Let's Feed The Bees!
The time has come! Warmer weather, buds on the trees, birds chirping, school's almost out...*gulp*. I'm sure most parents are already trying to plan out summer activities for the kiddos riddled with day camps, swimming lessons, sports, or maybe you'll just be winging it every morning with coffee and a few prayers (no judgement here!).
Either way, as spring settles in with summer soon to follow we're all gearing up for the changes and our honey bees are doing just the same! As the warm weather begins to rise again to the honey bee's optimal conditions and flowering trees and plants begin to emerge, the bees are ready to get out there to collect nectar for their next winter stores.
Maybe you saw our post last month about the amazing #BringBackTheBees campaign that Cheerios ran, dolling out over 1.5 billion wildflower seeds to help provide food for our bees! People certainly rose to the occasion and they were plum out of seeds in no time at all. Check out this map that shows where all those seeds have gone, looks like it'll be a pretty colorful summer!
The great news is that even if you couldn't get your hands on these seeds we can still help them with their adventures in pollinating this summer and so can your kids. So if you're looking for a fun spring time or summer long activity to do with them a great one is to plant some flowers of course!
To get started, here is a great diagram of some beautiful and essential flowers for our honey bees that you can incorporate into your every day garden and landscape if they aren't there already!
Whether you have an herb garden that you use in the kitchen, like flower hunting every year, or simply plant flowers that you can enjoy year after year, it's a win win for everyone and every bee! You can also find more ideas and options, here, here, andddd here!
So how can the kids help!? Easy! Bring them along to your local greenhouse or nursery with your list of bee friendly options to purchase. You can even buy seeds online like heirloom seeds which are a high quality and non-GMO brand with many organic options, ensuring the best food source for our bees! Remember, avoid using any pesticides or herbicides which are not only very harmful to our honey bees and many other pollinating insects, but to us as well!
Get the little's excited and educated by talking about how the honey bees will use these nectar rich plants and flowers to gather food for their hives, all while the bees unknowingly pollinate them. At home you can have them help you choose the best spot for your new plants (be sure to reference the seed packet or information card in the plant tray for optimal locations).
Have them help you dig the holes and add the water after they're planted. For some extra encouragement and added cuteness, a gardening kit for your little will have them all the more excited to help you out and maybe create a life long love for gardening! Your kids will love to water the flowers and watch them grow and the best part will be when the bees come around to start nom nomming on some nectar!
Speaking of water, another way you can make your garden or landscape more bee friendly is by adding a bee bath! An easy and quick project for you and your kids to do together just by purchasing a few simple items or even finding some in your home that can be recycled into one! A bee bath allows for the worker bees of the hive to catch a drink while they're out collecting nectar to keep them refreshed as they work their little wings off! Here are the basic items you'll need:
- Shallow dish with raised edge (an old planter tray works great!)
- Pebbles, rocks, or gems either collected from your own yard or from a store!
- Water, of course! Be sure to provide fresh water on a regular basis.
Simply put your dish in a nicely shaded area of your garden or landscaping, place the pebbles, rocks, or gems in varying places of the dish and fill it with water to just below the brim of your dish. Be sure that the pebbles and rocks are slightly emerged from the water as this gives our honey bees a place to perch while taking a sip. You may even attract some butterflies with your bee bath and begin feeling like a modern day Snow White with all of the wildlife in your garden!
See! There are so many ways to help our honey bees not only this year but for years to come, ensuring they have a good food source and some fresh water. Your kids will love to watch the bees do their stuff knowing they helped to create such a wonderful haven for the bees! If you do end up doing one or both of these things, we would LOVE to see some pictures, you can simply share them here or send them to honeyandhiveco.etsy@gmail.com.
- Honey & Hive Co. Team
