6.14.2011

Bees in the garden


I just ordered one of these Mason bee boxes from AndrewsReclaimed on Etsy. I’m excited to take this next step in attracting yard wildlife. You can’t keep bees in Edmonton, and I don’t know if I would want to even if it were allowed – while the idea appeals to my pioneer woman sensibilities, the truth is that the jars of honey we purchase a few times a year at the farmer’s market are more than enough for us. If we kept bees, I don’t know what we would do with all the honey.

But the other wonderful function bees have in the garden, of course, is pollination. So I thought I would try a bee-box, mount it somewhere (maybe on my garage?) and see if I get any mason bees in residence next year. Mason bees are solitary creatures who like to nest in hollow holes or tubes. They are also pretty friendly (well, as friendly as a bee can be), since apparently they rarely sting. Plus I don’t think you can get in trouble for having a box for them. Because the City Bee Inspector (from the Department of Unexpected Wildlife, the DUW) might be like, “Ma’am, you can’t be keeping these bees,” and I would be like, "I’m not keeping bees. That’s a garden art object. I don’t know why it has bees in it."

I am also considering buying a box of ladybugs to help me take care of my aphid problem. Does anyone know where to buy live ladybugs in the Edmonton area?

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