- Author: Christine Casey
The May bee plant of the month is the rose. While many plants in the rose family are well-used by bees, few have as much appeal in the garden as roses. Rose family crops pollinated by bees include almonds, apples, strawberries, and raspberries. In addition to these crops, the Haven features a number of landscape plants in this family: Catalinia cherry, creambush, mountain mahogany, ninebark, spirea, toyon, and Washington hawthorn.
When selecting roses for a bee garden, choose plants with single flowers. 
Roses in the Haven include the Arboretum All-Star butterfly rose, Rosa x odorata ‘Mutabilis', the California rose, Rosa californica, and the Nootka rose, Rosa nutkana. The foliage of all is used by leafcutter bees in nest construction. The butterfly rose, which reaches up to 6 feet tall and wide, blooms from early spring until frost. Flowers are a mix of yellow, pale pink, and deep pink. The California and Nootka roses are California natives that grow naturally in riparian areas. These two are covered with pink flowers in spring and spread to form dense thickets that can make a useful barrier along fences or under windows. All three roses are water-wise and will grow with a deep soaking every few weeks.
- Author: Christine Casey
National Public Gardens Day is fast approaching! Join us at the Häagen-Dazs Honey Bee Haven on May 9 from 5:30 to 7pm. Events include:
- A free sunflower plant for all visitors while they last
- Honey tasting
- A garden tour at 6pm
Honey Bee Haven Open House flyer May 9, 2014
- Author: Christine Casey
Many insects can obtain the water they need from their food. Bees, however, need to drink water. Honey bees use water to make honey and to cool the hive.
As the weather heats up, I thought I'd review some ways to provide water for bees in the garden. This is especially important in this drought year, as some typical water sources such as leaking faucets may not be available. This is what commercial beekeepers do; their “bee board” is just a fancy name for a board leaning underneath a slowly dripping faucet. This can be recreated in a more water-conserving way by placing a board under the faucet of a rain barrel. 
This year I've added a water source to the garden made from old soaker hoses. 
Here's how it's done:
- Author: Christine Casey
Bees need flowers that correspond to their body size and tongue length in order to effectively access the nectary located at the flower base, so a well-designed bee garden includes plants that provide a variety of flower shapes and sizes. Small bees with short tongues, for example, need a small, open flower like yarrow to feed effectively.
To further complicate matters, some bees have learned that they can access otherwise unavailable flower resources by nectar robbing. These bees have learned to chew a hole at the base of flowers; through this they insert their tongue into the flower to access a nectar reward they would otherwise be unable to reach. Since the insect never enters the flower there is no pollination, and ecologists are now beginning to study this behavior to determine if it impacts flower populations in the wild.
But that's not the end of the story. Clever honey bees will observe the larger bees creating holes and will use them as well. Nectar robbing is often seen on tubular flowers, and in the Haven we see it most frequently with carpenter bees and bumble bees on penstemon and salvia.
- Author: Christine Casey
The April bee plant of the month is not one plant. Instead it is the many California wildflowers that are bloom from late winter through spring, reaching their peak in early April. These plants lovely to look at and they give a uniquely California feel to a garden. Some also provide critical bee forage in late winter and early spring when few other plants are flowering.
Here are some of the more-commonly grown species, listed in approximate order of bloom. Also listed are the bees most commonly observed on each, when that information is well-described.
California poppy (Eschscholzia californica): bumble bees and sweat bees
Chinese Houses (Collinsia heterophylla) Megachilidae: mason bees and leafcutter bees
Baby Blue Eyes (Nemophila menziesii) Megachilidae: mason bees and leafcutter bees
Five spot (Nemophila maculata). Megachilidae: mason bees and leafcutter bees
Tidy Tips (Layia platyglossa)
Globe Gilia (Gilia capitata)
Birds Eye (Gilia tricolor)
Farewell-to-Spring (Clarkia spp.): many plant species, each with a specialist bee species
Lupine (Lupinus spp.): many species of this plant, bumble bees are common
Phacelia (Phacelia spp.): many plant species, bumble bees and honey bees are common
While some of these plants can be purchased at garden centers, the best way to grow them is to broadcast seed in the fall; they will all germinate and survive on normal rainfall. Seed mixes are available, or you can purchase seeds of individual species and make your own mix.
The Haven's wildflowers are just starting to bloom. Pictured here are flowers from my own bee garden in Woodland, just north of Davis.
