern supermarket.. c
Oh, how lucky that you’ll have blossoms in succession. Such a nice transition into spring. And, I definitely found Waldo/TonTon! Yay!
That dog.. such a laugh.. c
I’m glad that you ranted as I feel more informed now about the bees and how they are affected by GM. If you think you are frightened about what is going on which genetic grown foods imagine what my concerns are living here in China. I so need to start a garden with some veggies on my deck. Take Care, BAM
morning bam, i keep forgetting that you are in china, grab a pot, fill it with potting mix and throw some lettuce seeds in there. that should do for a start.. can you buy all those things there? Or shall we send you some lettuce seed?.. c
You are so sweet Cecelia. I think I can get the seeds here or something similar. I just have to come up with a mechanism for dealing with the plant protection during the tyhpoons that we have frequently.
Sing out if you need organic seeds .. we can send them! c
Your the best!!!!! Happy planting to you. Take care, BAM
Ah! The signs of Spring are all around us and I couldn’t be happier! I’ve still a great deal of yard work to do but that’s OK. It will get done in due time. For now, I’ll take my coffee and enjoy a few minutes of mid-March sun in the back yard. I cannot tell when, if ever, I’ve done that before! Great pic, by the way, of Queenie & Mama. All that’s missing is a water cooler. Have a great day, Celi!
I am in complete agreement about the sitting in the sun.. i am late with everything today because i did exactly that.. and it was glorious! then the wind came and i went back to work.. c
I love how you digressed into a little talk about GM foods, I think it’s so important for everyone to be aware of what they are already doing to our lives.
P.s I’m so jealous of your direct access to raw milk! We don’t eat much dairy in general, but do consume buckets full of homemade yoghurt which would be all the more delicious if it were made from raw milk! Thanks for introducing yourself on my blog before too, I look forward to having a look around her blog xx
I am so lucky to be able to get raw milk, and in may I will be milking my own cow, lots happening out here so that we can eat good fresh clean food. I love home made yoghurt, the whole farm gets it once a week! So good.. and yes with raw milk I am very lucky! Welcome Emma.. c
Good morning, Celi. Good for you, getting your writing in before the guests get up. Our yard is a chemical-free oasis for local species. We have an old apple tree and cherry bushes (which feed the birds — we never get any), plus a lemon and now a lime. Wild blackberry is always trying to reassert itself around here, too, but my mother doesn’t care for it.
That blackberry can get away on you but the jam is great!! tho your mother is right, I envy you the lemon tree, i would so love a lemon but alas too cold, so hard to get lemons without their wax coating out here.. morning Sharyn, hope you and your mum are having a good day.. c
It always did amaze me to see brown fields of roundup ready corn and soybeans, with the only green thing the crop. If a plant can survive roundup, you know something is seriously amiss. And to think humans willingly consume corn that has been in contact with that stuff. ICK! It is sad to say though, I probably eat more than I would like to acknowledge as I do not have a farm to supply those corn needs. Sigh! This is depressing business if you think about it too long…. Off to my yard mowing/other plant care. Good morning to you!
Just do not eat anything with soy or corn syrup in it. And only use certified organic flours and you are half way there. Even pepsi and coke are sweetened with corn syrup .. but a tweak here and a tweak there at the supermarket and we can still avoid it.. Wine is OK so far!! c
Thank god the wine is still safe!
i hear ya!! c
I can’t believe how far ahead you are with your blooming fruit trees. Normally, the apple trees are in bloom by Mother’s Day but this year may be different since we have had some very warm days. It will be back in the 50’s by the weekend with lows in the 30’s. Typical for here.
Yes it is pretty awesome, a very freaky year for weather, the 8th warmest spring or something like that, however i am taking it at its word and i am planting and I have the sprinklers out and we are away! c
Upon a spring morning, an awakening bee takes flight to explore the flora at its disposal. It might fly from tree to tree to investigate the first growth of young flowers and return to the hive to report. Your account made me feel like I was perhaps flying along with an expert bee as it assessed the state of things on “its” property. Every morning, it encounters the creatures that share its territory. “Ha! Mama and Queenie are chatting again this morning,” notices the bee. Thus the bee continues about the business of being a bee and meanwhile we pull the green, lushes, organic, aromatic, colorful rug from under its little bee feet. Thank you for reminding us of our ability (responsibility?) to provide a suitable landscape as a fair trade for the succulent honey we receive, unconditionally.
Perfect granny, that is just how it is, and later this morning the peach is blooming even more and the bees are all abuzzing.. c
Beautiful blossoms…must take a snap of our plum tree. Our cherries were only planted last year and so far are not doing much. We are seeing our first bees here, it´s lovely to see them gently making their way around the garden. I am working on Big Man on getting a pig…would do the same as you and use her to have piglets and take it from there.
I am still working on getting a plum tree, i want those big red plums, with the red flesh, but I can’t remember what they are called! is it Doris. A pig would be great at your place, you could make her a stone pig sty with a run you can let her into in the day time where she can rummage.. they love dirt, bless them.. c
Maybe it´s Victoria Plums? Love them but ours are golden. Now you´re talking…a stone pig sty!
Rant away my friend! The blossoms are lovely but you are right, why just 2 colours? I have some fruit tree planting that I want to get done on my plot, looking forward to it all and now I get to encourage more bees. Bzzz Bzzz
Isn’t it grand. the advantages of our little plots are endless! c
i sure could use a basement room like that. maybe the guests will be driven off with the racket! i love the photo of the cow and the sheep. it is precious! we are having another 80 degrees day!
80 is wonderful for the growing! i could do without the spring winds though just for one day!! morning branwyn
Gorgeous photos, Celi. I absolutely love the photo of the cow and sheep…adorable. Really wish I had a peach tree…or a garden, anything! Oh, apartment living. Good morning to you!
Do you have a terrace. ? I hope you do.. c