Wildflower Patch for Pollinators

[babylark]

Has anyone planted a wildflower patch for pollinators?

I have honeybee hives and want to give them some extra food sources. I was thinking of tilling up grass and planting flowers.

Which is better, a seed mat or just direct sew seeds? I worry about having a ton of weeds and not many flowers? Is this a problem?

THANKS for any advise.

[Worth1]

You cant till up grass it makes it worse unless you sift every bit of it out which is almost impossible.
You will also end up with disturbed soil inviting weed seeds in.
These things will only give back the amount of work you put into them which in most cases is a lot of work.



Worth

[kath]

Definitely what Worth said is true. We tried it (without sifting) when we moved to our current location and between the weeds and local critters, only a couple clumps of special grass and 2 butterfly weed plants survived. It was a huge, ugly eyesore in the front of our property for years. Now within our fenced garden I use dill, fennel and other types of herbs and flowers that are easy to grow sources of nectar and food for pollinators.

[BackyardFarm]

I would smother the grass using newspaper, cardboard, plastic, or landscape fabric. Then this fall you can pull it up and sow your wildflower seed mix.

The other option is to put in a prairie. So you'd mow your grass very low and then plant prairie and native flowers you buy or start yourself. It will end up being a mix of grasses and flowers.

You can also buy a low growing wildflower/prairie flower "lawn" mix you can mow.

[babylark]

Thanks for the info.

I have a Fern patch in my yard. Maybe I can spread seed in there since there isn't any grass in there yet. or Maybe I will try planting more Dill.

I've never grown Fennel. Is it easy to start from seed? Is it tastey? I've not eaten it before.

[KarenO]

be very careful of "wildflower" seed mixes. be sure to read what is in it, they often contain very problematic plant seed.
1. one person's wildflower is another person's invasive weed
2. Planting ornamental flowers, annual and perennial and blooming shrubs or fruit trees are overall more useful and less likely to cause a problem for you over time.
3. Planting a row of flowers in your vegetable garden is a good idea but use nice annuals such as bachelor buttons, cosmos, , zinnias, etc and you can use them for cutflowers as well as to invite pollinators to your garden.
4. I agree that dill and fennel are both very attractive to the best pollinators which are the solitary bees and small wasps.
5. If I wanted to sow a crop to specifically feed bees nectar, and I had the space, I would use red clover or alsike clover. both fix nitrogen and are not very invasive both are also attractive and make high quality nectar. What honeybees want more than anything is pollen as a protein source for their larvae. Trees are actually most likely the very best sources of pollen for bees. If you want flowers specifically for pollen, consider composite flowers, members of the Asteraceae family such as daisies, asters, sunflowers, cone flowers as good pollen producers as well as golden rod. (there are cultivated varieties that are not so weedy as well as thistle, again not the weedy but the ornamentals such as globe thistle)
The honey is produced mainly to feed the workers in the hive.
As far as pollinating vegetables etc, the small native solitary bees and wasps and other small insects such a flies are actually more important than non native honeybees.
KarenO

[BackyardFarm]

Originally Posted by KarenO

be very careful of "wildflower" seed mixes. be sure to read what is in it, they often contain very problematic plant seed.
1. one person's wildflower is another person's invasive weed
2. Planting ornamental flowers, annual and perennial and blooming shrubs or fruit trees are overall more useful and less likely to cause a problem for you over time.
3. Planting a row of flowers in your vegetable garden is a good idea but use nice annuals such as bachelor buttons, cosmos, , zinnias, etc and you can use them for cutflowers as well as to invite pollinators to your garden.
4. I agree that dill and fennel are both very attractive to the best pollinators which are the solitary bees and small wasps.
5. If I wanted to sow a crop to specifically feed bees nectar, and I had the space, I would use red clover or alsike clover. both fix nitrogen and are not very invasive both are also attractive and make high quality nectar. What honeybees want more than anything is pollen as a protein source for their larvae. Trees are actually most likely the very best sources of pollen for bees. If you want flowers specifically for pollen, consider composite flowers, members of the Asteraceae family such as daisies, asters, sunflowers, cone flowers as good pollen producers as well as golden rod. (there are cultivated varieties that are not so weedy as well as thistle, again not the weedy but the ornamentals such as globe thistle)
The honey is produced mainly to feed the workers in the hive.
As far as pollinating vegetables etc, the small native solitary bees and wasps and other small insects such a flies are actually more important than non native honeybees.
KarenO

I second everything KarenO said. If you buy a wildflower/prairie seed mix you should go through a reputable nursery and not the dollar packet from the store.

And are you growing fennel that makes bulbs or bronze fennel for the seeds/flowers? I like both and think they are worth growing but not everyone enjoys the flavor. Do you like the seeds you taste in good italian sausage? That's fennel seed.

[BackyardFarm]

To add to KarenO's list of cut flowers that are lovely annuals, Verbena Bonariensis (it's a tender perennial hardy zone 7 to 10 so it's an annual for you and me). They look lovely in the garden and in a vase in the house.

[tash11]

Originally Posted by BackyardFarm

I would smother the grass using newspaper, cardboard, plastic, or landscape fabric. Then this fall you can pull it up and sow your wildflower seed mix.

The other option is to put in a prairie. So you'd mow your grass very low and then plant prairie and native flowers you buy or start yourself. It will end up being a mix of grasses and flowers.

You can also buy a low growing wildflower/prairie flower "lawn" mix you can mow.

This is what I was going to say. I also second (3rd?) what Karen said about mixed 'wildflower' packets. I make my own mix, or just put down singles of ones I like. Mostly black eyed Susan since it's cheap (I already have lots of native goldenrod out there). wildflower.org has a nice search for particular varieties that are native to your area.

As for the fern patch with no grass. Is it in a shady area? You will need to look for plants that can grow there. There is probably a reason there is no grass.

And to highlight Karen's 2nd point, an apple tree or if you want something easier a native plum or June berry(service berry). June berry also blooms really early so it can give them food when there isn't much else around. And then you can have berries in June. (or let the birds have them)

I have about 3/4 acre or so behind the creek that I am working on making into a butterfly/bee/hummingbird/prairie garden. It's so large that it's hard to do the regular smothering methods with it so I am just over seeding. Every year (really early spring and fall preferably) I go out and spread a bunch of native flower seeds. We already have native grasses which make up a large part of the prairie. I also mow it in the spring to knock down the non-native fast growing stuff and give the natives a chance. If I could I would do a prairie burn. Maybe someday I will.

[KarenO]

All berry bushes and fruiting shrubs such as raspberry, Saskatoon, blackberry, currants , high bush cranberry etc. are all excellent bee plants as well as useful for you.
Bees get the pollen and nectar from the blooms and you get the berries. (and share some with birds as Tash mentioned) It's a great use of available space with a bigger bang for your buck

KarenO

[Worth1]

I have found if what ever is in bloom is what the bees like best they wont go to the garden to pollinate anything like melons and such.
Worth