Bee good, buy seed
Sweetree Honey have raised just shy of $500 to help bees in New Zealand. Horsham Downs beekeepers Stephanie and Martin Lynch are selling bee friendly wild flowers seeds and they say it’s not too late to encourage bees to your garden.
The money raised – $490 so far – will got to the National Beekeepers Association.
A recent article in the Hamilton News said bees require good stores of honey and pollen to get them through the winter, and also early spring flowering plants.
“When they first emerge from the hive after winter they need a source of protein from pollen and energy from nectar they can quickly tap into, without going far. They will spend this early time building their brood numbers up, which is so important for the pollination industry.”
Sweetree say bees are vital for pollination, and if well nourished, are more capable of fending off disease and parasites.
“Wildflowers are naturally organic—they are not susceptible to bugs or diseases, can help control garden pests and they attract bees and beneficial insects into the garden.”
One packet contains 2g, and covers approximately 2 square metres. Get more information on growing these wild flower seeds
The mix includes: Calendula—English Marigold, Centaurea—Mixed cornflowers, Callistephus—China Aster, Clarkia—Farewell to Spring, Coreopsis—Plains coreopsis, Cynoglossum—Forget-me-Not, Gaillardia—Blanket Flower, Gilia—Globe Gilia, Linaria—Toadflax, Linum—Blue linum, Malcomia—Virginia Stock, Nemophila—Baby Blue Eyes, Papaver—Corn Poppy, Reseda— Sweet Mignonette, Lobularia—Sweet alyssum
Visit Sweetree’s website here.
