- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
First it was the California poppies. Then the lupine.
And now it's coreopsis, aka tickseed.
It's seasonal blooming at the Campus Buzzway, a quarter-acre wildflower garden planted last fall at the Harry H. Laidlaw Jr. Honey Bee Research Facility on Bee Biology Road at UC Davis.
A gift from Häagen-Dazs--in a project coordinated by the UC Davis Department of Entomology and the California Center for Urban Horticulture--the Campus Buzzway features blue and gold, the UC Davis colors.
Poppies and lupine starred in the garden earlier this year, and most have finished blooming. It's now coreopsis' turn.
Its spectacular neighbor, the Häagen-Dazs Honey Bee Haven, a half-acre bee friendly garden, will be the center of attention on Saturday, Sept. 11 at the public opening celebration. But the Campus Buzzway will attract attention, too.
Garry Pearson, greenhouse supervisor at UC Davis, unfolded three banners at the Campus Buzzway last week. The banners will be on display in the Campus Buzzway on special occasions.
The Sept. 11 opening of the gardens, set from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., is one of them.
- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
The Campus Buzzway is buzzing with bees.
The quarter-acre wildflower garden, located by the Harry H. Laidlaw Jr. Honey Bee Research Facility on Bee Biology Road at the University of California, Davis, was planted last fall with California golden poppies (the state flower), lupine and coreopsis (tickseed).
This spring it's come alive.
This morning we watched honey bees dive head first in the poppies and roll around like kids in a haymow. The bees emerged coated with fine grains of pollen, much like kids dusted with hayseed.
The Campus Buzzway, a gift from Häagen-Dazs, is situated next to the Häagen-Dazs Honey Bee Haven, a half-acre bee friendly garden that's a year-around food source for honey bees and other pollinators and a year-around educational experience for visitors. Plans are under way for a Sept. 11th grand opening, complete with speakers, tours and bee-themed hand-outs.
Meanwhile, the Campus Buzzway is picture-perfect with poppies and bees. Or is it bees and poppies?
- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
The Campus Buzzway, a quarter-acre field of wildflowers planted last fall near the Harry H. Laidlaw Jr. Honey Bee Research Facility at the University of California, Davis, is brilliant in gold and blue, the UC Davis colors.
The gold: California poppies. The blue (blue/purple): lupine.
There's also coreopsis or tickseed planted there but it just finished blooming last fall.
The Buzzway, funded by Häagen-Dazs, is located next to the Häagen-Dazs Honey Bee Haven, a half-acre bee friendly garden designed by the Sausalito team of landscape architects Donald Sibbett and Ann F. Baker, interpretative planner Jessica Brainard and exhibit designer Chika Kurotaki.
The public opening of the two bee friendly gardens, initially slated for June, is expected to take place in the fall, probably in September, but no date has officially been set.
Spring, summer, fall and winter--expect great things in these two gardens. They will be a year-around food source for the honey bees at the Laidlaw Facility and surrounding area; a food source for various other insects, including native bees and butterflies; and an educational experience for visitors. Folks can glean information on what to plant in their own yards or create a bee friendly garden.
There's an old saying that "All that glitters is not gold." As for as the bees and the bee scientists at UC Davis, are concerned, this IS gold.
- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
Next spring the Campus Buzzway at UC Davis will burst with buds, blooms and bees.
The Campus Buzzway, a quarter-acre field of wildflowers, took root the third week of November when a crew planted golden poppies, lupine and coreopsis (tickseed).
Or more precisely, Eschscholzia californica, Lupinus perennis and Coreopsis granidflora.
The garden is a gift from Häagen-Dazs, which also funded the design competition for the half-acre Häagen-Dazs Honey Bee Haven. Both bee friendly gardens are located on Bee Biology Road, next to the Harry H. Laidlaw Jr. Honey Bee Research Facility.
Many other donors have stepped forward to make the gardens possible.
Think bees.
Think year-around food source for bees.
Think public awareness about the the plight of bees.
Think educational opportunities for visitors.
This is no ordinary garden. The Campus Buzzway is unique in that it not only will sport the UC Davis official colors of blue and gold, but it will include three areas of concentrated plantings surrounded by random plantings of the poppies, lupine and coreopsis.
Lynn Kimsey, professor and vice chair of the Department of Entomology and director of the Bohart Museum of Entomology, suggested the design, which also includes narrow walkways.
The two gardens, she said, "will greatly benefit our colonies and make terrific teaching opportunities.”
Expect to see scores of local pollinator populations there, too, and folks gleaning ideas for their own bee friendly gardens. Yes!
This is the second year that Häagen-Dazs, known for its premier ice cream (about half of its flavors are pollinated by honey bees), has raised funds for honey bee research at UC Davis and Penn State University. At UC Davis, Häagen-Dazs is funding postdoctoral fellow Michelle Flenniken, an insect virus researcher seeking to unlock the mysteries of the viruses that plague bees.
Meanwhile, mark your calendars. A public celebration of the two bee friendly gardens is set June 19.
- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
Rising soon from the ashes of the Baxter House fire will be the soothing colors of the Campus Buzzway.
It's a story that began in May 1938 with a farmhouse-turned-lab-turned-eyesore. It will end with the honey bees' version of "A Field of Dreams"--the Campus Buzzway.
UC Davis firefighters torched the abandoned building in a control burn on June 30. Where flames erupted will be where California poppies, coreopsis (tickseed) and lupine will spring to life.
The Campus Buzzway will be planted this fall and will bloom starting next spring.
It all takes place on the grounds of the Harry H. Laidlaw Jr. Honey Bee Research Facility on Bee Biology Road, west of the UC Davis campus.
The wildflowers are compliments of Häagen-Dazs. Coordinating the project are the UC Davis Department of Entomology and the California Center for Urban Horticulture.
The Buzzway will be nestled adjacent to the Häagen-Dazs Honey Bee Haven, a half-acre bee friendly garden scheduled to open next month. The haven will serve as a year-around food source for honey bees. Goals also include raising public awareness about the plight of honey bees and encouraging visitors to plant bee-friendly gardens of their own, said entomologist Lynn Kimsey, professor and vice chair of the Department of Entomology and director of the Bohart Museum of Entomology.
“The Campus Buzzway," Kimsey said, "will be a fabulous addition to the honey bee garden already under construction at our Bee Biology facility. “Both will greatly benefit our colonies and make terrific teaching opportunities.”
Dave Fujino, executive director of the California Center for Urban Horticulture, said the Campus Buzzway will boast year-round blooms and vibrant colors. “The Buzzway will transform an empty field into something beautiful and functional,” he said. “Most importantly, the flower mix will have a positive impact on the health and wellness of our local pollinator populations.”
And oh, the gold and blue flowers planted in the Campus Buzzway have a special meaning to the university. They're the official colors of UC Davis, the Aggies.
To the bees, they're N and P: nectar and pollen.