Plant it and they will come.
The Häagen-Dazs Honey Bee Haven, planted last fall, is already attracting a few honey bees.
The half-acre bee friendly garden, located next to the Harry H. Laidlaw Jr. Honey Bee Research Facility on Bee Biology Road, University of California, Davis, includes vegetables, fruit trees and nut trees (almonds).
Today a honey bee sipped water from the folds of a cabbage leaf as another honey bee landed on a visitor. Bee breeder-geneticist Susan Cobey, manager of the Laidlaw facility, gently plucked her off.
The almond trees at the haven are just about ready to burst into bloom.
Make way for the bees!
Plans are under way for a public opening at the haven and the nearby Campus Buzzway, which is planted with coreopsis, golden poppies and perennial lupine. The event is tentatively scheduled for the fall of 2010. More details will be announced soon.
The two gardens will provide bees with a year-around food source and an educational opportunity for visitors, who can learn about bees and glean what to plant in their own yards.
Make way for the bees!
Attached Images:
Making Headway
Almond blossoms
Haven Visitor