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 wish you joy with your hackberry trees. I love them less since a huge one fell on my house a few years ago… not its fault I suppose as it got hit by lightning, split, and my house was between it and the ground. Still… they are a bit fragile as they age (aren’t we all) and have a tendency to topple, so good luck to you! Love the pictures… mmmmm!
Beautiful blossom, and it’s wonderful to have a succession of different trees providing blossom for the bees at different times, and fruit for you at different times too.
I just stumbled across your blog. Love the writing — even the rants. But as a knitter and spinner, the sheep photos will keep me coming back. All that good, organic wool — the mind boggles.
Do you want a fleece? I have no wheel and the Dorset fleece is so good, he is a big healthy grass fed boyo.. he will be sheared within the next few weeks.. I don’t know what to do with his wool until i get a wheel.. c
That’s a great offer, but I think you should keep it and learn to spin with a spindle in your copious spare time! If the sheared fleece is skirted and properly stored, it will be fine for quite a while. There might be a different shearing technique if you want to spin the fleece — don’t quote me on that though. I’m sure a local spinner would love it too. Check the internet for a local spinners and weavers guild or at a local shop that sells wheels.
I used to spin in NZ many years ago, but the wheels here in the US are so expensive, i think i will find one in NZ next time i go and bring it back.. c
The pictures are so beautiful – your garden looks like it will bloom perfectly 😀
Cheers
Choc Chip Uru
Latest: Double Nutella Brownie Cheesecake Bites
And bloom for ages I hope .. Have you got a wee garden? good morning and welcome! c
You know I worry about that a lot, all the chemicals and additives and God know what else in our food!
I keep telling my husband that we need to get a house with a garden and grow our own food, at least some of it!
Oh I almost forgot. Thank you for the beautiful blossom pictures C 🙂
Hmm it is hard to grow without a garden, hope you get one soon.. all we can do really is buy fresh and ban processed and packaged that will cut down your risks immensely.. I am sure you do this already.. c
Beautiful images today C. The Flowering Pear is my favorite. 🙂
It was alive with bees by the afternoon so the birds will have lots of berries for the winter! At least i think the birds eat them, they disappear pretty fast!! c
Your spring is so much further along than ours! It is just lovely there! Wonderful! Like you I love trees. Where I live trees have to be nurtured since we are so dry, but ever so worth it.
Linda
http://coloradofarmlife.wordpress.com
i will have to start watering the trees here too soon, i think it is going to be a long hot dry summer.. c
I don’t understand totally the GM debate but I know I was sad and felt it was wrong when I listed to a radio item where someone was seeking to justify the granting of some GM license here. I feel than no good will ever come of interfering with the centuries old natural ways of the world.
You have hit the nail on the head, messing about with nature will not end well. In fact there are many weeds that will not respond to the roundup, it will catch up with us, but that is OK as long as we all hold on to the knowledge of how to feed ourselves. This is ancient too. c
Celi – I am quoting your rant on my “Occupy Blogosphere” post today. “Also Genetically…” down to the end of the next paragraph “…beef and milk”. Awareness and self sufficiency are the only way to override these companies and what they are doing.
Awareness has to come from grass roots. WE have to speak up – just as you have done, Celi. We see the results of listening to “experts”. We don’t need more scientific studies, commissions, study groups…we need everyday common sense and wise counsel that encourages us to take control of our own food production.
Exactly… grow your own.. ! c
Oh.. the pollen would make me just pass out lol. I’ve been on alert with pollen around here and have made sure to take my Allegra twice a day just to manage it. But just looking at mama.. I would brave it and go where you are if I could 🙂
poor darling, hay fever is miserable.. c
[…] Celi at The Kitchen’s Garden expressed concern over being on a rant today. […]
Tunes do help when working alone…having a pretty lady around is also enjoyable…not sure about a camera though. Before and after…okay…but during? As long as I’m out of the picture! But yet I can be a ham some times….
Makes sense about the bees…I never put it together that way.
We have a hedge of lilac bushes and two of honeysuckle, I think, they produce a red berry from a reddish pink flower, a peach tree that looks in full blossom right now and flowers blooming at different times of the year. Then the vege garden. Just wish I had my own bees!
it sounds like you will be having some visiting bees, your garden will be a mecca, I wish i had a good honeysuckle hedge..hey take some shots of you beg garden and post them, i would love to see .. c
Great post; makes me think of the orchard I played in when I was a tiny little kid. Many hours were spent sitting up in the branches of the fruit trees and many belly aches brought on by eatting too many berries from the gooseberry bushes. 🙂 Good times.
Good belly aches then.. i remember those belly aches!! c
Lovely to see all the buds and blossoms beginning. I totally support your plea for organically grown good flowers for the bees. I am now able to post on WordPress again after being rejected over and over – yea!
Oh I wondered where you were, I thought maybe you were busy with the autumn garden.. good to see you again Juliet.. c
All of this recent bee talk makes me miss having hives in the garden. Ours were decimated by hornets, and we were demoralized, so we took a break. Maybe this is the year to get back in the saddle. And I love how talk of pollen segues so naturally into concerns about how we are altering our plants. Your store room sound enticing- I bet it’ll be worth enduring all that racket for!