Beekeeping and Horticulture

This was written for my fall 2009 Herbaceous Landscape Plants class, taught by Dr. Holly Scoggins. 
     The art of beekeeping is closely knit with the science of horticulture. To       produce honey, bees forage for nectar in a variety of flowers, some flowers especially. The apiarist must select special plants to ensure that his bees are able to produce a surplus of honey. Beekeepers should also chose plants which are useful to humans directly, as this second usefulness could create a second product for consumption. A Blacksburg, VA apiarist who planted blackberry bushes as a wall around his hives serves as a great example of this. Bees love blackberry flowers, they are heavily laden with nectar as well as numerous. Honey produced with blackberry flowers is of high quality, too. Because of the closeness to the hive, bees spend a lot of time pollinating the canes and ensure that all of the flowers are pollinated repeatedly. The vigorous blackberry reliably sets the maximum amount of fruit every year, and once fruit is ready to pick the flowering has finished, so pickers are not bothered by the foraging bees. The living fence around the hives serves another purpose, however, in that it keeps all animals large enough to anger the bees from entering. The beekeeper enters through a small doorway and keeps clear of the sides of the “Bee Room”. In this way, and others detailed below, wise beekeepers ensure both their happiness and that of their bees.
     Herbaceous plants offer much to honey-producing bees. Long-lasting, reblooming flowers, copious amounts of nectar, and year-to-year reliability are all important when choosing plants for bees to enjoy. The most common “Bee Plant” has to be the perennial Monarda didyma, commonly known as bee balm. This perennial is extremely easy to grow, some considering it a weed to be eradicated rather than what it truly us, a valuable herb useful for making teas and exciting bees. The National Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Wildflowers explains that bee balm flowers June through August with a show of deep red flowers, and that it naturally thrives near streams in part shade. To plant your own, chose a moist area which gets full sun or afternoon shade. 
     Another herbaceous plant well known to be fancied by Bees is the perennial Pycnanthemum incanum, called hoary mountainmint. According to the National Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Wildflowers, this perennial has small, white to lavender flowers in clusters, grows anywhere from one to three feet tall and flowers from July to September. To ensure the maximum amount of flowers and the longest duration of bloom, plant Pycnanthemum in a moist but not soggy spot with full sun. The leaves can be used in all the same ways mas the culinary species of Mint. 
     A large plant useful to bees and pleasing to the eyes is Perovskia atriplicifolia, russian sage. Many consider this a shrub as it has semiwoody stems, but Reader's Digest relates in their book 1001 Hints and Tips for Your Garden that for the purposes of the bee-mindful gardener it is a herbaceous perennial. Perovskia is one of the easiest plants to care for, its only needs great drainage and lots of sunlight to thrive. It is commonly used in street median plantings due to this. When in flower, russian sage may be scary to approach due to the amount of bees each flowerhead invariable contains. However, according to Paul Hutchins, a Student at Virginia Tech, these foraging bees are mostly harmless and are fixated on the flowers. median plantings, especially in the hot-summered southern states. The flowers last from early to late summer and turn the plant violet during that time. Use this species as a backdrop to another planting, it has small foliage and flowers, creating a fine texture.
     My favorite herb – and many a bee's favorite – is the perennial (and self-seeding, spreading wonder) Agastache foeniculum, anise hyssop. It has a great fragrance of licorice and all parts of the plant can be used to make teas, cough syrups/drops, and candies. Bees are only attracted to the flowers, however. The flowers of this species are tall purple racemes which last from early summer to fall. According to Jennifer Bennett in Dryland Gardening, A. foeniculum grows to three feet tall and needs full sun and well-drained soil. To ensure that bees are fond of your specimen, give it these and fertile soil to promote blooms. In late summer the flower can be seen swaying not due to wind, but due to the weight of bumblebees and honeybees constantly landing on the flowers. 
     To secure the approval the flower loving gardener as well as the bee, a plant better than Helianthus 'Lemon Queen” is hard to find. According to Allan M. Armitage in his book Herbacious Perennial Plants, H. 'Lemon Queen' provides hundreds of flowers from mid summer to mid fall. Honeybees visit this plant often for the readily available nectar which is constantly produced on the constantly produced blooms. This perennial is very easy to find in nurseries, especially in mid-summer when they are starting to bloom. Grow it as a front-of-bed plant, its short stature and brilliant display demand it. It grows well in moist, well drained soil and full sun. In these conditions, not only will this cultivar thrive but it may become aggressive and weedy. Lavandula angustifolia (lavender) is a great example of how flower nectars can be attractants of both bees and humans. The perfumed scent of lavender is known to calm human tensions much like narcotics do; it makes you think happy thoughts and puts you to sleep. Many homemakers add a drop of lavender oil to the water when washing their bedsheets or have lavender scented aromatic oils bring fragrance to the bedroom. This beautiful and useful herb is easy to grow – Just give it well-drained soil and lots of sun. lavender blooms all summer with white, blue or purple flowers on short spikes and bees will keep this plant buzzing throughout its blooming period.
      Nepeta 'Six Hills Giant' is a great plant for bees due to its long-lasting mid spring to early fall bloom time. Bees love Nepeta spp. to begin with, but this cultivar especially so, it has huge foot-long purple racemes and grows to greater than three feet tall and wide. It is covered in flowers for most of the growing season, providing a steady supply of nectar which is reliable year after year. This cultivar is also very easy to care for, it does not require a lot of moisture nor great soil. It will thrive in moist to dry soil so long as it is well drained. For best results, however, keep this variety of catmint away from cats! They will tear through its foliage in much the same way as they do catnip foliage.
     Solidago altissima is an excellent plant for bees and beekeepers. Humongous, long-lasting yellow pyramidal flower structures create massive amounts of nectar and a magnificent display from July to early October. This is a bad plant for those who desire a tidy planting, it tends to spread and take over wherever it grows. It is a self-seeding perennial three to seven feet tall (makes a great backdrop) and will thrive in any soil, so long as it is not overly wet. For the best blooms, plant in rich, moist, well-drained soil.
     For those who wish to enjoy their garden in every way, there is the perennial Borago officinalis, known as borage and historically known to be a mild antidepressant. For apiarists, the evening after a long day full of bee stings could be made much better through use of a borage leaf/wine mixture, it is said to enliven the spirits and instill courage. Growing borage is easy as it thrives in average soil, from clay to sand and rich to lean. According to 1001 Hints and Tips for Your Garden, sow borage seeds in October and use as a butterfly as well as bee attractant. The plant grows to be 20 inches tall and has attractive blue flowers to offset the unattractive bristles covering the leaves and stem. This plant is probably best used in a kitchen garden, or en masse for honey production. A magnificent display from July to October (Four months of nectar production!)
     No article on plants for bees is complete without a mention of Trifolium repens, white clover. The extremely long bloom time (from May to October) and multitudinous flowers make this a beekeeper's staple plant for honey production. The white blooms, reaching a maximum of six inches tall, are in a way ornamental, but their individual effect is lost due to their great number. White Clover takes very well to mowing and foot traffic and is an excellent alternative to the usual grass lawn. Because of the low height to which it grows, no mowing is necessary. To grow, sow seed on open ground in average soil and keep well watered for the first year. After this, no maintenance is necessary to keep the plant thriving. Clover adds nitrogen and humus to the soil faster than other groundcovers, it is used in some areas to reclaim topsoil. Use it with care though, is hard to get rid of once established. Don't limit your bee plant collection to the choices above, however, there are hundreds of plants which honeybees love. Several trees are especially suited to their needs, and they often produce high quality honey. Remember to select plants with lots flowers full of nectar which last a long time. Don't plant anything which requires a lot of maintenance near beehives. Activity of any sort (especially loud and motorized) can attract the fury of bees when it is near their nest. Also chose plants which are low maintenance during their flowering time, so as to avoid contact with bees when they're foraging. Using these criteria, as well as the plants above, will ensure maximum pollination and honey production.
References
·William A. Niering and Nancy C. Olmstead, National Audubon Society Field   Guide to North American Wildflowers, Alfred A. Knopf Inc, New York.
·Jennifer Bennett, Dry-Land Gardening, Bookmakers Press, Kingston, Ontario.
·Allan M. Armitage, Herbaceous Perennial Plants, University of Georgia
·Reader's Digest, 1001 Hints and Tips for your Garden, Pleasantville, New York.