Bees This Year?

I've ordered phalcia flowers (also known as scorpion flowers) because they are purported to be great honey flowers for the bees. Other good sources of pollen and nectar for bees are open faced daisy like plants such as Black Eyed Susans (rudbekia), pot marigolds (calendula) and cone flowers.  They also love tall spiky flowers like anise hyssop, lavender and mint.

I've located paint and paint brush to paint the hive and I've contacted my friend Patty who is a naturalist and a good bee keeper about buying a "package" of bees. The bees will come from Georgia and the queen will be Italian.  I'll order the bees before April from a local man who will drive to Georgia to collect them and immediately drive back home. I'll meet him in Blue Ash to take delivery of my package of bees.  Patty said one time he didn't get in until 3:00 in the morning. Presumably he will fill many local orders with this one trip.  Now all I have to do is "pull the trigger" and actually order the bees - and pay for them. A two or three pound package of bees costs about $85.00. I wouldn't spend $85.00 on honey for my own consumption in 5 years worth of buying honey, so my economic gain will come, I hope, from better pollination of my garden.


Last year with the mild winter, my pastures were over run with clover. Hopefully we have a good stand of clover this year as well.  The locust trees seem to be in pretty good shape. They bloom with big bunches of white flowers which bees love. Locust honey is suppose to be one of the best.

If all goes well I'll also have two apple, two pear and a plum tree blooming this spring, plus all the wild cherries and plum trees.  I just need to research a few more good honey flowers and I think I'll have plenty of food for the bees.

There is a pretty good video on how to set up a hive at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JVaYD3e9KOA&feature=player_embedded

This cloud formation got away from me before I could get my camera and snap it, but it was originally radiating wisps of clouds seeming to be sprouting from the dark ridge of clouds on the horizon.  Blue skies may lure me outdoors to string electric fence around the bull pen rather than to the basement to paint the hive.