High School Bee Garden

[MollyKennedy]

Hello everyone! My name is Molly and I am a current sophomore at Stone Bridge High School. I was wondering if anybody had any tips about starting a "bee friendly" garden at the school. After some semi-extensive research I have learned that bees in Washington DC prefer plants like clovers, egyptian grass, and cedars; and I was wondering if you guys had noticed any other (possibly prettier) plants that bees in Northern Virginia and Loudoun County prefer? Also, if any of you have a beekeeping farm and are willing to let us come and do a tour or just have any good tips that would be wonderful! Thank you so much and enjoy the rest of your days!

-- Molly Ann Kennedy

[Frank]

Molly - I will defer to any of our Beekeepers in the Ashburn area for a tour but your list of plants is a good start.  This site used to have a list of plants, shrubs and trees that were recommended as preferred bee-friendly plantings.  I'll check for that list.   Dandelions, clovers, maples, black locust, autumn olive, forsythia....the bees have a broad appetite.  So another way to approach this is any of our native plants and grasses, avoid GMOs and don't spray would be a good start. Other resources would be the Loudoun Master Gardeners and Banshee Reeks Nature Preserve off Evergreen Mill Road.  Several years ago they took an acre and planted it as a pollinator garden and there is an observation hive of bees in the Stone House.  I seem to recall several of the elementary schools in the Ashburn area also took an area and planted them as gardens.

[Frank]

Cynthia's earlier post has a lot of great information.