Tag Archives: Bee Habitat

Attracting Pollinators

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Pollinator populations have declined significantly in recent years, mainly due to habitat loss. Homeowners can help by creating pollinator-friendly gardens. Knowing plant traits such as flower color, shape and scent will guide you to which plants to choose for pollinators.

Hummingbirds are attracted to flowers of vivid shades of red, yellow, and purple with a tubular shape that they can access with their long narrow beaks.

Bees prefer purple, blue, orange, or yellow flowers with short tubes or no tubes which they can easily access.

Butterflies are drawn to white, pink, red, yellow, or purple flowers with a place they can perch while sipping on nectar.

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ANISE HYSSOP (Agastache foeniculum)
Attributes: Hyssop supports a wide range of pollinators, including hummingbirds, honey bees, bumble

bees, carpenter bees, butterflies and night flying moths.
Bloom time: June until first frost
Exposure: Full sun
Habit: Upright habit with flower spikes blooming throughout summer.
Height/Spread: 2 to 4 feet tall, 1 to 3 feet wide
Flower color: Varieties available are purple, lavender, red, pink, orange-yellow
USDA Zones: 5-9, for most varieties
Native: North America
Firewise: Yes
Important Note on fire resistant plants: It’s crucial to remember that fire resistance can vary within the same plant species depending on local conditions and specific varieties and some plants considered fire-resistant, may produce flammable dry material that can negate their fire resistance. 

Photo from University of Wisconsin Horticulture Extension: https://hort.extension.wisc.edu/articles/anise-hyssop-agastache-foeniculum/

Posted by: Carlotta Lucas, AGC Member

Horticulture Report – Western columbine

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Native & Firewise Plant

Plant Name:  Aquilegia formosa

Photo by: Walter Siegmund, CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons

Common name: Western columbine
Plant type: Herbaceous Perennial
Height: 2’ – 3’
Spread:   1’
Bloom Time:  Late Spring to August
Flower Color:  Red, Yellow
Exposure: Full Sun to Deep Shade
Soil Requirements: Good Drainage, Organic Material
Water Needs: Low to Moderate; irrigate once a month once established
Attributes:  Nectar in Flower Blooms are appealing to Hummingbirds;
Seed Heads provide Bird Food; Deer Resistant; Supports Bats, Birds, Butterflies, Caterpillars
Note:  Self-sows, but Deadheading controls spread
Uses:  Containers; Native Plant Gardens; Pollinator Garden; Rock Garden
Firewise:  YES
Native to: Lower 48 state, Alaska, Canada
Oregon Native: YES
USDA Hardiness Zone: 3 – 9

Report by: Viki Ashford, AGC Member

Garden Poster

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The Untended Garden in March!

Excuse the weeds, but the bumbles bees like them.

~Garden and Poster by Goly Ostovar, AGC Member

Hellebore for Winter Flowers

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Plant Name: Helleborus orientalis (Lenten rose)                                      
Plant type: Evergreen perennial
Height:   12” – 15”
Bloom Time: February to April
Flower Color:  Varies  – Purple, Whitish Yellow, Whitish Green,  Pink, Burgundy
Exposure: Full Sun in Winter,  Dappled shade in spring, summer, and fall
Soil Requirements:  Well drained loamy soil; Amend soil with organic matter

Water Needs:  Medium
Attributes:  Late Winter Bloomer, Deer Resistant , Waterwise plant, Long Blooming Season, Flowers have nodding habit.

Firewise status: unknown
Note:   Mulch to maintain summer moisture, Monitor for aphids in the spring and treat accordingly. Hellebores provide a variety of bees with nectar and pollen at a time when few other plants are blooming.

Uses: Borders, Containers, Mass Plantings, Woodland Garden, Cut Flowers, Winter Flowers, Pollinator Gardens, Bee Habitat.
USDA Zone: 2-10

 

Horticulture Report: Polygala fruticosa

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Plant Name:  Polygala fruticosa
Common name: Dwarf Sweet-Pea Bush
Plant type: Evergreen Shrub
Height: 3 feet
Spread:   3 feet
Bloom Time:  Spring-Summer
Flower Color: Vibrant, purple-magenta, pea-like flowers
Sun Exposure:Full Sun to Part Sun (4-6 hours)
Soil Requirements: Well-drained, humus-rich soil
Water Needs: Moderate
Attributes:   Green-Gray Foliage, Attracts Pollinators, Nectar-rich flowers
Firewise:  Status unknown
Note:  Only Hardy above 20 o, NOT a perennial in areas where temperatures drops below 20o, but in Zone 8A it will typically recover.
Uses:  Flowers for Cutting, Long Bloom Season, Repeat Flowering, Showy Flowers, Container Plant, Perennial Garden, Cottage Garden,  Wildlife & Pollinator Gardens
Native to: South Africa
Oregon Native:   NO
USDA Hardiness Zones: 9-10

Photo by: Joanie Kintscher, Past President AGC

Report by: Carlotta Lucas, AGC Board Member