Author Topic: plants bee friendly! (Read 4107 times)

waterbuffalofarmer · « **on:** June 12, 2014, 08:18:27 am »

Hey guys
I was looking for friendly bee plants and stumbled across this website.
http://www.beefriendlygardenplants.co.uk/acatalog/Border-Packs.html

sandalfarm · « **Reply #1 on:** June 12, 2014, 07:43:46 pm »

£53 for 10 plants! Must cost at least nothing for foxglove seeds

Fleecewife · « **Reply #2 on:** June 12, 2014, 11:42:33 pm »

Do I detect a bandwagon

There are nurseries out there which sell very reasonable wild flower plug plants if you can't wait, or best of all grow your own from seed.

waterbuffalofarmer · « **Reply #3 on:** June 13, 2014, 08:04:31 am »

yes I agree. I just stumbled across this website, I'll try and get plants similar from Thompson and morgan, much cheaper

Steph Hen · « **Reply #4 on:** June 13, 2014, 11:00:02 am »

Few years ago I found a site selling green manure crop seeds - clovers, vetch, phacelia, lupine, etc, except you got about 100g of seed for a few pounds, rather than 5g for £2.50 or something.

waterbuffalofarmer · « **Reply #5 on:** June 13, 2014, 11:32:44 am »

Awesome, could you tell us the name of the website please?

Steph Hen · « **Reply #6 on:** June 13, 2014, 06:17:41 pm »

https://www.greenmanure.co.uk/seeds

I think it was the one above, but maybe there are other stockists who have more species? Or better prices?
I've spent years working on bumblebees and figured it was only fair to plant wild flowers to pay them back.

It makes me sad and angry when land owners have put in wild flower strips and meadows because they so often fail and are really disappointed. Those that look great for a year or two are mostly overrun by year three. Establishing a wf meadow is not easy, mostly due to competition from grasses and weeds. Sowing a strip of phacelia and vetch is easy and cheap, if its overrun in two or three years oh well, sow it again.

cloddopper · « **Reply #7 on:** June 16, 2014, 03:15:19 am »

I got some comfrey cuttings / plantlets from Dan a couple of years ago .
They can be cut several times a year to make high w=quality material for composting along with other vet matter or they can h=be used as animal fodder or they can be kept as a four feet tall visual barrier that is covered in thousands of light pinkish blue flowers .

The bumble bees & large continental wasps have been working comfrey right from day one and are hard at it as soon as the temperature reached 8.5 oC and carry on in all weathers till well into dusk.
I suspect that it will do the same for honey bees .
Star flower aka. Borage is also another good bee friendly plant that has a long flowering season .

The comfrey is grown from slivers of root node'd cuttings and the borage from broadcast seed .

Anyone want some comfrey rooted cuttings drop me a PM & I'll take some for you and grow them up as it is due a hair cut & 3/4 .

Comfrey is a weed of successful properties , imagination and proportions..... Chickens , pigs ,goats , horses, cows love it , you can dry the leaves to make a comfrey tea infusion .

waterbuffalofarmer · « **Reply #8 on:** June 16, 2014, 11:17:12 am »

Quote from: cloddopper on June 16, 2014, 03:15:19 am

I got some comfrey cuttings / plantlets from Dan a couple of years ago .
They can be cut several times a year to make high w=quality material for composting along with other vet matter or they can h=be used as animal fodder or they can be kept as a four feet tall visual barrier that is covered in thousands of light pinkish blue flowers .

The bumble bees & large continental wasps have been working comfrey right from day one and are hard at it as soon as the temperature reached 8.5 oC and carry on in all weathers till well into dusk.
I suspect that it will do the same for honey bees .
Star flower aka. Borage is also another good bee friendly plant that has a long flowering season .

The comfrey is grown from slivers of root node'd cuttings and the borage from broadcast seed .

Anyone want some comfrey rooted cuttings drop me a PM & I'll take some for you and grow them up as it is due a hair cut & 3/4 .

Comfrey is a weed of successful properties , imagination and proportions..... Chickens , pigs ,goats , horses, cows love it , you can dry the leaves to make a comfrey tea infusion .

Also a compress for bites and sprained limbs. I have 3 comfrey bushes, the thing with comfrey is you just need one bush of it and it will carry on spreading, like mint.

Bramblecot · « **Reply #9 on:** June 27, 2014, 10:36:55 pm »

Bumblebees were working the borage flowers tonight at 2030

. Can't ask for more

Ina · « **Reply #10 on:** June 28, 2014, 07:23:11 am »

Quote from: sandalfarm on June 12, 2014, 07:43:46 pm

£53 for 10 plants! Must cost at least nothing for foxglove seeds

Foxglove has turned up in my garden from goodness knows where this year - I'm really pleased. They must have come quite a way, because there aren't any nearby! I also sprinkle a few phacelia seeds anywhere I have a space... And leave lovage to flower (it's way over my head by now). All costs nothing to very little!