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I’ve been known to pet bees.
Although I wouldn’t recommend this to anyone – nor would I do it now – one of my earliest memories is sitting cross-legged in our British Columbia garden, gently stroking honeybees on their backs as they crawled into blooms.
I don’t know whether those Vancouver honeybees were any less touchy than those in northeast Indiana, but I do know they were fuzzy and so intent on collecting pollen that one little-girl index finger wasn’t enough to raise their ire.
The fragrant English-style garden was packed with open-faced bright blossoms, and the summer air thrummed with the buzz of thousands of those hard-working girls.
I’m not entirely alone in bee-petting. A few months ago I spent a few delightful hours with the Trillium Garden Club, and one of its members recalls doing the same when she was very young.
If just the sound of bees gives you hives, it’s important to know that our nation needs these insects to pollinate the crops we use to feed our families. And these worker bees are in trouble. Many of their colonies are not thriving, and the bees are dying.
The cause is not known for sure, and scientists are trying to find out whether it’s a mite, disease, toxins, global warming or a combination of factors.
In my own yard, hefty bumblebees and squat bees with fuzzy black bottoms (haven’t been able to identify them yet) outnumber honeybees 20 to 1.
This summer, the Dirt Cottage backyard plan includes a nectar nook. I’m planting a patch of sunflowers, day lilies, lemon balm, violets, narcissus, grape hyacinths and bellflowers (campanula).
Do you want to help the bees?
Häggen-Dazs, the premium cold-treats company, has the cutest Web site, www.helpthehoneybees.com, with a workbook you can download with tips for your garden and activities for the kids. The rich graphics of the field of bees might freeze a slow computer, but it’s worth checking out.
Here are flowers Häggen-Dazs recommends for a bee-happy garden:
Anemone, apple blossom, aster, azalea, begonia, bee balm (monarda), black-eyed Susan, blue cowslip, bluebell, camellia, carnation, chrysanthemum, coneflower, crocus, daffodil, daisy, dandelion, dogwood, edelweiss, forget-me-not, forsythia, freesia, fuchsia, gardenia, geranium, gladiolus, goldenrod, heather, hibiscus, hollyhock, hyacinth, hydrangea, hyssop, jasmine, lady’s slipper, lantana, lilac, marigold, mint, narcissus, orchid, pansy, peach blossom, peony, petunia, pincushion flower (scabiosa), purple coneflower, ranunculus (buttercup), rhododendron, rose, salvia (sage), snapdragon, sunflower, sweet pea, thistle, thyme, tulip, violet, yarrow, yucca and zinnia.
Most will grow in northeast Indiana, although you have to promise you won’t use pesticides. Inviting bees in only to kill them would sort of defeat the purpose.
And if you don’t like bees, most of those flowers are butterfly magnets. If you’re aiming for the caterpillar club, I’d add a few shallow dishes filled with sand for sipping and a few limestone rocks in sunny spots for morning warm-ups.
