Supporting bees with flowers

To lose any animal through extinction is heart-breaking. To lose a wild creature which promotes and supports the health and bounty of so many trees and plants is almost unthinkable.  The consequences are almost too disastrous to contemplate but contemplate them we must if we are to act in a positive fashion before it is too late.

There is world-wide concern about the health of bees. Every few weeks I am contacted to sign up to the latest petition about banning harmful insecticides or putting pressure on political figures to act positively to protect those bees we have left. The idea that we can all play out part to nurture the bees living and working around us is something less well understood and practiced, yet it is the simple things which can help.

Bees require nectar and pollen from flowers in order to produce what is needed in the hive for their colony. Those of us who are able to grow plants need to be aware which plants are richer and more accessible food sources than others so we can offer what we can to the hives.

Bees need a continuous flow of flowers from February when the first bumblebees emerge from the holes in the ground to the warm dog days of autumn in late October/November. It is worth making a yearlong audit of your garden/park/open space/field to discover what flowers when. Is there a period where no flowers bloom? Can you discover something to grow which will fill that gap?

It has been found that bees in large, urban areas are often better served by access to flowers than those in certain parts of the country where single-crop agriculture and grubbing out of hedgerows has decimated the growth of wild flowers and trees with a corresponding drop in bird life and insects. When I’ve visited Lincolnshire and Norfolk in recent years, the lack of variety of plant life in certain areas has been very evident.

The colour of a flower determines its attractiveness to bees. Having said that, it must be remembered bees have a very different colour spectrum from our own. They see colours from yellow to ultra violet and will be guided towards the richest source of nectar by coloured tramlines. The pollen from a field poppy will be seen as blue, whilst that from the buttercup will be deep purple.  It was interesting watching honey bees in my garden during a warm spell a few weeks ago. They ignored the snowdrops and visited every purple crocus instead.

The shape of the flower also affects how easy it is for the bee to access a flower. The bumblebee has a longer proboscis than the honey bee, so they prefer red clover while honey bees prefer white.  The honey bee will often sip nectar through the back of a pea or broad bean flower through a hole made by another insect.

It is worth remembering if you are buying new roses that modern hybrid flowers are useless to bees because they cannot get to the nectar source in the centre of the flower as it is completely enclosed by whorls of petals. If you are not sure whether your roses are nectar bearing, do they produce hips? If they do, then they have been pollinated.

Nectar from different flowers contains different levels of sugar concentrations. For example the richest concentration of sugar comes from marjoram (80%) compared with 40% in lavender and 25% in borage.

Below is a list of plant families which are useful to bees.

Laniums: lavender, sage, mints, bergamot, marjoram etc.

Asteraceae – calendula, daises, chamomile, dandelions, conrflower, sunflower, lettuce

Rosacea – dog rose, apple, blackberry, raspberry, cherries, blackcurrants, nuts

Fabacae – peas,  beans, clover, vetch, acacia, melilot.

If your favourite plants are umbellifers such as fennel, dill, cow parsley, hemlock etc. then please think of adding other plants. Bees cannot feed from any of them!

Don’t forget to provide your bee visitors with water. They need a shallow bowl with lots of places to perch so they don’t get their body wet.

If you grow herbs and a selection of wild flowers the bees will prosper. I feel very blessed to share my herb gardens with a wide variety of honey and different bumblebees. Long may this continue!

Of Bees and Honey

I eat my peas with honey
I've done it all my life
I know that this sounds funny
But it keeps them on the knife
Anon/Edward Lear

I have three large patches of majoram and golden marjoram in my garden. As with mint and lemon balm, I watch anxiously throughout spring and early summer considering what I should do with the aromatic leaves before they start to flower and become worthless. Worthless is really a very subjective word, but all the books say one should not gather once the plant has flowered since all energies have been put into the flowers and seeds thus reducing the efficacy of the leaves.

Of lemon balm I usually do gather vast quantities, either for tincture, drying or making liqueur. This year, although I have dried and tinctured, the number of plants in the garden have dwindled, so I’ve mostly made fresh tea along with cleavers and enjoyed it immensely.

Marjoram, to me, is basically a culinary herb. I adore it fresh in the summer and look forward to its flavour and scent during the long winter months. Once it flowers, I know that my time with it is short, but this year is proving a real exception.

I like bees. I could spend hours watching them if I gave myself permission to stop for more than the odd five minutes before the “I should be doing x…” message runs once more through my brain. I notice when the first bumble bee buzzes around the garden in early spring and watch as they crawl deep inside the snapdragon’s or Himalayan balsam’s mouth and manage to emerge unscathed.

This year, the marjoram blossom has attracted a whole army of bees – all different shapes, sizes and colours, from the black, brown and white to the stunning black and orange banded. They land on the delicate flowers like flying tanks, their weight causing the flower stalk to waive and bend until the bee is happily settled and sucking. It’s ok if the bee lands on a milk thistle blossom or an Echinacea head or a moon daisy flower – they are the equivalent of the aircraft carrier in the navy, providing a huge, stable, nutritious landing pad.

The most amazing sight I saw the other morning, was watching a bumble bee clinging to the fragile stem of a vervain plant with the very tips of its antennae delicately stuck inside the tiny flowers.

The world’s honey bees are currently in a perilous state. UK stocks have been decimated by a particularly virulent hive mite and a long harsh winter after a poor summer’s harvest which did not allow colonies to build sufficient food stocks.

My nearest beekeeper lives in the adjoining road from ours, so is only about 2/3 mile away. I was very concerned when I first noticed the bees converging on the marjoram to see only bumble bees, but a closer search did reveal some quick-flying worker honey bees hiding amongst the blossoms. They seemed to prefer the golden marjoram flowers to the ordinary oregano/marjoram and moved so quickly, it was almost impossible to photograph them. It was very reassuring to know they were also taking advantage of the new nectar source.

I started using honey in a serious way when I began my study of herbs. My one and only attempt at brewing was metheglyn, using Rhiannon Ryall’s recipe. It took a long time to ferment, but it tasted wonderful and I still have half a bottle left in the larder after 12 years!

I prefer using honey if I can when I make a syrup, especially elderberry syrup, but it was Kiva Rose who really excited me and all my students when she posted her recipe for elderberry elixir. http://bearmedicineherbals.com/?p=66. She gives other uses for the elixir here. http://bearmedicineherbals.com/?p=111 I tend to make it with fresh or frozen elderberries rather than dried and half fill a 2 lb glass honey jar with the berries before adding a pound of honey and filling it up to the brim with brandy. It tastes amazing!

Julie Brueton-Seal, in her new book, Hedgerow Medicine, says that honey has natural antibiotic and antiseptic properties so is “an excellent vehicle for medicines to fight infection.” Both Julia and Kiva Rose mention applying honey topically for wounds and burns. Kiva has an inspiring post on using honey infused with bergamot flowers, evening primrose flowers and buds and rose petals for wounds and large burns which might be prone to infection. http://bearmedicineherbals.com/?p=451

I’ve made some dog rose petal infused honey this year and am hoping to try making the burns mixture infusion soon.

Someone introduced me to cider vinegar and honey drinks (2tsps of each in a large mug full of boiling water) as a sore throat soother many years ago, but from Hedgerow Medicine, I learned this combination is actually known as an Oxymel. Apparently they were once popular as a cordial in both Middle Eastern and European traditions being prized for cold and ‘flu remedies. I make many different infused vinegars – now I shall have to start building up my collection of infused honeys as well!

The other method of making honeyed medicines is called an Electuary, which are made by stirring powdered dried herbs into honey to make a paste. Julie Brueton-Seal says they are good as children’s remedies and are often used to sooth the digestive tract. Paul Bergner often talks about making honey pastes or pellets as an alternative to tinctures when you don’t want to involve a someone with an alcohol extraction.

No posting about bees and herbs can be complete without a mention of beeswax for salve making. There is nothing more mouth-watering than the smell of freshly made wax tablets – fragrant and slightly soft.

Chris’current favourite funny story concerning me and my exploits happened a couple of weeks ago when we were in Lincoln. I walked into the second hand bookshop near the cathedral and said to the owner, “I know it’s a long shot, but do you by any chance have any beeswax?”

No, I hadn’t completely lost my mind, in the shop window was a display of honey jars, so I thought there might be the possibility of some beeswax. Luckily, the lady’s daughter very kindly made me some wax tablets that night and Chris collected them the following morning while I was doing a bereavement workshop with the local Carers Unit. I left Lincoln a very happy herbwife!

Bee Song
Buzzing around
Your soothing symphony
Makes me stop
To share your petal dance
I notice you nudging
The dragon’s maw
To gather nectar
Balancing your bulk
Like an errant breeze
On fragile flowers
Yellow pollen drapes
Around your legs
Brushing softness
On stamens
Ripe for release
Transluscent wings
Too delicate at rest
Power you skyward
Leaving my sleepy world
Silent
Sarah Head