bees Archives - Garden Experiments

Celebrating Pollinators – Bees, Butterflies, Birds and More

Garden Experiments — Tue, 23 Jun 2020 19:32:23 +0000

National Pollinator Week occurs in mid- to late-June each year. The goal of this Week is to celebrate the beneficial insects, birds, and mammals that pollinate the flowers of plants that produce much of our food, maintain our ecosystems, stabilize soils, and provide wildlife habitat. It also serves to educate people about what they can […]

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How to Grow Pink Evening Primrose

Garden Experiments — Fri, 06 Jul 2018 23:08:47 +0000

Sundays after church, my dad would pile the family into the car and take us for a drive through the countryside just outside the boundaries of the big city. We would see miles of delicate pink flowers lining the edges of the roads, growing the cracks in the sidewalk, and on the banks of the […]

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Japanese Honeysuckle vs Native Honeysuckle Vine

Garden Experiments — Sun, 12 Nov 2017 14:12:16 +0000

Have you ever plucked a honeysuckle flower, turned it around, and gently sucked the nectar from the tube-shaped back of the flower? If you grew up in the southeastern U.S., I bet you did. That taste of super-sweet honey nectar always makes me think of summer nights spent chasing fireflies and summer days spent running […]

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Obedient Plant – Physostegia virginiana

Garden Experiments — Tue, 26 Sep 2017 15:11:00 +0000

Deer-resistant AND it can grow in clay soil – what’s not to love about obedient plants? Native plants are favorites of mine because they are particularly suited for the local conditions (soil, heat, drought or rain, clay soil) of my area. When I find those native plants with particularly pretty flowers, I add them to […]

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Partridge Pea: Butterfly Host Plant & Pollinator Plant

Garden Experiments — Sun, 27 Aug 2017 11:41:33 +0000

Summer is the time of the year that you’ll see the bright yellow flowers of partridge pea blooming along the side of the road or along streams and ditches. They will continue to flower from late summer to early fall. Creates Food for Pollinators & Wildlife This little plant packs a mighty punch when it […]

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Virginia Spring Beauty – Claytonia virginica

Garden Experiments — Mon, 27 Feb 2017 14:57:29 +0000

When I reach my limit with the bleakness of winter and cold temperatures, the tiniest pink striped flowers start to poke their heads out of lawns and ditches. To me, the Virginia spring beauty (Claytonia virginica) is a harbinger of spring and warmer weather. These wildflowers bloom just before the false garlic – so they […]

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Fall Asters: Purple Blooms for Bees, Butterflies, & Beauty

Garden Experiments — Sun, 06 Nov 2016 18:18:18 +0000

Fall in the southeast still tends toward the warmer temps, which means that bees and butterflies are still hanging around. The scorching heat and sun of the late summer has often killed off many of the most prolific flowering plants, meaning there are less flowers for the pollinators to feed on. Adding a few fall-flowering […]

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How to Grow Mexican Sunflower (Tithonia rotundifolia)

Garden Experiments — Thu, 18 Aug 2016 22:01:45 +0000

I love this plant. Nothing says ‘good morning to you’ like a bright orange flower. But it’s not just me! The hummingbirds, bees, and butterflies have all cast their votes too. This afternoon, I saw a ruby-throated hummingbird feeding on one of the flowers. Tithonia is excellent for attracting and feeding pollinators. Mix it in […]

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Backyard Wildlife Summer 2016

Garden Experiments — Fri, 22 Jul 2016 17:04:17 +0000

This summer has been full of weird and wonderful backyard wildlife. From a nest of barred owls to frogs to snakes and turtles, I’ve seen a lot in my garden and backyard. Watching wildlife is one of the things I enjoy so much about my garden and yard. It’s why I work hard to create […]

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Spotted Jewelweed: Touch-me-not plant

Garden Experiments — Wed, 01 Jun 2016 22:39:07 +0000

If you’ve got soil that stays wet most of the time, then spotted jewelweed is the plant for you. It’s native to most of the lower 48 states and prefers shade to part-shade – even better! In its native habitat, you’ll find it alongside roads in ditches that stay wet most of the time, alongside […]

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